Immunotherapy

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.

The results of a clinical trial find introducing gluten into a baby's diet from the age of four months may reduce their risk of developing celiac disease. The researchers stress larger trials are necessary before any broad dietary recommendations are suggested.

HIV is an insidious virus, hibernating inside cells ready to re-emerge if treatment is stopped. Now a team of researchers has found a way to shrink that viral reservoir by adapting a cancer immunotherapy technique to supercharge immune cells in mice.

New research is describing how certain species of gut bacteria can enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. The animal study offers insights into a metabolite-immune pathway that could lead to microbial therapies incorporated into immunotherapy treatments.