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For many years, most cancer treatment has focused around the use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy with varying sucess rates. However there is now a 'new kid on the block' - using your own body to fight cancer in the form of immunotherapy. To correspond with the opening of the UK's first dedicated Centre for Cancer Immunology in Southampton, we will explore some aspects of the research that will be conducted in the new facility.
Avoiding attack - How cancer avoids the immune system and how to stop it
Dr Emma Reeves
(Post-doctoral Researcher Cancer Sciences)
Emma's research is focused on how cancer cells can avoid destruction by the main aggressor of the immune system defences - the killer T cell. Successful cancers can make themselves invisible to the killer T cells in order to survive and grow. Research in Emma’s lab is beginning to understand how cancer cells make themselves invisible and what we can do to swing the tide of battle to allow the cancer cells to be destroyed by T cells.
Antibodies for bodies: guided missiles for everything from colds to cancer
Prof Mark Cragg
(Professor of Experimental Cancer Research)
Professor Cragg has worked on antibodies for over 20 years. His research uncovers how the immune system interacts with cancer cells and how it can be harnessed in the form of immunotherapy to treat malignancy In his talk, he will describe how these fantastically flexible molecules can destroy bugs, be used in medical tests, and harnessed to treat diseases ranging from cancer to arthritis.
Cancer immunotherapy from a clinician's perspective
Professor Christian Ottensmeier
(Professor of Experimental Medicine)
As head of the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre in Southampton, Christian is involved in the development of immunotherapies which translate into the clinic. Here we will explore how immunotherapies are implimented in the clinic with a focus on lung and skin cancer.
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