Researchers in Barcelona have identified a previously unknown mechanism that metastatic colorectal cancer employs to evade immune checkpoint immunotherapy. A study published today in Nature Genetics reveals how these tumors use the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) cytokine to activate a dual barrier that blocks the immune system’s response.

“Our work shows that tumors defend themselves against immunotherapies by manipulating their environment to slow the immune response on two fronts,” said Eduard Batlle, PhD, research professor at the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and head of the colorectal cancer laboratory at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) Barcelona. “Understanding this communication language between the tumor and the immune

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