DNA that ends up where it doesn’t belong in cancer cells can unleash an immune response that makes tumors more susceptible to immunotherapy, the results of two UT Southwestern studies indicate. The findings, published online today in Cancer Cell, suggest that delivering radiation — which triggers DNA release from cells — before immunotherapy could be an effective way to fight cancers that are challenging to treat.
Nearly a decade ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy that removes defenses that allow cancer cells to masquerade as healthy cells, prompting the immune system to attack them.
