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º£½ÇÉçÇø — TAMPA, Fla. (Nov. 26, 2024) — A new study has uncovered an unexpected way cancer cells can escape the immune system, making it harder for treatments to work. The study, , explains how a type of cancer cell death can actually make tumors grow faster by turning off the immune system’s ability to fight the cancer.

Researchers at focused on a form of cell death called necroptosis. Previously thought to help the immune system fight cancer, researchers found that when cancer cells die in this way, they can release a molecule called interleukin-1α. This molecule helps create an environment in the tumor that weakens the immune response, preventing T cells from attacking the cancer.

“We thought necroptosis would help the immune system fight cancer, but instead, it seems to make things worse by helping tumors grow,” said , associate member in the at Moffitt and lead author of the study. “Our study shows that interleukin-1α is key to this process, and by blocking it, we might be able to help the immune system do its job.”

The study also found that interleukin-1α is released by cancer cells responding to chemotherapy, which could explain why some treatments don’t work as well as expected. But there’s good news: By blocking interleukin-1α, researchers were able to improve the immune response and make cancer treatments like chemotherapy and immunotherapy more effective in animal models.

“By blocking the actions of interleukin-1α, we could make current cancer treatments more successful,” said Ruffell. “Additionally, targeting interleukin-1α can reduce the toxicity associated with chemotherapy, meaning this approach could help patients respond to and better tolerate therapy.”

Researchers also discovered that lower levels of interleukin-1α are linked to better outcomes, especially in patients treated with chemotherapy. This suggests that interleukin-1α could be used as a marker to predict how well cancer treatments might work for different patients.

This study was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (P2ZHP3_171892, P400PM_183881) National Institutes of Health (R01CA230610, P30-CA076292) and the Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old STAR Award.

About Moffitt Cancer Center is dedicated to one lifesaving mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. The Tampa-based facility is one of only 57 , a distinction that recognizes Moffitt’s scientific excellence, multidisciplinary research, and robust training and education. Moffitt’s expert nursing staff is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with Magnet^® status, its highest distinction. For more information, call 1-888-MOFFITT (1-888-663-3488), visit , and follow the momentum on , , and . 

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