Maintaining strong immune prevents cancer, says Prof Raghu Kalluri

 Delivering the lecture titled 'Cancer Without Disease: Combining the Concept of Healthy Living and Aging with Strategies to Prevent Malignant Disease of Cancer' at UoH, Prof Kalluri emphasized the critical role of the immune system in preventing cancer progression

Hyderabad: Maintaining strong immune function is central to cancer prevention as immunity constantly monitors and suppresses abnormal cellular behaviour, said Prof. Raghu Kalluri, Chairman Department of Cancer Biology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, US.

Delivering the lecture titled ‘Cancer Without Disease: Combining the Concept of Healthy Living and Aging with Strategies to Prevent Malignant Disease of Cancer’ at UoH, Prof Kalluri emphasized the critical role of the immune system in preventing cancer progression.

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He explained that the long 15–20-year window provides sufficient time for immune surveillance and repair mechanisms to eliminate or control damaged cells before they become malignant. Addressing why most individuals do not develop cancer despite accumulating mutations, Prof Kalluri explained that cancer is fundamentally a genetic disease, but one that the body is often able to contain.

Prof Kalluri highlighted that the p53 gene, often described as the “guardian of the genome,” is the most frequently mutated gene in cancer. He noted that it typically takes 15–20 years for an uninjured or apparently normal cell to transform into cancer, often without any early clinical symptoms. He cited examples such as breast and thyroid cancers, explaining how lesions can remain silent and undetected for years.