Tumors use numerous mechanisms to escape detection and killing by the immune system. Results from OCRF-funded research, reported May 4, 2014 in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine, show that ovarian cancer cells (and others) establish a protective barrier that prevents anti-tumor immune responses by using tumor-associated blood vessels to kill immune cells.  Understanding how this process works is important since ovarian cancer outcomes are directly connected to the infiltration of disease-fighting immune cells (T cells). This finding provides a new understanding how tumors resist infiltration, and provides new therapeutic strategies to overcome this barrier.

Former OCRF Ann Schreiber Mentored Investigator Awardee Dr. Gregory Motz was first author on the paper; OCRF grantee and former Scientific Advisory Committee member Dr. George Coukos was senior author of the paper.

“This work could not have been completed without the support of OCRF and its donors,” said Dr. Motz.  “We are grateful for all of OCRF’s hard work and efforts.”

>> Click here to read the abstract of the paper

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