Immunoregulatory T cells and Tumour Immunity

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Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the industrialized world. While therapies to treat cancer have continued to improve one area that, in theory at least, shows great promise in the treatment of tumours is manipulating the immune system to effectively recognize and destroy cancerous lesions. Experiments in human and animal systems have clearly shown that the immune system has the potential to respond to tumour cells and trials of tumour vaccines are underway. It has recently become apparent that the immune responses to tumours may be inhibited by classes of regulatory immune cells. Eliminating these cells results in a more vigorous and effective anti-tumour response. This project will seek to discover the mechanisms of action of theses regulatory immune cells in order to devise more effective anti-cancer vaccines and therapies.