Obesity-cancer connection discovery suggests strategies for improving immunotherapy

Immune system cells called macrophages play an unexpected role in the complicated connection between obesity and cancer, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center-led research team has discovered.

Obesity increases the frequency of macrophages in tumors and induces their expression of the immune checkpoint protein PD-1 - a target of cancer immunotherapies. The findings, published June 12 in the journal Nature, provide a mechanistic explanation for how obesity can contribute to both increased cancer risk and enhanced responses to immunotherapy.

from Breaking World Pharma News https://ift.tt/kW460gF