Breakthrough in cancer treatment: Donor immune cells show promise
MIT and Harvard researchers have engineered special immune cells—called CAR-NK cells—that can slip past the body's defenses and wipe out tumors in mice.
Reported today, October 29, 2025, this could mean faster, safer cancer treatments without waiting for custom cell prep for each patient.
How the team got these donor cells to work
By turning off certain proteins (HLA class I) in donor CAR-NK cells, the team helped these cells avoid being attacked by the host's immune system.
The result? The modified cells lasted over three weeks and nearly cleared lymphoma in mice.
All the genetic tweaks fit into a single DNA package, making production simpler—and bonus: these new cells lower the risk of dangerous side effects like cytokine release syndrome.
What this means for future treatments
If it works in people, this "off-the-shelf" approach might let doctors treat more patients quickly and with fewer side effects than current therapies like CAR-T.
Clinical trials are coming up to see if these supercharged NK cells can help fight blood cancers—and maybe even solid tumors—in humans.