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The downside of checkpoint blockade: a loss of stem-like T cells

T cells that maintain a stem-like state play a role in replenishing immune responses long-term, but how these cells are shaped and maintained in the context of antitumor immunity is not fully understood. To investigate this question, Hor et al....

pTα enhances mRNA translation and potentiates CAR T cells for solid tumor eradication

To improve CAR T cell proliferation and persistence for solid tumors, Shi et al. inserted the pre-TCR alpha (pTα) invariant domain 1A, known to stimulate a proliferative burst during thymocyte αβ T ce...

A therapeutic peptide vaccine for fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma: a phase 1 trial

Based on a phase I clinical trial, Baretti and Kirk et al. reported that an off-the-shelf peptide vaccine targeting the DNAJ-PKAc fusion peptide in combination with nivolumab and ipilimumab (ipi/nivo)...

Allogeneic iPSC-derived iNKT cells in recurrent head and neck cancer: a phase 1 trial

Ten patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma were treated with allogeneic, iPSC-derived iNKT cells over 2-3 doses. One patient experienced a dose-limiting skin rash; otherwise, adverse even...

CD40 agonist improves the therapeutic efficacy of irreversible electroporation ablation for metastatic melanoma by promoting unexpected CD8+CD103+ cDC1 and TRM cell responses

Wu, Yang, and Iftikhar et al. showed that CD40 agonist Ab + CpG + anti-PD-L1 therapy improved the efficacy of irreversible electroporation ablation (IRE) in a mouse model of s.c. melanoma with lung me...

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Previous Digests

IL-9-powered CAR-T for improved solid tumor responses

December 3, 2025

Overcoming immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a major challenge in CAR T cell research to improve therapeutic efficacy towards solid tumors. To address some of the CAR-T functionality challenges, Castelli et al. engineered CAR T cells with...

MiTEs turn TAM suppression into T cell synergy

November 26, 2025

Inhibition or reprogramming of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) has great potential to improve the tumor immune environment, but has, so far, shown limited clinical efficacy. To improve macrophage-targeted therapies, von Locquenghien, Zwicky, Cie, et al. described their dual TAM- and...

SITC - 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting 2025

November 19, 2025

The ACIR team attended the SITC - 40th Anniversary Annual Meeting 2025 in National Harbor, Maryland. This week’s extensive special feature covers select talks from the conference. We have organized the content by topics below. Keynote addressJennifer A. Wargo...

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ACIR's mission is to fast-track cancer immunotherapy research by helping researchers stay on top of the new literature in this fast-moving and multifaceted field, fostering their creativity and productivity in bringing us ever closer to curing this deadly disease.

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