Immunosurveillance

Immunosurveillance

The emergence of cancer cells within the body may not be a rare or unusual event at all. Of the trillions of normal cells found in the body, several hundred per day may be undergoing malignant degeneration in response to the cancer-promoting stimuli. The immune system may possibly play a significant role in halting the growth of these cells and preventing the development of overt malignancy.

The concept of immune surveillance was initially put for-ward by Ehrlich, and later on modified by Thomas and Burnet. Ehrlich first suggested that though cancer cells frequently arise in the body, they are recognized as foreign and eliminated. Later, Burnet postulated the immunosurveillance theory. He suggested that the immune system routinely patrols the cells of the body and upon recognition of a cell or a group of cells that has become cancerous attempts to destroy them, thus pre-venting the growth of some tumors.