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New treatment approach may offer longer-lasting protection for people with breast cancer
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Killing breast cancer cells in a way that trains the immune system to recognise and destroy remaining cancer cells may offer longer-lasting protection to people with the disease, according to a new study funded by Breast Cancer Now.
An early-stage discovery published in the journal Immunity showed that by inducing a process called immune-mediated cell death in cancer cells, the immune system is activated and becomes more alert to disease in the body.
To induce this type of cell death, scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) London targeted a protein called RIPK1, which plays an important role in the survival of cancer cells and their ability to remain undetected in the body.
The team, based at the Toby Robins Research Centre at Breast Cancer Now at the ICR, used a new and innovative technology called proteolytic target-activated accelerator (PROTAC) chimera to successfully destroy RIPK1 in human cancer cells.
Through a process known as targeted protein degradation, PROTACs eliminate specific unwanted proteins in cells that were previously considered “untreatable.” While traditional inhibitor drugs simply block protein function, this process completely destroys the problematic protein.
Knocking down RIPK1 triggers immune-mediated cell death and mobilizes the immune system to destroy any remaining cancer cells that have evaded treatment or become drug-resistant.
The researchers also demonstrated in mice that targeting RIPK1 enhances immune system activation following radiotherapy and immunotherapy, increasing the overall response to treatment and potentially offering longer-lasting protection against the disease as the body learns to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
These early results suggest that the approach could be effective for a number of different types of cancer, including triple-negative breast cancer, which is harder to treat and has a higher chance of recurring or spreading within five years of diagnosis.
Professor Pascal Meyer, professor of cell death and immunity at the Institute of Cancer Research London, said:
“While all therapies aim to kill cancer cells, doing so in a way that activates the immune system to find and destroy any remaining cancer cells can make the treatment more effective and potentially offer people a longer lasting immune response to breast cancer.
“We know that RIPK1 plays an important role in cancer cell survival and its ability to evade detection by the immune system. Using a protein targeting technology known as PROTAC, we were able to use the cells’ own recycling system to specifically degrade and destroy the RIPK1 protein in cancer cells.”
Dr Simon Vincent, director of research, support and impact at Breast Cancer Now, which funded the study, said:
“There are many hallmarks of cancer, including the ability of cancer cells to evade detection by the immune system and resist destruction by conventional treatments such as chemotherapy.
However, these exciting findings could pave the way for new targeted treatments for breast cancer that may also offer a longer-lasting immune response to the disease.