Friend or Foe? Unmasking Immune Cells in Cancer

Let’s go on a journey from bone marrow to lymph node, through the bloodstream and organ mazes, to discover the power of our immune system. We will learn about the immune cells which work night and day to protect us from danger and keep our body functioning normally. We will dive into this complicated system and understand, from start to finish, how the immune system is tightly controlled to respond to danger and resolve organ damage.

In this part, we will hear how the immune system responds to the ultimate danger: the body’s own malignant cells. If these cells are not kept on a leash, they might form a tumour. As the tumour grows, there is an ongoing interaction and communication between cancer cells and cells from the immune system. In this little ecosystem, where some immune cells emerge as heroes fighting against malignant cells, others get exhausted or succumb to cancer cells’ tricks and change their alliance. Will you be able to tell them apart by using a microscope?

If cancer cells manage to escape the immune system’s defences, it is time for immunotherapies. Find out how these therapies work, how they compare to traditional treatments, why they don’t always work, and the future of immunotherapy. Through interactive activities, we will explore the innovative tools and techniques we use daily in our labs, here in Glasgow at the CRUK Scotland Institute aiming to improve cancer treatments using the immune system.