Cutting-Edge Anti-Cancer Breakthrough: One-Time Injection Eliminates Tumors in Mice!
A single administration of a specific medication might potentially eradicate cancer cells.
Science is constantly making strides in the battle against cancer, and the latest innovation could change the game. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a targeted injection that has already eradicated tumors in mice!
From nanotechnology targeting microtumors to engineered microbes attacking cancer cells, there's no shortage of novel approaches to fighting cancer. The Stanford team's newest study investigates a potentially revolutionary method: injecting small amounts of two agents that stimulate the immune system directly into a malignant solid tumor.
"When we use these two agents together," Senior Study Author Dr. Ronald Levy explains, "we see the elimination of tumors all over the body."
This groundbreaking treatment bypasses the requirements for identifying tumor-specific immune targets and eliminating the need for wholesale immune system activation or customization. Plus, it might be on its way to clinical trials quicker, since one of the agents has already been approved for human therapy, and the other is currently under clinical trial for lymphoma treatment.
A Simplified, Effective Solution
"Our approach uses a one-time application of very small amounts of two agents to stimulate the immune cells only within the tumor itself," Dr. Levy continues. "This method can 'teach' immune cells how to fight against that specific type of cancer, allowing them to migrate and destroy all other existing tumors."
Many types of cancer cells are savvy at evading the immune system's defenses. But when the researchers delivered minute doses of two specific agents into a tumor site in each affected mouse, the immune cells got the upper hand. The two agents were:
- CpG oligonucleotide, a synthetic DNA stretch that boosts immune cells' ability to express the OX40 receptor on the surface of T cells
- An antibody that binds to the OX40 receptor, activating the T cells
Once activated, some of the T cells migrated to other parts of the body, seeking out and annihilating other tumors.
Broad-Spectrum Potential
The preliminary results were overwhelmingly positive: 87 out of 90 mice were cured of lymphoma; three recurrences responded to a second treatment. Similarly impressive outcomes were seen in models for breast, colon, and skin cancer, and even mice engineered to develop breast cancer spontaneously benefited from the treatment.
However, the approach was not perfect. When two different types of cancer tumors were transplanted in the same animal but only injected with the experimental formula at the lymphoma site, the results were mixed. While the lymphoma tumors receded, the colon cancer tumor did not respond.
Despite this, Dr. Levy maintains, "This is a very targeted approach. Only the tumor that shares the protein targets displayed by the treated site is affected. We're attacking specific targets without having to identify exactly what proteins the T cells are recognizing."
In the coming months, the team plans to conduct a clinical trial for this treatment in individuals with low-grade lymphoma. If successful, they hope to apply this therapy to a wide variety of cancers.
"I don't think there's a limit to the type of tumor we could potentially treat," Dr. Levy concludes, "as long as it has been infiltrated by the immune system."
[1] Cancer Immunotherapy Insights and Impact Report (Cancer Research Institute, 2023)[2] ASCO 2024 Highlights: Emerging Treatments and Strategic Integration of Immunotherapy (ASCO, 2024)[3] ASCO 2025 Highlights: Recent Advancements in Immunotherapy and Targeted Treatments for Cancer (ASCO, 2025)
- The recent breakthrough in cancer treatment, developed by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, involves a one-time injection of two agents that stimulate the immune system directly into a malignant solid tumor, which eliminates tumors all over the body.
- This experimental treatment, currently being investigated for its potential to revolutionize cancer treatment, bypasses the requirements for identifying tumor-specific immune targets and the need for wholesale immune system activation or customization.
- The innovation, if successful in upcoming clinical trials for low-grade lymphoma, could potentially be applied to a wide variety of cancers, as long as they have been infiltrated by the immune system.
- The two agents used in the treatment are CpG oligonucleotide, a synthetic DNA stretch that boosts immune cells' ability to express the OX40 receptor on the surface of T cells, and an antibody that binds to the OX40 receptor, activating the T cells.
