Did You Know?

The National Cancer Institute notes that some cancer cells can avoid detection by a person’s immune system. A recent study from researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that cells can turn on a gene called SOX17 in the early stages of colon cancer. That gene allows the cells to become essentially invisible to the immune system. While that might sound discouraging, the discovery might bode well for treating future cases of early stage cancer. Researchers behind the study feel if they can find a way to inhibit the SOX17 gene, then they might be able to prevent colon cancer in patients susceptible to developing it. The ability to inhibit the gene also could help stop colon cancer before tumors enlarge and the disease advances into later stages.