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Attract and Attack

24 June 2025

Attract and Attack

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; a section labeled fluorescently left) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC; right) are both common skin cancers but differ in their responses to immunotherapy (drugs that promote the immune system to clear the cancer cells). This study finds that BCC's reduced likelihood of responding is due to having, compared to SCC, less of the molecule HLA-1 (revealed here with green fluorescence), which in turn leads to fewer of the immune system's T cells being attracted to the tumour to attack. Finding that the epigenetic regulator FOXC1 underlies the low levels of HLA-1, opens therapeutic avenues

Read the published research article here

Written by Lindsey Goff

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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