'Immune fog' may flag lung cancer risk years before tumor develops
A 'rising fog' may cloud the immune system's ability to detect tumors and may be the key to tackling lung cancer that is developing years before diagnosis. The team at University College London (UCL) followed this signal using prototype blood tests and reversed it using drugs.
Research from University College London (UCL) suggests that an "immune fog" may be responsible for the immune system's inability to detect and combat lung cancer that develops years before diagnosis. Led by associate professor James Reading and professor Sam Janes, the study published in Nature could pave the way for early intervention in preventing the disease.
The team's findings reveal that regulatory T cells (Tregs) accumulate months or years before lung cancer forms, effectively creating a "fog" that allows precancerous lesions to develop unchecked. Using prototype blood tests, the researchers were able to detect changes in Treg levels, which indicates an increased risk of lung cancer or an early-stage form of the disease.
In mice experiments, a drug targeting the Treg immune-suppressing effect successfully halved the number of tumors and prevented all large tumors, halting the progression of the disease. This discovery highlights the potential for new approaches to cancer prevention and early detection, shifting the focus from treating cancer once it has developed to intercepting precancerous conditions before they become life-threatening.
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