Mechanism for more efficient cancer treatment decoded
Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 07:00
in Health & Medicine
(Medical Xpress) -- A research team from the Institute for Cancer Research at the MedUni Vienna has decoded a previously unknown mechanism of the active ingredient imiquimod in tumour defence. They have been able to prove that imiquimod transforms plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) into tumour-killers which can fight the tumour independently from other immune cells. This discovery could be an important step on the way to a more efficient treatment for cancer.