A team of Australian scientists think that they have the answer to the question believe that they have discovered how cancer cells hoodwink the body's immune system into thinking they are harmless.
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Prof Mark Smyth, of the QIMR Berghofer Research Institute in Queensland, said that this could lead to new treatments for aggressive advanced cancer and other diseases, News.com.au reported.
The team has discovered a protein known as CD96 that is found on disease-fighting white blood cells.
Prof Smyth said that their study shows how cancer hijacks the system of immune recognition and activation, which allows the cancer to spread through the body.
He discovered cancer cells express a molecule, recognised by CD96, which blocks the killer cells from reacting.
QIMR Berghofer director Professor Frank Gannon said that patients will benefit hugely from the insights in this study and it is a direct route from the laboratory to the clinic.
