γδ T cells turn the tables on immune-evasive colon cancer

Why is checkpoint blockade immunotherapy still effective in tumors that are unrecognizable to CD8+ T cells? In a recent study published in Nature, de Vries et al. 1 de Vries N.L. van de Haar J. Veninga V. Chalabi M. Ijsselsteijn M.E. van der Ploeg M. van den Bulk J. Ruano D. van den Berg J.G. Haanen J.B. et al. Gammadelta T cells are effectors of immunotherapy in cancers with HLA class I defects. Nature. 2023; 613: 743-750 Crossref PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar provide evidence that the lesser-known γδ T cell population may mediate beneficial responses to immune checkpoint blockade when cancer cells lose HLA expression. Why is checkpoint blockade immunotherapy still effective in tumors that are unrecognizable to CD8+ T cells? In a recent study published in Nature, de Vries et al. 1 de Vries N.L. van de Haar J. Veninga V. Chalabi M. Ijsselsteijn M.E. van der Ploeg M. van den Bulk J. Ruano D. van den Berg J.G. Haanen J.B. et al. Gammadelta T cells are effectors of immunotherapy in cancers with HLA class I defects. Nature. 2023; 613: 743-750 Crossref PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar provide evidence that the lesser-known γδ T cell population may mediate beneficial responses to immune checkpoint blockade when cancer cells lose HLA expression.