Immunotherapy

A new review article is presenting a promising case for phenformin, an old diabetes drug related to metformin, being repurposed as an adjunct to new immunotherapy cancer treatments. A phase 1 clinical trial is underway to test the novel combination.

A new article is reporting promising results from a Phase 1 human trial testing a vaccine designed to help a patient's immune system better target brain tumors. The data suggests the vaccine is safe and stimulates a significant immune response.

Infections of Cryptococcus fungi are potentially fatal, because the immune system has a hard time fighting off the invaders. But now researchers have given it a helping hand by adapting a cancer immunotherapy technique called CAR T cell therapy.

One of the most promising emerging cancer therapies is CAR T cell immunotherapy, where a patient’s own immune cells are supercharged to fight tumors. Now researchers have found a way to refresh exhausted immune cells and get them back into battle.

New research is outlining the long-term efficacy of a novel type of cancer vaccine. The research followed eight skin cancer patients and found the experimental treatment offers durable and persistent immune responses to cancer cells up to four years later.

CAR T cell immunotherapy is a promising cancer treatment that supercharges natural tumor-hunting cells, but it can backfire with potentially deadly results. Now, scientists have engineered off switches for these immune cells.

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel condition triggered by an overactive immune system. Now researchers have developed a new kind of immunotherapy for Crohn’s that delivers a “triple punch” by tweaking the responses of different immune cells.

A form of cancer immunotherapy has been adapted into a new potential treatment for type 1 diabetes. In mouse studies, scientists tweaked immune cells to fight off rogue T cells that damage insulin-producing cells, preventing diabetes from developing.

A new Harvard study highlights missing pieces of the puzzle in the relationship between cancer and obesity. The team finds that cancer cells can use the higher fat availability to starve immune cells of fuel and prevent them from targeting tumors.

EPFL scientists have demonstrated a new method to make immunotherapy more effective and directed against cancer. The team designed microparticles containing drugs that are only released when T cells physically squeeze them, on contact with cancer.

A novel cancer vaccine is moving to Phase 1 human trials in the US after results from animal studies showed encouraging efficacy and a robust safety profile. A new study describes the vaccine as producing complete responses in 90 percent of animals.

Cancer spreads easily, and a common location for secondary tumors to appear is the lungs. Now, scientists at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have developed a way to treat metastatic tumors in the lungs, by attaching immune-baiting drugs to red blood cells.