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Immunotherapy is an effective form of therapy for different types of cancer. However, for pancreatic cancer, its effect is limited and differs between men and women. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now found a possible explanation for this sex difference. The study, which is published in Cancer Research, reveals the presence of an immune cell in women with pancreatic cancer that obstructs the body’s immune response. The results can pave the way for a more sex-specific treatment.

Immunotherapy has been shown to greatly improve survival rates for certain types of cancer. However, in some cases, it can lead to an over-activation of the immune system, which can be dangerous. In a recent review by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, potential therapies have been identified, which might make it possible to continue with immunotherapy even when facing severe side effects.

CAR T-cell therapy, a certain kind of cancer treatment in which the immune system’s T cells are programmed to attack tumour cells, is effective in mice with ovarian cancer, according to a study published in The Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. The researchers, who work at Karolinska Institutet, hope that the discovery will pave the way for a clinical trial to see how effective the treatment is for women with the disease.

Nano-sized membrane bubbles known as extracellular vesicles activate the immune system in mice and seem to render their tumours sensitive to a type of immunotherapy drug called a checkpoint inhibitor. This is according to a new study published in Cancer Immunology Research by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet publish new findings in the journal Cancer Discovery showing how pharmacological activation of the protein p53 boosts the immune response against tumours. The results can be of significance to the development of new combination therapies that will give more cancer patients access to immunotherapy.

An international consortium that includes researchers at Karolinska Institutet has developed a ‘double antibody’ that targets two different sites of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, thereby preventing the virus from mutating to resist the therapy. A study published in the scientific journal Nature shows that the antibody potently neutralises SARS-CoV-2 and its variants and protects against COVID-19 in mice.

The blood is the main source of studies on the immune system, despite the fact that most diseases are combated by immune cells in the body’s tissues. A new study from Karolinska Institutet and the University of Pennsylvania has identified which immune cells patrol the human body’s tissues and circulate back into the blood. The study, which is published in Cell, shows that not all T cells do this – some are found mostly in the blood where they constitute a unique part of our immune system.

Immunotherapy for cancer has made great advances and many patients can now receive effective treatments that were not available ten years ago. However, there are certain types of cancer that do not respond to existing immunotherapy. A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reports on a new kind of immunotherapy that gives hope of more treatment options for cancer in the future.

A new type of immunotherapy for the skin cancer malignant melanoma shows promising results. Three severely ill patients are now long-term survivors. The study, published in OncoImmunology, is the result of a collaboration between researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital.

Three coronavirus projects coordinated by researchers at Karolinska Institutet have moved onto the grant negotiation phase in a bid for 9 million euros (95 million kronor) in EU funding. The projects aim to find a vaccine, immunotherapies and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and are being coordinated by KI’s Matti Sällberg, Qiang Pan Hammarström and Benjamin Murrell.

Karolinska Institutet is granted funding from Vinnova to start a new centre of excellence. The centre will focus on developing next-generation immunotherapy based on NK-cells for the treatment of cancer.

Individuals with an inherited form of skin cancer often have a poor prognosis. The type of immunotherapy that was awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is, however, particularly effective in this patient group, research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. The study is published in the Journal of Medical Genetics.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have explored NK cell-based immunotherapy on patients with treatment-resistant leukaemia. The study, which is published in the scientific journal Clinical Cancer Research, shows that the new therapy is effective against several types of leukaemia.