Scientists have turned the same immune response that rejects organ transplants to their advantage – to target cancer.
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In a trailblazing fusion of immunology and ingenuity, a team of Chinese researchers have been engineering tumours to mimic pork, thereby triggering the body’s immune system to attack them with unprecedented precision.
Their pioneering study, published in the journal Cell on January 18, uses a genetically modified virus to “disguise” cancer cells as foreign pig tissue, sparking a hyperacute immune rejection response that attacks the tumours while leaving healthy cells untouched.
Early clinical trials report staggering success: 90 per cent of patients with advanced, treatment-resistant cancers – such as liver, ovarian and lung – achieved halted tumour growth or shrinkage, with one cervical cancer patient declared clinically cured.
By repurposing a mechanism that is notorious for organ transplant rejection, this “tumour-to-pork” strategy has opened a new frontier in the fight against cancer, offering hope where conventional therapies have failed.
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The study, led by Professor Zhao Yongxiang, director of the State Key Laboratory of Targeting Oncology, Guangxi Medical University, is now trending on China’s social media.