Lacoustic
Lacoustic
This year alone, more than 600,000 people in the United States are expected to die of cancer, with a under two million to be diagnosed [1]. There is no denying that cancer is a global affliction and from this need has come research and development into ways to fight cancer. One of those methods is immunotherapy, where all efforts are directed towards boosting the person's immune system rather than directly fighting the disease.
Immunotherapy trials have been found to induce protective and therapeutic anti-tumor immunity in experimental animals [2]. The ability to isolate the cells as efficiently as possible is a crucial element. Therefore, the handling of single cells has prominent applications not only for single-cell analysis and cell line development, but also immunotherapy and diagnostic methods for cancer research.
[1] American Cancer Society. "Cancer Facts and Figures 2017." Cancer Facts and Figures 2017(2017): n. pag. Cancer.org. American Cancer Society, 2017. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
[2] Dendritic Cells (DC): The Key to Cancer Immunotherapy [Internet]. [Updated 2014]. Activartis Biotech GmbH; [cited; 2017 Feb 4]. Available from: http://www.activartis.com/en/cancer-immunotherapy/cancer-immunotherapy/dendritic-cells-dc-the-key-to-cancer-immunotherapy.html