CAR-T cells must overcome cancer’s many defenses in order to mount an effective attack. Lulu Perez, CC BY-SAYou might think of cancer as a mass of rogue cells that grow uncontrollably. But cancer is more organized and strategic than that. Rather, cancer is a tightly controlled cellular neighborhood that can keep the body’s defenses out or weaken them once they get in.
CAR-T 细胞必须克服癌症的多种防御机制，才能发动有效的攻击。Lulu Perez, CC BY-SA 你可能会认为癌症是一团失控生长的异常细胞。但事实上，癌症比这更有组织性和策略性。相反，癌症是一个受到严密控制的“细胞社区”，能够将身体的防御阻挡在外，或在防御进入后削弱其作用。
Cancer behaves like a gated community. It has its own residents, rules and security systems. Together, these features create what scientists refer to as the tumor microenvironment, where cancer cells live and interact with the body. To devise new treatments that can break into this neighborhood, researchers are learning how cancer builds its own roadways and places improvised explosive devices to destroy any unwanted guests, including anticancer drugs.
癌症的行为就像一个门禁社区。它拥有自己的居民、规则和安保系统。这些特征共同构成了科学家所称的肿瘤微环境，即癌细胞生存并与身体相互作用的场所。为了设计出能够突破这一社区的疗法，研究人员正在学习癌症如何修建自己的道路，并设置简易爆炸装置以摧毁任何不速之客，包括抗癌药物。
The Conversation contributors · CC-BY-ND 4.0