1-Min Read Your body produces potential cancer cells every day; how does the immune system track them down?

Here is a fact that surprises many people: your body produces cells with abnormal mutations every single day, and they have the potential to turn into cancer. However, most of the time, they are eliminated by your immune system without you ever knowing it.

This process is called immune surveillance. NK cells and T cells patrol the entire body daily, scanning signals on cell surfaces. Normal cells carry a standard set of signal tags; when a cell becomes cancerous, this set of tags becomes abnormal. Once the immune system recognizes these abnormalities, it initiates clearance.

When this surveillance system begins to develop loopholes, cancer finds an opportunity to step in. This is also why immune function declines after the age of 40, causing cancer risks to rise sharply.