"Virus-simulated drugs" help the immune system target cunning cancer cells.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have found that a drug that activates the body's natural defenses like a virus may make certain invisible melanoma cells visible to the immune system, allowing them to better attack cancer cells through immunotherapy.
the findings, published recently in the journal Science Translational Medicine, open up the possibility of using virus-mimicking drugs to overcome interferon signaling defects against immunotherapy resistance and help provide more personalized treatments for cancer patients who are difficult to treat.
most immunotherapy relies on T-cells' ability to recognize and kill tumor cells," said Dr. Anusha Kalbasi, an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
but in some patients, tumors escape the immune system through genetic mutations involved in interferon signaling."
the interferon signal in the tumor helps slow tumor division and may lead to the release of more immunocytokines.
coordination of interferon signaling can help the immune system better identify and kill tumor cells," said Anusha Kalbasi, a professor at the U.S. Department of Health.
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