Early activation of type‑I interferons (IFN‑I) using RNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles sensitizes poorly immunogenic (‘cold’) tumours to immunotherapy in mice. This treatment promotes epitope spreading, broadening the anti-tumour immune response and converting resistant tumours into responsive (‘hot’) tumours (Qdaisat et al., 2025).Illustration by the author.
Some cancers do not respond well to immunotherapy because the body’s immune system does not recognize the tumour. A recent study by Qdaisat et al. (2025) shows that early activation of type‑I interferons (IFN‑I), a part of the immune system, can make these tumours more responsive. The researchers used RNA-loaded nanoparticles to trigger IFN‑I, even when the RNA was not specific to the tumour.
This treatment helps the immune system attack more tumour targets, a process called epitope spreading. In mouse experiments, tumours that usually resist immunotherapy (“cold” tumours) became sensitive and responded better (“hot” tumours). Because this approach doesn’t rely on tumour-specific RNA, some scientists have described it as a step toward a “universal cancer vaccine”, a therapy that could potentially make many cancers treatable with immunotherapy.
Although the results are promising, they are still in animal studies. More research is needed to ensure it is safe and effective in humans. Overall , the study highlights that stimulating the immune system early can be a key step in improving cancer treatments.
Reference:
Qdaisat, S., Smith, A. L., Patel, R., Chen, Y., & Williams, D. (2025). Sensitization of tumours to immunotherapy by boosting early type‑I interferon responses enables epitope spreading. Nature Biomedical Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-025-01380-1