Final answer:
The tumor immunoediting process involves the immune system detecting and eliminating tumor cells in the elimination phase, maintaining control in the equilibrium phase, and potentially losing track of mutated cancer cells in the escape phase. This highlights the immune system's role in cancer surveillance and the challenges it faces due to the evolving nature of tumors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of tumor immunoediting describes the immune system's role in recognizing and eliminating tumor cells, which is an important aspect of immune surveillance. Initially, the immune system detects tumor-specific antigens and attempts to eliminate the cancer cells during the elimination phase. If some cancer cells survive, the system enters the equilibrium phase, where remaining cancer cells are kept in check.
However, due to rapid mutation and division, cancer cells may stop presenting specific antigens the immune system can target, leading to the escape phase where these cells bypass immune detection and further propagate the disease.
The function of the immune system in identifying and removing tumor cells involves the activation of cytotoxic T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. These cells can recognize and destroy cells expressing abnormal antigens. However, as cancer evolves, it can develop mechanisms to suppress the immune response, making it challenging for the immune system to distinguish and target these cells effectively without initiating an autoimmune response.
Research in this field aims to engineer T-lymphocytes with chimeric antigen receptors (CARS) that can specifically target tumor antigens, offering promise for future cancer treatments.