University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center scientists have discovered a novel subset of cancer-fighting immune cells that reside outside of their normal neighborhood—known as the tertiary lymphoid structure—where they become dysfunctional when in close contact with tumors.
Patients with localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer who received radiation plus the immune checkpoint inhibitors durvalumab (Imfinzi) and tremelimumab (Imjudo) had durable responses that allowed for bladder preservation, according to results from the IMMUNOPRESERVE clinical study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the AACR.
