What’s on Our Mind?… Could Our Immune Systems Learn How to Cure Cancer?

Our Executive Director Sanja is back with a new blog series, aptly named What’s On Our Mind! This week, she shares her thoughts on the innovative cancer treatment known as Immunotherapy, and what it means for us who live in B.C.

The fact that our DNA is the ultimate programming language is remarkable, but even more fascinating is that we are learning how to fix ‘bugs” in our code that lead to diseases such as cancer. It’s not a surprise that we at Robert L. Conconi Foundation feel strongly about investing in the future of cancer therapy and ultimately finding the cure(s) for cancer. Today, there is a strong body of evidence that suggests our immune response plays an important role when it comes to the likelihood of survival.

The technological and scientific advances of the past decades have aided us in understanding human biology and by extension cancer at depths previously unimaginable. Cancer immunotherapy builds on the tech and the science and can take several forms including adoptive cell therapy (ACT), vaccination and immune modulation. We are especially excited about adoptive cell therapies – they essentially supercharge our immune systems T cells and teach them to recognize and attack cancer.

We are so lucky to live in B.C. where we have the world’s leading experts in this field of research Through the BC Cancer Agency’s Genome Sciences Centre scientists collect and interpret a wealth of genomic data and the Immunotherapy team at the Deeley Research Centre in Victoria is developing ways to re-program our cells.

This patient-oriented research that is highly customized and specific to an individual patient’s cancer is fascinating because with it comes a much higher probability of success. Also in the treatment process other non-cancer cells and healthy tissues won’t get damaged like they do with the current radiation and chemotherapy treatments. This is why most scientists believe it is only a matter of time when a wide range of immunotherapies become a standard of care.

Thanks so much.

Sanja

Check in next week to learn how we can change the future of cancer therapies – together! We have some exciting news to share with you!

Keep your eye on the blog for more updates from Sanja! Questions or comments? Let us know in the comments below or on social media:

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