Killer T Cells and Cancer: All You Need To Know

A study from the University of Bonn offers a promising outlook for the future of cancer treatment. Researchers didn’t discover a new drug or alternative therapy. Instead, they found a way the human body might one day destroy cancer cells on its own.

How? It comes down to Killer T cells.

In this post, we’ll examine what Killer T cells are, how they help the body fight cancer, and why this discovery could mark a major step forward in cancer research.

What Are Killer T Cells?

Killer T cells are the immune system’s most aggressive defenders. They target and destroy viruses, cancer cells, and other harmful invaders with precision and force.

When a virus enters the body, the adaptive immune system activates and deploys Killer T cells to eliminate infected cells. Once the threat is cleared and only healthy cells remain, the T cells withdraw, allowing the body to begin the healing process.

In theory, Killer T cells can also target and destroy cancer cells. The immune system sends them to attack tumors and eliminate abnormal cells.

The problem is that cancer cells often develop defenses that block or weaken the T cell response. These immune evasion tactics allow tumors to grow despite the body’s efforts to destroy them.

How Cancer Cells Evade Killer T Cells

Cancer cells evade Killer T cells by mimicking healthy tissue. They exploit a type of immune cell called regulatory T cells, which normally act as a brake on the immune response. These regulatory cells signal Killer T cells to stand down once an infection is under control.

Cancer cells trick regulatory T cells into treating them as normal tissue. In response, the regulatory T cells suppress the activity of Killer T cells, effectively neutralizing their attack.

As a result, cancer cells multiply without interference because they’ve deceived the regulatory T cells. This unchecked growth allows individual cancer cells to form solid tumors and spread throughout the body.

The Role of Regulatory T Cells in Cancer Defense

T regulatory cells play a significant role in our body’s cancer defense.

As one paper explained, “Treg cells were originally identified for their ability to prevent organ-specific autoimmune disease in mice, emerging evidence suggests that Treg cells play a pivotal role in tumor immunology and contribute to tumor growth and progression, thereby having an important impact on the outcome of cancer patients.”[1]

The paper went on to elucidate: “Tumor cells induce the generation of Treg cells through both cell contact-dependent and cell contact-independent mechanisms. Soluble protein such as TGFβ produced by tumor cells promote the proliferation of Treg cells and induce the conversion of naive CD4+CD25- T cells into Treg cells. Tumor cells also express costimulatory molecules such as CD80/CD86 or CD70 and interact with naive T cells to convert these naive T cells into Treg cells. The increased numbers of Treg cells inhibit the NK cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+T cells and the other cells and contribute to the progression of tumors.”

So it’s clear to see the connection between T regulatory cells and cancer. In fact, the activity of T reg cells contributes to the growth and spread of tumor cells.

Thankfully, according to the German researchers, there may be a simple solution: kill off the regulatory T cells.

Breakthrough Research: Blocking Regulatory T Cells

The data collected by the scientists at the University of Bonn [2] showed fascinating results from their experimentation with a protein called IκB-kinase β, or IKKß.

IκB-kinase β is a protein that is naturally produced in the body and is responsible for activating your body’s immune response. Specifically, it plays a role in regulating T reg cells.

When the researchers blocked this protein, the regulatory T cells died off, but the killer T cells survived. In fact, they even grew stronger, and their effects were more noticeable because there were no regulatory T cells to shut them down.

The researchers then tested their theory on mice with skin cancer. They applied the IKKß inhibitor and watched to see what happened. After just two weeks of this treatment, the amount of regulatory T cells dropped by 50%.

The effector cells, on the other hand, responded more strongly once the regulatory T cells were reduced. They were able to delay the growth of the skin cancer, thus extending the survival rate of the mice studied.

Clinical Applications: What This Means for Cancer Treatment

This discovery provides a fascinating new weapon in the war on cancer. By inhibiting the effects of the regulatory T cells, it may be possible to empower our bodies to deal with the cancer and tumor cells on their own. Killer T cells will be able to operate unhindered, potentially speeding up the destruction of tumor cells.

At the same time, suppressing the activity of T reg cells will also reduce the anti-tumor activity that is your body’s natural response to the presence of cancer cells. It’ll effectively empower our bodies to fight cancer on its own—leading to more effective immune responses, as well as better responses to medications and cancer treatments.

However, fair warning: on its own, this new discovery isn’t the solution.

Combining IKKβ Inhibition with Other Treatments

The lead researcher stated, “complete healing cannot be achieved solely by inhibiting IKKß. By combining with other immunological active pharmaceutical ingredients, it may, however, be possible to stimulate the immune system to more effectively combat the cancer.”

In this case, the researcher is talking about immunotherapy treatments, a.k.a. cancer treatments that stimulate the immune system to deal with the problem via our own innate immune response.

There are a number of different types of immunotherapy that are utilized to treat cancer today, including:

• Adoptive cellular therapy includes CAR T cell therapy, CAR NK cell therapy, TIL therapy, and ETC therapy. These therapies increase the efficacy and number of specific immune cells (natural killer cells, T cells, endogenous T cells, etc.), which in turn makes the immune system more effective at eradicating cancer cells.
• Immune checkpoint inhibitors help increase both the efficiency and lifespan of the T cells mounting the defense.
• Monoclonal antibodies bond to the proteins on the cell surface of cancer cells to either make them easier for the immune system to target or make your killer T cells and other immune cells more effective at eradicating them.
• Cancer vaccines help your body to more efficiently recognize cancer cells as a threat and stimulate your immune system to more effectively destroy them.
• Cytokine therapy uses interferons and interleukins to activate your immune system. This therapy is currently being used to treat kidney cancer, melanomas, certain lymphomas and blood cancers (leukemia), and other cancers.

Combining these treatments with inhibition of the IKKβ protein has the potential to lead to major improvements in future cancer treatments.

Challenges in Turning Research into Treatments

One of the greatest challenges specific to cancer-focused research is that cancer is an incredibly complex and varied issue.

After all, “Cancer is not a single disease but rather a collection of diseases with distinct characteristics, each with its own genetic and environmental factors.” [4] With each responding differently to specific treatments, and many individual patients responding differently as well, creating a universal cancer treatment is a significant challenge.

Cancer also tends to mutate over time and grow resistant to treatments. This is a significant barrier that must be overcome in cancer research and therapies, particularly with immunotherapies and targeted therapies like the one discussed here.

The Future of Immune-Based Cancer Therapies

The good news is that the more we learn, the more efficient we become at dealing with, treating, and managing cancer.

Recent studies have explored how to remove the immune system’s inhibitors, allowing the body to fight cancer more effectively on its own. This new discovery adds another approach to strengthening the body’s natural defenses.

The advent of Artificial Intelligence is also providing powerful tools for research and development, as well as cancer targeting. Machine learning tools are growing more efficient at identifying and treating tumors.

Combined with other cancer treatments—medications that kill off cancer cells, therapies to activate our immune systems, and more—there may be a radically effective cancer treatment on the horizon. A great deal of research is left to be done, but there could truly be hope for a future in which our bodies are able to effectively fight and defeat cancer on their own.

Conclusion: Toward a New Era in Cancer Immunotherapy

This is just one study, but the data it collected offers a great deal of hope that the future will hold more effective and powerful solutions for treating cancer.

With a deeper understanding of the immune system’s role in fighting cancer, scientists and doctors are moving closer to helping the body defend itself against this deadly disease.

The future of cancer treatment is bright, with cancer immunotherapies front and center.

While research like this points to promising future therapies, supporting your immune system and detox pathways today is one of the most important things you can do to protect your long-term health. The body’s ability to recognize and eliminate harmful cells relies heavily on the health of your liver, kidneys, and immune response – all of which are constantly burdened by environmental toxins. That’s where targeted nutritional support comes in.

To further support and assist your natural detox pathways, you should consider herbal supplementation. We partnered with environmental toxin specialists and supplement formulators to create the best formula on the market that supports your liver and kidneys detox organs in a safe way – it’s called Restore Detox.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which cancers are 100% curable?

There are no cancers that are 100% curable. However, the five-year survival rate for Stage 0 and Stage 1 breast cancer is 99 to 100%. The five-year survival rate for Stage 1 and Stage 2 prostate cancer is 99%, 96% for testicular cancer (localized tumors), 98 to 100% for Stage 1 and Stage 2 thyroid cancer, and 99% for Stage 1 melanoma (skin cancer).

What is the hardest cancer to cure?

Pancreatic cancer has the lowest five-year survival rate, just around 12.8%. Though it can effectively be treated if detected early enough, at more advanced stages, the survival rate can plummet to as low as 1%. The majority of pancreatic cancer cells grow in the exocrine cells that produce digestive enzymes.

What is the success rate of T cell cancer treatment?

T cell cancer treatment success rates tend to vary depending on the type of cancer being treated. In one study involving a form of leukemia [5], remission rates were as high as 85% immediately following CAR T cell therapies. Of those children, 60% remained cancer free for the 12 months following the study. In the case of a study into multiple myeloma, however, treatment led to remission rates of around 52% [6].