Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Therapeutic products containing CD8+ and CD4+ T cells expressing CARs are effective at inducing remission in patients with cancer. How CD4+ CAR T cells contribute to the anti-tumor response has not been well established. A study uses syngeneic models and in vivo imaging to glean mechanistic insights into how CD4+ T cells target tumors.
Rebbeck, Huang and colleagues discuss recent insights into health inequities related to clinical next-generation sequencing for precision oncology, the contributing factors as well as recommendations for resolution looking ahead.
Antigen presentation is fundamental to anti-tumor immunity, but our understanding of the physiological and molecular inputs to the process in different contexts remains limited. Two new studies explore the contribution of cell-intrinsic proteolytic mechanisms and cell-extrinsic hot and cold tumor microenvironments in shaping the antigenic landscape in lung cancer.
An antisense RNA, NQO1-AS, binds and stabilizes its sense strand, upregulating the redox enzyme NQO1 in metastatic breast cancer cells. Overexpression of NQO1 facilitates lung colonization by suppressing oxidative stress and ferroptosis, and cancer cells dependent on this pathway can be targeted by a combined therapy that induces ferroptosis while simultaneously inhibiting NQO1.
Glioblastomas have limited treatment options and dire prognoses. A study now shows that GAP43-mediated transfer of functional mitochondria from astrocytes to glioblastoma cells leads to metabolism, signaling and epigenome remodeling that favor tumor growth, thus highlighting GAP43 inhibition as a promising therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma.
As we age, organs undergo architectural and functional changes that deeply affect the fate of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs). A study now adds further complexity to this picture by revealing a role for the age-induced, fibrosis-associated factor PDGF-C in enabling ER+ DTCs to reawaken in aging lungs and thrive as overt metastasis.
The lack of tumor-specific surface antigens has limited the application of CAR T cells in solid tumors. A new AND-gated CAR T cell system repurposes proximal T cell signaling proteins to restrict activation to dual antigen encounter, mitigating on-target, off-tumor toxicity while preserving antitumor efficacy in preclinical models.
The response rates of pediatric cancers to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies are disappointingly low, particularly when compared to the remarkable impact of these drugs in many adult cancers. A new study leverages clinical trial data to identify biomarkers that might improve patient selection in future clinical trials.
Glioblastomas are aggressive primary brain tumors with an inherent resistance to T cell-centric immunotherapy. We examined the dynamic changes of immune cells that occur in the tumor microenvironment of radio-immunotherapy-treated glioblastomas and identified a subpopulation of regulatory T cells with increased immunosuppressive activity. Depletion of this cell population improved survival in a mouse model of glioblastoma.
Multiple myeloma is a rare and incurable cancer of plasma cells. To characterize this cancer, we developed an ex vivo drug screening method that combines imaging, deep learning and multiomics and applied it in an observational trial, uncovering new potential therapeutic strategies and underlying disease mechanisms.
Kimmelman and colleagues discuss the role of autophagy in tumor cells and of cell-nonautonomous autophagy in the microenvironment and host cells in supporting tumor growth and reflect on open questions in the field.
Lobular breast cancer is the second most prevalent breast cancer subtype, but clinical trials have not focused on these patients. The GELATO study reveals the feasibility of trials that are specific for this difficult to treat cancer and indicates that patients with lobular breast cancer can benefit from immunotherapy using PD-L1 blockade.
Clinical utility of T cell engagers (TCEs) in cancer immunotherapy for solid tumors is hampered by on-target off-tumor activity and dose-limiting adverse events. A study now proposes a solution to tackle these challenges through the design and preclinical characterization of extended half-life TCEs that are conditionally activated in the tumor microenvironment.
Although targeting cancer cells on the basis of tissue-specific expression of key factors is an important strategy in precision oncology, few such therapies exist. Chemical screening now identifies YC-1 as a tissue-specific anti-cancer compound that is activated in the liver by the sulfotransferase enzyme SULT1A1.
Saur and colleagues provide an overview of single-cell analyses in pancreatic cancer and discuss their implications for our understanding of heterogeneity and plasticity in the tumor and its microenvironment.
A study of the immune microenvironment of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) identifies pro-tumor and anti-tumor macrophages as key players that can potentially influence disease outcome.
Transactivation hubs and related biomolecular condensates are emerging as relevant molecular players in cancer biology. A new study now links PD-L1 upregulation on the cancer cell surface and IRF1–KAT8 transactivation hubs at PD-L1 loci. Therapeutic targeting of these hubs holds potential to unleash antitumor immunity.
Speiser and colleagues review the latest advances in understanding of the biological roles of CD4+ T cells in cancer immunology and applications for immunotherapy.
Shaw and colleagues discuss the oncogenic roles of ALK in lung cancer, targeting approaches and the mechanisms underlying acquired resistance to ALK-directed therapy.
