Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is the concept of using the immune system to treat disease, for example, developing a vaccine against cancer. Immunotherapy may also refer to the therapy of diseases caused by the immune system, allergies for example.

What is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is a treatment that is designed to harness the ability of the body’s immune system to combat infection or disease.

Immunotherapy: Past, Present and Future

Immunotherapy and Helminthic Therapy

Activation Immunotherapies

Adoptive T Cell Therapy Applications

Neoantigens' Role in Immunotherapy

Adoptive T Cell Therapy Methodology

Suppression Immunotherapies

Immunotherapy: The Future of Lung Cancer Treatment?

Latest Immunotherapy News and Research

Ultrasound-responsive nanocatchers enable precise in-situ tumor antigen capture

Professor Zhaohui Tang and Associate Professor Zhilin Liu from the team of Professor Xuesi Chen at the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed ultrasound-responsive in-situ antigen nanocatchers (S-nanocatchers), achieving precise spatiotemporal capture of tumor antigens and controllable acquisition of in-situ vaccines.

9 Jan 2026

Durvalumab extends survival in small cell lung cancer but raises cost concerns

A new study suggests that the immune checkpoint inhibitor, durvalumab, may offer new treatment options for patients living with small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

9 Jan 2026

Single-cell analysis illuminates myeloma immune landscape

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in partnership with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and in collaboration with leading institutions across the country, have helped generate the largest single-cell immune cell atlas of the bone marrow in patients with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that, while treatable, remains incurable.

9 Jan 2026

Targeting IDO1 for cancer: Novel degraders show promise in preclinical studies

Cancer cells employ a variety of strategies to evade the immune system, and modern immunotherapies aim precisely at these escape mechanisms.

9 Jan 2026

Clonal hematopoiesis linked to increased heart disease risk in cancer patients receiving treatment

About 1 in 5 patients with cancer who undergo genetic testing are incidentally found to have mutations in their blood called clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP).

8 Jan 2026

UVA researcher wins $700,000 for promising ovarian cancer research

Promising ovarian cancer research by Melanie Rutkowski, PhD, at the University of Virginia Comprehensive Cancer Center has won $700,000 in support from the Victoria's Secret Global Fund for Women's Cancers in partnership with Pelotonia and AACR, the American Association for Cancer Research.

8 Jan 2026

Recent advances in CAR-NK cell therapy could revolutionze cancer treatment

Cell-based immunotherapies have transformed cancer treatment, yet their widespread use remains constrained by safety risks, manufacturing complexity, and limited effectiveness against solid tumors.

8 Jan 2026

Researchers develop enhanced antibodies to unleash the immune system against cancer

Researchers at the University of Southampton have developed a promising new way to bolster the body's immune system response to cancer.

8 Jan 2026

Cornell-developed nanoparticles improve cancer immunotherapy effectiveness

A class of ultrasmall fluorescent core-shell silica nanoparticles developed at Cornell is showing an unexpected ability to rally the immune system against melanoma and dramatically improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy, according to a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Engineering researchers.

7 Jan 2026

Newly discovered molecules accelerate the removal of immune-modulating enzyme

Cells have a remarkable housekeeping system: proteins that are no longer needed, defective, or potentially harmful are labeled with a molecular "tag" and dismantled in the cellular recycling machinery.

7 Jan 2026

New breakthrough could modernize treatment for glioblastoma

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine and the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy have made a breakthrough that could modernize treatment for glioblastoma, a fast-growing and deadly form of brain cancer.

6 Jan 2026

UH pharmacology professor wins $900,000 grant to develop a dual-function nanodrug for cancer

Accelerating advancements in cancer prevention and cures, Wei Gao, assistant professor of pharmacology at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, has received a $900,000 grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to develop stronger and more targeted anti-tumor therapy for pancreatic and lung cancer.

6 Jan 2026

Vitamin A derivative suppresses immune response and cancer vaccine efficacy

Scientists at the Princeton University Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have identified novel mechanisms by which a metabolic derivative of vitamin A-all-trans retinoic acid-compromises both the body's normal anti-cancer immune response and, in a different context, the efficacy of a promising type of cancer vaccine.

5 Jan 2026

Elevated bacteria levels in tumors weaken immune response, studies show

Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered that bacteria inside cancerous tumors may be key to understanding why immunotherapy works for some patients but not others.

2 Jan 2026

New therapeutic approach converts immune cells inside tumors into anticancer cell therapies

Within tumors in the human body, there are immune cells (macrophages) capable of fighting cancer, but they have been unable to perform their roles properly due to suppression by the tumor.

2 Jan 2026

Study uncovers how aggressive breast cancer cells escape immune defenses

With a new study in the journal Science Bulletin, researchers at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University have discovered a new way that aggressive breast cancer cells escape the immune defenses.

1 Jan 2026

Reduced peanut OIT dose offers safer, accessible treatment for children

Children with peanut allergies may not need large doses of peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) to build protection to peanut, finds a new study led by The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Montreal Children's Hospital. Researchers found that a small dose can help children with their peanut allergy and reduce the risk of severe reactions from accidental exposures, with less side effects than the current standard treatment.

30 Dec 2025

Artificial intelligence improves risk stratification in oropharyngeal cancer

A team led by investigators at Mass General Brigham and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has developed and validated an artificial intelligence (AI)–based noninvasive tool that can predict the likelihood that a patient's oropharyngeal cancer-a type of head and neck cancer that develops in the throat-will spread, thereby signaling which patients should receive aggressive treatment.

23 Dec 2025

CT-based quantification of tumor fibrosis guides chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer

On October 3, 2025, a multicenter team from Shenzhen University, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Wuxi People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, among others jointly reported a novel noninvasive method for quantifying tumor fibrosis based on preoperative enhanced CT.

23 Dec 2025

Polysaccharide functionalized carbon dot nanovaccine boosts antitumor T cell responses

Recent advancements in cancer vaccine development have demonstrated their potential for precise tumor targeting through antigen-specific immune activation.

23 Dec 2025