Childhood Cancer Cells Drain Immune System's Batteries
Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - 16:40
in Health & Medicine
Cancer cells in neuroblastoma contain a molecule that breaks down a key energy source for the body's immune cells, leaving them too physically drained to fight the disease, according to new research. Scientists have discovered that the cells in neuroblastoma - a rare type of childhood cancer that affects nerve cells - produce a molecule that breaks down arginine, one of the building blocks of proteins and an essential energy source for immune cells. Around 90 cases of neuroblastoma are diagnosed each year in the UK, mostly in children under five years old. read more