Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School have identified why the immune system has difficulty recognizing and attacking pancreatic cancer, paving the way for new approaches to improve immunotherapy. The survey results are Science Immunology.
The study found that some cancer cells learn to hide from the immune system by shutting down processes that normally allow immune cells to detect them. Once hidden, these cancer cells are more likely to spread to other parts of the body.
Researchers also discovered that certain immune cells known as regulatory T cells prevent other beneficial T cells from eliminating these hidden cancer cells.
By combining two treatment strategies: one that restores the visibility of cancer cells to the immune system and another that activates CD4 helper T cells, researchers were able to improve the immune response and reduce the cancer’s ability to metastasize in preclinical models.
Following the data, this study has changed the way we think about the requirements for effective immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer. ”
Ingan Stromness, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, principal investigator and corresponding author of this study
The findings suggest that CD4 helper T cells play a much larger role in the fight against pancreatic cancer than previously understood and could be an important strategy to enhance future immunotherapies.
The next step is to understand exactly how CD4 T cells modulate immune responses and how they can be harnessed to make immunotherapy more effective. The research team’s ultimate goal is to translate these discoveries into new treatments to provide better options and better outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients.
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute), the Department of Defense, the American Cancer Society, and the AACR-Pancreas Action Network.
sauce:
University of Minnesota School of Medicine
Reference magazines:
Schmiegen, Z.C.; Others. (2026). T reg cells facilitate immunotherapy-induced immune evasion by suppressing CD4 T cell control in MHC-I-deficient metastatic pancreatic cancer. Science Immunology. DOI: 10.1126/scimmunol.adz4302. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.adz4302
