Scientists have bred a colony of mice which are naturally resistant to cancer.

Occasionally someone with cancer will go into complete remission, for no obvious reason. Their tumor will just disappear. Researchers at Wake Forest University now reveal an insight into this mystery. They were working with mice who had virulent tumors transplanted. One of these animals was able to recover from the cancer threat and was further studied.

It turned out that in this animal, there was a massive infiltration of white blood cells called leukocytes into the tumor. The cells killed off the cancer. The mouse was able to pass this ability onto half of its offspring, suggesting a dominant gene that can protect against cancer.

Clearly this colony of animals will be a valuable model for studying mechanisms of immune protection against cancer. Immunotherapy is one of the most exciting new approaches in cancer treatment. This research may help show how it can be made more effective.

Source

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on-line 28th April 2003