t Lymphocytes

This book is about the escape strategies used by cancer cells to avoid the immune response of the host. The main characters of this story are the “Antigen Presenting Molecules” and the “T Lymphocytes”. The former are known as the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC): the H-2 and the HLA molecules. The latter are a subgroup of white cells travelling all over our body which are capable to distinguish between “self and non self”.

During the past decade, there have been numerous direct and indirect scientific contributions to both the etiology and therapy of aplastic anemia and related bone marrow failure syndromes. Clinical observations, such as autologous bone marrow recovery after conditioning with immunosup­ pressive agents for bone marrow transplantation; failure to achieve en­ graftment in some identical twins without prior immunosuppressive ther­ apy; and hematologic response to immunosuppressive agents, have led to the concept of immune-mediated etiology of acquired aplastic anemia.

During the past decade, there have been numerous direct and indirect scientific contributions to both the etiology and therapy of aplastic anemia and related bone marrow failure syndromes. Clinical observations, such as autologous bone marrow recovery after conditioning with immunosup­ pressive agents for bone marrow transplantation; failure to achieve en­ graftment in some identical twins without prior immunosuppressive ther­ apy; and hematologic response to immunosuppressive agents, have led to the concept of immune-mediated etiology of acquired aplastic anemia.