Natural Killer Cells in Cancer Treatment

At Oasis of Hope Hospital, oncologists use immune stimulation therapy to help patients’ bodies attack and kill cancer cells. Immune stimulation therapy at Oasis of Hope Hospital involves the body’s natural killer cells, which can target a number of different types of cancer cells.
Natural killer cells, or NK cells, are a type of white blood cell known as a lymphocyte. They have the capacity to attack and kill not only viruses and bacteria but also certain cancer cells.
Medical science has been searching for ways that it can increase the activity of NK cells and reduce the chance that they will identify a tumor as healthy tissue. One such technique is the administration of melatonin, which can stimulate the immune system and thus increase production of NK cells.
Other techniques for immunostimulation range from probiotic therapy, which prompts the growth of white blood cells as they pass through the digestive system, and drugs such as cimetidine, which supports immune activity even as it works to reduce metastasis.
Researchers are also working on the development of advanced therapies that increase the ability of NK cells to target cancers. These include the manipulation of NK cell genetics to raise the likelihood that the cell will receive a kill message when it encounters a cancer cell. These processes are still under investigation but have been successful in research involving mouse populations.
