Bone metastases in cancer patients resist immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies by hijacking key immune cells and converting them into agents of immune suppression, according to a new study by researchers from the Ludwig Collaborative Laboratory at Weill Cornell Medicine and Nanjing University. The study, published in Cancer Cell , identifies immature neutrophils that are reprogrammed by the DKK1 protein as central players in creating an immunosuppressive state in the tumor microenvironment that helps promote metastatic tumor growth.

“This study uncovers a key reason why immunotherapy often fails in patients with bone metastases,” said study co-leader Taha Merghoub, PhD, deputy director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. “That failure is cau

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