National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) shared a post on LinkedIn:
“How Blood Sugar Helps Tumors Hide From the Immune System
A new study in Science Advances, supported in part by NFCR, shows that cancer cells build a thick, sugar-based “shield” (the glycocalyx) that hides them from immune detection — and high blood sugar makes it worse.
Led by Dr. Kevin Tharp (Sanford Burnham Prebys) with NFCR-supported scientist Dr. Valerie M. Weaver (UCSF), the team found that hyperglycemia thickens this shield via a stress protein called HSF1. Block HSF1, and the disguise falls away — letting the immune system find and destroy the cancer cells again.
With diabetes and metabolic syndrome on the rise, this points to a real drug-discovery target for boosting immunotherapy response.