Checkpoint blockade immunotherapies (ICB) work best against cancers where most cells express similar sets of targetable antigens. Most tumors instead comprise a variety of cell types and resist these therapies.
A KI team led by Stefani Spranger connected tumor antigen architectures to immune responses. Their findings, published in Journal for the ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, enabled the team to build an RNA-based vaccine that combined with ICB for effective tumor control in mouse models of lung cancer.