Following on the success of CAR T cells used to treat cancers of the blood, researchers have launched a Phase 1 clinical trial of genetically modified macrophages to target solid tumors.

The results from two Phase 1 trials bolster the case that the gut microbiome plays a role in response to the drugs.

When tumor cells are infected with an oncolytic virus carrying a modified CD19 gene, they become targets for CAR T cells engineered to recognize this molecular marker.

Meet some of the people featured in the July/August 2020 issue of The Scientist.

Better understanding the CD8+ T cells already present in tumors could be key to making immunotherapies work for more patients.

There’s a new cell-based cancer immunotherapy on the block.

Injecting the seasonal flu vaccine directly into clumps of malignant cells recruits immune cells to confront the cancer.

This previously unknown mechanism for spotting foreign genetic material in the cytoplasm launches antiviral defenses even when the well-known immune mediator STING is absent.

The Oxford researcher’s work on lipid and peptide antigens revealed key mechanisms in inflammation, immunotherapy, and vaccination, which are being pursued in clinical trial treatments.

Research in mice and humans is beginning to establish a link between the composition of microbes in the gut and immune responses to tumor cells, but the mechanisms are not yet clear.

One person with multiple myeloma and one with sarcoma are the first so far to receive the genetically engineered T cells in the study.

At least a handful of patients have developed active TB after receiving cancer treatment designed to boost the immune system’s antitumor response.

The technology has wowed the field by all but obliterating some patients’ blood cancers, but solid malignancies present new challenges.

Tumor accessibility, heterogeneity, and microenvironment vary between the two classes of malignancies.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are generally most effective against tumors with more genetic mutations, according to a new study, although the relationship isn’t true for all cancers.