A type of normal cell often found in cancerous growths may be the reason for the failure of anti-cancer vaccines.
Stromal cells may act to protect tumours from the body's immune system, a study in the journal Science reports.
Cambridge University scientists eliminated some of these cells in mice, and shrank their lung tumours.
Cancer Research UK said the study offered "exciting clues" to how cancer recruited healthy cells, and how to prevent that happening.
Tumours are not just made up of cancer cells - often these are interspersed with normal cells carrying on with their normal functions. Stromal cells are part of the body's connective tissue, helping provide fibres and structures to support other tissues and cells. The Cambridge study suggests that, in some tumours at least, their activity is holding back the immune system from launching attacks which could shrink or destroy tumours.
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