our immune system and cancer

[eye2dry]

  hello all.

A question for those who know more than me on sjogrens (other AI's too)

There has been a lot of news articles on science using our immune system
to kill back cancer cells....melanoma, brain cancer, etc....

My question is this.....if our immune system is so revved up and wants to attack all
the time...even attack our own healthy glands.....why do we have a higher chance
of getting lymphoma. etc. ? 

Is it the constant inflammation?

Can you give me one health benefit for having an AI disease?


shelly

[Navigator]

With an AI disease it isn?t that our white blood cells are primed to eliminate cancer cells or just any old invading virus or bacteria.  Being very simple, white blood cells are controlled by other cells in the immune system that recognize invaders (virus/bacteria/nonself proteins) and signal the white cells to attack.  But to do so these signaling cells have to be activated either by a previous illness, vaccine, exposure or inherited predisposition. 

Once some of our white blood cells are primed to attack certain cells that have specific proteins on their surface...they focus their attack on these specific proteins.   They don?t go marauding around after cancer cells that do not have these proteins on their cell surface. 

Immunology attempts to sensitize the immune system to certain proteins found on certain tumors so that the signaling cells will react to the proteins and send in the troops.   In our cases our immune system stays inflamed even after the non self cells are eliminated and doesn?t stand down. And they mistake self proteins for bad ones.   That does increase the risk of cancer and cardiac problems to name but two.

I know of no benefit to having a AI disease.