As cancer cells progress, they accumulate hundreds and even thousands of genetic and epigenetic changes, resulting in protein expression profiles that are radically different from that of healthy cells.
As cancer cells progress, they accumulate hundreds and even thousands of genetic and epigenetic changes, resulting in protein expression profiles that are radically different from that of healthy cells. But despite their heavily mutated proteome, cancer cells can evade recognition and attack by the immune system.
Immunotherapies, particularly checkpoint inhibitors that reinvigorate exhausted T cells, have revolutionized the treatment of certain forms of cancer. These breakthrough therapies have resulted in unprecedented response rates for some patients. Unfortunately, most cancers fail to respond to immunotherapies and new strategies are therefore needed to realize their full potential.
A team of cancer biologists including members of the laboratories of David H. Koch Professor of Biology Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, and fellow Koch Institute member Forest White, the Ned C. and Janet Bemis Rice Professor and member of the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, took a complementary approach to boosting the immune system.
Read more at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
