Tassie Devil face tumours can dodge the immune system

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-03-23 12:24

Australia; TAS

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Transmissible face tumours that threaten our iconic Tassie Devils could help us understand how cancer dodges the immune system in humans, according to Aussie researchers who looked at the gene expression of tumours in three Tasmanian Devils. The researchers found that DFT1 tumours, which commonly threaten Tassie Devils, can adapt to changing immune environments by changing their phenotypes (the way genes express themselves physically). This can not only provide insight into future vaccines against these transmissible cancers to help this iconic species, according to researchers, but can also help understand how cancers evade immune responses in humans.