'Unexpected' cancer treatment discovery touted by scientists

Los Angeles (dpa) – Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the United States say they have pinpointed a type of "first responder" cell that can be targeted to bolster cancer treatments and have developed an antibody that helps the process. Two teams of researchers said they have found that myeloid cells "can be manipulated to enhance the activity of tumour-killing T cells" and in turn boost some immunotherapies that are the "standard of care for some cancers." Some of the treatments "do not have lasting effects" according to the teams, who are developing a clinical test for the enhanced cells. "Identifying the myeloid cell was an unexpected discovery," said the Mayo Clinic's Michelle Hsu, whose research was published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, a British Medical Journal publicat