Life Sciences & Medicine Active Updated Aug 26, 2026

Engineered natural killer cells learn to invade solid tumors

Solid tumors have resisted cell therapies that work well against blood cancers because they block immune cells from entering and jam their signaling once they arrive. Stanford researchers converted natural killer cells into a tissue resident form built to move into solid tumors and stay there, slowing melanoma and head and neck cancer growth in mice, especially when paired with the antibody drug cetuximab. The stakes are whether an off-the-shelf, non-rejected cell therapy can succeed where custom-manufactured treatments have struggled against solid tumors.