The results of a recent study published in scientific journal Nature Immunology may lead to a universal cancer treatment, according to multiple reports.
Scientists in the United Kingdom found a T-cell with a new receptor that could identify cancerous cells and differentiate them from healthy cells. The study suggest that the T-cells can be engineered to attack the cells identified as cancerous, while leaving healthy cells untouched.
The scientists discovered this in both lab tests and experiments on mice, Newsweek reports.
The study — done by scientists at Cardiff University in England — is being called “an exciting new frontier” by one of its authors, Andrew Sewell, USA Today reports.
“We hope this new TCR may provide us with a different route to target and destroy a wide range of cancers in all individuals,” he said in a statement.
T-cells are already being used to treat certain kinds of non-tumorous cancers like leukemia, according to the BBC.
New treatments based off the recent discovery would work in a similar way to current CAR-T therapies, where blood is taken from a patient and filtered for T-cells, according to the BBC. The T-cells would be modified to attack cancerous cells before being placed back into the patient, as illustrated in this MSN video.
The research regarding a universal treatment is far from being ready to be converted into actual medicines and treatments for people, though, according to BBC.