Cancer Immunotherapy – promising way to fight disease

William Coley, MD known as the Father of Cancer Immunotherapy first attempted to harness the immune system for treating cancer in the late XIX century. He observed some of his patients cleared of cancer after recovering from an infection. As we know it now, protein called immunoglobulin exclusively designed for each infection can attack and destroy certain cancer cells.

All of the 500 types of cancer have one thing in common – mutated DNA. Their DNA is very similar but different from the one of healthy cells. Usually mutation is a reason for cell death or rejection. For example, transplant recipients have to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives. For still unknown reason, our immune system does not recognise cancer cells as pathogen and does not attack. How can we tell patient’s immune system – “Go, wipe out the tumour”? Promising idea to solve this problem has been inspired by already existent medical phenomena called passive immunity.

Step One. Two biologically non-related patients exchange their foes, each patient is injected with his/her partner’s cancer cells or parts of the mutated DNA. Similar to virus or bacteria those cells are destroyed and patients develop immunity to that particular cancer. In the blood of each patient appears that famous, highly specific immunoglobulin which destroys exactly what it’s made to destroy – cancer.

Step Two. Same two patients undergo reciprocal blood transfusions. Blood they receive contains the healing power of immunoglobulin specifically designed to fight their cancer. Also, immunoglobulin might attack healthy cells for that reason I mentioned injecting parts of mutated DNA, instead of whole cells, it should solve the problem.

The biggest roadblock for this treatment won’t be physiological but obviously, the legal one. Furthermore, pharmaceutical corporations are not interested to work in this direction – this is medical procedure, consequently it can not be patented.

Warning: Ideas presented is this publication remain an unproven theory, therefore, nobody shall interrupt ongoing cancer treatment because of it.