Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/29
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) Prominent Japanese scientist Tasuku Honjo predicted Monday that immunotherapy will be the best way to treat cancer in the future.

It has fewer adverse effects than other types of cancer treatment, is effective for a wide range of tumors, and can be combined with other anti-cancer treatments, the 73-year-old immunologist said during a talk at National Taiwan University.

He said the immune system of human beings has “enormous diversity” and can recognize viruses it has never encountered before, such as HIV, SARS or MERS.

Drugs used to treat cancer may not be effective after three months or a year because cancer cells mutate and become resistant to treatment, but the immune system is able to recognize all the mutant cancer cells as “not self,” Honjo said.     [FULL  STORY]