Why older people respond poorly to cancer treatment
Researchers may have found a group of immune cells that increase in number with age but are too worn out to fight diseases. The accumulation of dysfunctional virtual memory T cells, in addition to the loss of true naïve T cells, may explain why older people have reduced immune responses to cancer and vaccines, why cancer immunotherapy is less successful in the elderly, and may help to tailor cancer immunotherapy treatments specifically for older patients.
Original source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180619122958.htm
