Immunotherapy
Finding ways to stimulate the body's immune system to help attack cancer cells is a growing area of research at The Institute of Cancer Research.
Clinical trials led by the ICR and our hospital partner The Royal Marsden have shown that the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab can help extend the lives of some patients with advanced head and neck cancer, and prostate cancer.
The use of 'oncolytic' viruses, which can kill cancer cells both directly and by directing the immune system against them, is also an exciting area of research being explored by ICR researchers.
This page highlights recent news stories, blog posts and videos that concern immunotherapy research at the ICR.
Related pages
Latest ICR News
Small fragments, big impact: discovering the 'shearosomes' that drive cancer's spread
A collaborative study reveals an unexpected way cancer spreads through the body – by shedding tiny, previously unidentified fragments called shearosomes as tumour cells squeeze through narrow blood vessels. Shearosomes appear to actively influence their surroundings, supporting the growth of secondary tumours, offering new insights into how cancer spreads.
Turning cancer’s weakness into a weapon: 20 years of PARP inhibitors and BRCA research
Two decades ago, a pivotal exchange between two scientists sparked a scientific and medical revolution. Professor Alan Ashworth, then Director of the Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and his collaborator Professor Steve Jackson had long known that inherited genetic mutations in the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 increase the risk of cancer. But, they wondered, what if those same mutations could be turned against the cancer itself?