Science
Indiana Cancer Breakthrough: New Therapy Shrinks Tumors in Study
Notre Dame, IN – A promising development in cancer research could lead to more effective&…
By Cameron Hayes · 2026-11-09T18:40:11.287Z
Notre Dame, IN – A promising development in cancer research could lead to more effective immunotherapy treatments with fewer harmful side effects after scientists at the University of Notre Dame and Stanford University developed a method that targets immune suppressing cells inside tumors.
According to research published in Nature Chemical Biology and highlighted by the University of Notre Dame, scientists developed a treatment approach called Tumor Immune Cell Targeting Chimeras, or TICTACs, designed to improve the immune system's ability to attack cancer.
The research, published in July 2026, showed encouraging results in laboratory experiments and mouse models involving B cell lymphoma.
How the New Cancer Treatment Works
Traditional cancer immunotherapy helps the body's immune system recognize and attack cancer cells.
However, certain immune cells within tumors, known as tumor associated macrophages, can interfere with treatment by suppressing immune responses.
Researchers developed TICTACs to target a protein called CD206, which is commonly found on these cells.
The approach selectively removes immune suppressing checkpoint proteins, potentially allowing cancer treatments to work more effectively while limiting damage to healthy tissue.
Tumor Reduction Observed in Testing
In laboratory studies involving Raji lymphoma cells, researchers reported significantly reduced tumor burden and metastasis when TICTACs were combined with rituximab, an existing cancer treatment.
Additional experiments using mice with B cell lymphoma demonstrated improved treatment effectiveness compared with rituximab alone.
Researchers also reported no observable adverse effects in the experiments described.
What This Means for Cancer Patients
Although the findings are encouraging, the treatment remains experimental and has not been established as safe or effective in humans.
Additional research and clinical testing would be necessary before the approach could become available to patients.
The study was led by Notre Dame researcher Mariko Morimoto, with contributions from Stanford scientists.
The work received partial funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers believe the technology could eventually support more targeted cancer treatments while reducing the immune related complications associated with some existing therapies.
The findings represent an early but potentially important step toward more precise cancer immunotherapy.