In central Israel, Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers reported on Monday that they have found eosinophils, a type of white blood cell that can be used effectively to treat cancer.
According to TAU, these white blood cells can directly destroy cancer cells while recruiting the immune system's cancer-fighting T-cells.
The findings may lead to the development of improved immunotherapeutic medications that employ eosinophils to fight cancer, the authors noted.
TAU researchers discovered that eosinophils are recruited to fight against cancer metastases in the lungs in a study published in the journal Cancer Research.
Therefore, many other types of cancer cells can be killed using the toxic properties of eosinophils, the authors said, noting that eosinophils produce powerful destructive proteins, originally for fighting parasites.
A study was conducted to examine the effects of breast cancer metastases on human cancer tissues.
Eosinophils penetrated the lungs and penetrated the cancer tissues, where they released destructive proteins.
"These findings could contribute to the development of novel immunotherapy treatments for cancer-based upon T-cells and eosinophils collaborating," the team concluded. — Agencies