Immunotherapy

After two decades of preclinical research the first phase of human trials are set to begin testing a unique preventative breast cancer vaccine that is designed to target a protein commonly expressed by triple-negative breast cancers.

MIT scientists have developed a new technique to jump-start the body's immune system with the help of injured cancerous cells, with the approach shown to be capable of completely eliminating tumors in mouse models of the disease.

A small but robust study from researchers at Australia’s Edith Cowan University has discovered one way exercise can suppress cancer growth. The study found exercise induces muscles to release a type of protein that can slow the growth of tumor cells.

Researchers have rediscovered a century-old cancer treatment, injecting dead bacteria into tumors to help the immune system target and kill the cancerous cells. Early human trials indicate the treatment is safe and potentially effective.

A new study has shown how tumors that have gone "cold" due to a lack of key immune cells can be heated up through a carefully managed dose of radiation, drawing in fresh immune cells that can take up the fight from within.

Oxford scientists have demonstrated a cancer vaccine and immunotherapy combo in mice. The vaccine boosted levels of tumor-hunting immune cells, while the immunotherapy made them more effective killers. Human trials are due to start within months.

CAR T cell immunotherapy is a promising treatment for cancer, but it can trigger dangerous side effects. A new study precisely targets cancer by engineering CAR T cells to activate at higher temperatures, then heating tumors with ultrasound.

New preclinical work has found a combination of three experimental immunotherapy drugs could help shrink pancreatic tumors. Each of the drugs have demonstrated safety in early human trials and the hope is to begin testing the triple combo by the end 2021.

New research from the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging is demonstrating a new tool that can calculate a person’s immune system age, which could help predict frailty and disease before symptoms appear.

Australian researchers have identified the mechanism that enables some immune cells to outlast others. The findings point to a treatment method that could improve the success of cancer immunotherapy and help patients beat severe viral infections.

It’s hard to overstate the incredible influence our gut microbiome has on our health. Now, researchers have found that certain metabolites from intestinal bacteria could boost the cancer-killing effect of immunotherapy.

Researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden have made a breakthrough in the arms race that is cancer immunotherapy. The team has blocked a protein that silences an important tumor-suppressing protein, allowing the latter to get back to work.