28 Jan
Uncategorized

Commission envisages tobacco-free Europe by 2040 in leaked cancer plan

The much-awaited ‘Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan’ is being shaped with a strong push on prevention, targeting in particular alcohol and tobacco products, including novel tobacco products like e-cigarettes, EURACTIV has learnt.

An EU-wide plan to combat cancer has remained one of the priorities of Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission when it comes to public health, although the COVID crisis has understandably diverted attention over the past few months.

The actions set out in the plan, which was expected to be unveiled already in December, will aim to support, coordinate and even supplement member states’ efforts at every stage of cancer care, including prevention and quality of life of survivors.

A draft of the ‘Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan’ obtained by EURACTIV has confirmed that it will be based on four key pillars – prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care – with seven flagship initiatives and a number of supporting actions.

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28 Jan
News & Event

Researchers find how cancer can be killed by body’s own immune system

A new way to help the body’s immune system get past that deception and destroy cancer has been found by a University of Missouri researcher.Normally, your body’s immune cells are constantly on patrol to identify and destroy foreign entities in the body,” said Yves Chabu, an assistant professor in the Division of Biological Sciences.

“Normal cells put up a ‘don’t-eat-me’ molecular flag that is recognized by immune cells, thereby preventing the destruction of normal tissues. But some cancers have also developed the ability to mimic normal cells and produce this ‘don’t eat me’ signal. As a consequence, the immune system fails to recognize cancer as a defective tissue and leaves it alone, which is bad news for the patient,” added Chabu.

Immunotherapies are cancer drugs that essentially block the “don’t-eat-me” signal coming from cancer and allow the immune system to kill it.

Chabu, whose appointment is in the College of Arts and Science, said while these immunotherapies work for certain types of cancers, prostate cancer is highly immunosuppressive, meaning cancer’s physical and molecular environments simply overpower the body’s immune system.