New research has shown that the function of a type of cell that helps modulate immune responses is impaired inside tumors in mice. Researchers also identified several factors that may contribute to an accumulation of these cells, called T regulatory cells (Tregs), within and around the tumor, which may be how they respond to their loss of functionality. The study, by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes for Health, appeared online in The Journal of Immunology.

This article was published in Drug Discovery & Development magazine: Vol. 11, No. 5, May, 2008, pp. 18.