Moffitt Researchers Identify a Mechanism Controlling Tumor Cell Recognition by Immune Cells

Source: Moffitt, November 2019

TAMPA, Fla. – Immunotherapy has become a standard treatment approach for several types of cancer, including melanoma. However, tumors can escape immune cell detection even with the use of immunotherapies. In a new study published in Cancer Immunology Research, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers, in collaboration with the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, describe a cellular mechanism that controls tumor cell recognition by immune cells.

Agents that activate the immune system in advanced melanoma have significantly improved outcomes, and many patients have long-term responses following immunotherapy treatment. However, according to James Mulé, Ph.D., associate center director of Translational Science at Moffitt, “There remains a subset of melanoma patients treated with immune-based therapies who do not achieve clinical benefit. Understanding the mechanisms underlying both successful and failed immune responses may help improve immunotherapeutic approaches.”

Moffitt researchers believe that one reason why patients may not respond well to immunotherapies is because their immune system does not recognize tumor cells properly. They hypothesized that the STING protein signaling pathway may be a contributing factor to immune cell recognition.