The Functional and Translational Immunology of Regulatory T Cells Tregs, the Anti-tumor T Cell Response, and Cancer (Immunology and Immune System Disorders)

Cancer can grow without the ability of the T cell immune system to stop it. This book examines the role regulatory T cells (Tregs) play in inhibiting the anti-tumor T cell response. Though Tregs protect the tissues from attack by the T cell immune system and thereby prevent autoimmunity, these T cells are a major reason why anti-cancer therapies do not work. Tregs view tumor cells as cells that are damaged and need time to get back to normal. This never happens with cancer and that's why it kills us. The book describes the immunological behavior of Tregs as well as the intracellular biochemical (translational) pathways that dictate their function. There is a detailed description of this most advanced effector T cell and how it and it alone can result in the deaths of millions by cancer.