Rigidifying cancer cells for better immunotherapy

T cell ( green ) destroys a rigidified cancer cell ( purple ). Kewen Lei and Li Tang / 2021 EPFL and MyScimage - Scientists have found that stiffening the membranes of cancer cells can lead to improved immunotherapy outcomes. Preclinical tests show that it can increase long-term survival rates to nearly 50%. Immunotherapy is a promising form of cancer treatment that boosts patients' own T cells so that they can proliferate and destroy cancer cells. However, only about 20% of cancer patients are responsive to immunotherapy. Researchers have been working hard to increase this percentage by developing methods that can be combined with current immunotherapy to make the treatment effective in more cancer patients. "Our goal is always the same - to increase the percentage of patients who respond to immunotherapy," says Prof. Li Tang, head of the Laboratory of Biomaterials for Immunoengineering, within EPFL's School of Engineering.