A recent study found cancer-fighting T-cells may switch sides and help cancer tumors once they become exhausted.
The study, published in Nature Immunology on Dec. 21, used mice to study how and why T-cells may suppress immune response when fighting tumors. Researchers found the low oxygen environment created by the tumor and T-cell exhaustion can lead T-cells to suppress the immune system and limit immunotherapeutic efficacy.
"These data suggest T-cells are an important regulatory population in cancer and strategies to limit their generation, reprogram their immunosuppressive state or remove them from the TME might potentiate immunotherapy," researchers wrote in the study.