Seaweed sugar could improve efficacy of immunotherapy in melanoma
Source: Healio, March 2023
Although immunotherapies have been a game-changer in cancer treatment, they do not work for all patients.
Some studies have explored tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as a means to improve responses. TILs are immune cells that identify and attack cancer cells, but they are often either in short supply or are unable to mount a strong enough response to achieve long tumor suppression.
To address these limitations, cancer biologist Eric Lau, PhD, and colleagues at Moffitt Cancer Center have discovered a natural means of increasing the quantity and antitumor activity of TILs. In a paper published in Nature Cancer, Lau and his team characterized how L-fucose, a nontoxic plant sugar found in red and brown seaweed, can increase the number and strength of TILs and improve upon the effectiveness of immunotherapy.