# Advances in cancer immunotherapy and resistance strategies

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/cancer-immunotherapy-research-and-resistance-strategies
> Updated: 2026-08-24T08:16:58.000Z. Sources: 5. Developments: 2.

Academic research continues to advance immunotherapeutic approaches for aggressive cancers, such as HPV-driven head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Early efforts focused on using immune checkpoint inhibitors like ipilimumab and nivolumab to enhance T cell and natural killer (NK) cell functions. 

Recent developments have expanded into sophisticated engineering and timing strategies to overcome resistance in solid tumors. At Stanford Medicine, researchers have successfully reprogrammed circulating NK cells into tissue-resident cells using specific levels of TGF-b signaling, allowing them to penetrate dense tumor microenvironments to attack melanoma and HNSCC. 

At UC San Francisco, scientists have engineered a technique using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to create dendritic cells. These cells are “dressed” with membrane bubbles from a patient’s own tumor to train T cells to identify and eradicate specific malignancies, including leukemia and ovarian cancer. 

Further research at Cornell University emphasizes the importance of therapeutic timing; by using a compound to activate macrophages after targeted drugs induce resistance, researchers were able to eliminate more residual melanoma cells in mouse models. Additionally, the development of a new microfluidic platform called ATTACH provides an unbiased method for isolating antigen-specific T cells, leveraging tumor cells to enrich rare tumor-reactive T-cell populations by up to 10-fold.

## Claims

- identified that dormant pancreatic cancer cells survive by releasing the protein EREG to activate macrophages that suppress CAR T-cells (single source)
- increased median survival in mice from five weeks to over four months by blocking EREG (single source)
- used a Purdue University compound to activate macrophages to eliminate residual melanoma cells in mice (single source)
- reprogrammed circulating natural killer cells into tissue-resident cells using specific levels of TGF-b (single source)
- demonstrated that supercharged NK cells slowed the growth of melanoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in mice (single source)

## Timeline

### 2026-08-24: Researchers develop new immunotherapy methods to target solid tumors

Scientists are advancing cancer immunotherapy through new methods to reprogram NK cells, engineer stem-cell-derived dendritic cells, and optimize the timing of treatments to overcome solid tumor resistance.

5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/cancer-researchers-develop-new-methods-to-combat-solid-tumor-immunotherapy-resistance

### 2026-08-11: Immunotherapy research targets HPV-driven and triple-negative breast cancers

Academic research investigates new immunotherapy strategies to target HPV-driven head and neck cancers and resistant triple-negative breast cancer stem cells.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/immunotherapy-research-targets-hpv-driven-and-triple-negative-breast-cancers

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Cite as: Advances in cancer immunotherapy and resistance strategies. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/cancer-immunotherapy-research-and-resistance-strategies