A group of researchers from the Department of Microbiology of the University of Buenos Aires recently made a key discovery in the fight against cancer.  The team headed by Dr. Gabriel Rabinovich was able to identify a protein, whose action, if inhibited, can have a significant effect in cancer immunotherapy. 

Even though the human body is able to produce tumor-specific immune cells, most tumors are able to avoid immune attack via a variety of mechanisms.  Dr. Rabinovich and his group discovered that galectin-1 (Gal-1) essentially gives tumor cells immune privileges.  However, by blocking this protein, tumor rejection can be promoted via the generation of tumor-specific T-cells.

In other words, the Argentinean team was able to answer the question of why tumors grow despite the production of T-cells.  The answer is that there are proteins that can potentially kill these T-cells before they are able to attack the tumor.  The blockade of Gal-1 both prevents the acquisition of immunity by tumor cells in addition to stimulating the creation of T-cells that can specifically target the tumor.

The research findings were published in the prestigious international journal Cancer Cell, and in several newspapers around the world, including La Nacion.  Here is a link to the article summary (from the March 2004 issue of Cancer Cell).