Stanford Medicine scientists have developed a way to convert natural killer (NK) cells into a tissue-resident form that can infiltrate solid tumors far more effectively than standard NK cells. Tested in mice, the modified cells slowed the growth of melanoma and head and neck cancers. The effect was amplified when combined with the antibody drug cetuximab. Because NK cells do not typically trigger immune rejection when transferred between individuals, this approach could eventually be mass-produced, frozen, and distributed as a ready-made cancer therapy — unlike current cell therapies that must be custom-built from each patient's own cells. The research was published in Science Translational Medicine.
