Scientists have shown that boosting the body’s natural immune defenses can prevent cancer recurrence and improve survival in mouse models of multiple cancers. Published in Nature Immunology, the study demonstrates how transforming “immune-cold” tumors—which typically evade immune detection—into “immune-hot” ones can make them more responsive to immune attack.
The researchers achieved this transformation by inducing the formation of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures (TLSs), specialized immune cell hubs that organize within tumors. By activating two immune-stimulating molecules, STING and the lymphotoxin-β receptor (LTβR), they triggered a potent immune response that suppressed tumor growth, improved immune cell access to tumors through new blood vessel formation, and promoted the development of functional TLSs.
Within these TLSs, tumor-specific antibodies and long-lasting memory cells were generated, providing durable protection against relapse and metastasis. The study suggests that therapeutically inducing TLSs could enhance the effectiveness of existing treatments such as chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors, offering new hope for patients with hard-to-treat immune-cold tumors. Researchers are now advancing this approach toward clinical testing in both adult and pediatric cancer patients.