Nanoparticles could improve effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy

Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; MA, USA) have developed a novel nanoparticle that can increase the effectiveness of a type of immunotherapy cancer therapy. The team demonstrated that treating mice with existing drugs – termed checkpoint inhibitors – with their nanoparticles was more effective at treating cancer than when just the drug was used alone. These results could allow for cancer immunotherapy to benefit a greater percentage of patients as they are currently only effective for a small portion. The human immune system is capable of recognizing and destroying abnormal cells such as cancer cells. However, many tumors...