Patient's skin may help fight cancer

Scientists from Oxford University have opened up the possibility of one day using cancer patients' own skin to fight their tumours.

Researchers transformed skin cells into immune cells - which could be used to trigger a hunt for cancer - in a laboratory setting which means any form of therapy for patients remains a long way off but they still believe that one day it will be possible. The study has been published in the journal Gene Therapy and focused on dendritic cells, which organise part of the immune response.

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