British journal of cancer | 2021
A novel target for combination immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer: IL-1β mediates immunosuppression in the tumour microenvironment.
Abstract
Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has demonstrated efficacy in multiple cancers, offering the potential of long-term disease control not achievable with cytotoxic or targeted therapies. However, the field has not yet achieved the crucial next steps\xa0- the expansion of the response rate and achievement of clinical efficacy in so-called cold tumours . Mechanistic studies of tumour-type specific immunosuppressive pathways can reveal underlying biological hurdles to immunotherapy and offer new therapeutic insights. Our finding that tumour-derived IL-1β mediates immunosuppression in pancreatic cancer has precipitated a new clinical trial.