Immunotherapies have revolutionized cancer treatment. These include therapies that prevent cancer cells from inhibiting the immune response by blocking “immune checkpoints,” which allows the immune cells to successfully attack the cancer cells. Researchers at the University of Basel now report a new approach in mice to engage anti-tumor immune responses more efficiently. The researchers targeted sugar molecules used by cancer cells to produce an increase in an anti-tumor immune response.
Their findings, “Targeting cancer glycosylation repolarizes tumor-associated macrophages allowing effective immune checkpoint blockade,” were published in Science Translational Medicine.
