New in vivo cancer immunotherapy platform turns tumors into their own vaccines

Natalie Artzi, PhD

Cancer vaccines train the immune system to recognize tumor-specific antigens and attack tumors. However, their broader application is limited by the highly individualized process of identifying, manufacturing and administering a patient-specific set of tumor antigens.

To address this challenge, researchers from Mass General Brigham and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, led by Tengyu He, PhD, under the supervision of Natalie Artzi, PhD, developed a self-assembled in situ cancer vaccine.

The technology is composed of two components: an antigen-releasing peptide and an innate immune activator. Together, these components spontaneously assemble into nanostructures without the need for a separate delivery system.

Tengyu He, PhD

After entering tumor cells, the peptide induces immunogenic cell death, causing the tumor to release its full, naturally occurring repertoire of patient-specific antigens. At the same time, the innate immune activator stimulates immune pathways that help recruit and activate antigen-presenting cells. Mechanistic studies confirmed that activated dendritic cells capture and present the released tumor antigens to T cells, initiating a targeted anti-tumor immune response.

When tested in preclinical models of melanoma and colon cancer, the vaccine resulted in complete tumor rejection in 70% of treated mice. Mice that successfully cleared their tumors also developed durable anti-tumor immune memory. This response was further enhanced when the vaccine was combined with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.

This promising and potentially scalable platform could ultimately expand access to tumor-specific vaccination without requiring the individualized production of a separate vaccine for every patient.

Published in Advanced Materials on Sept. 29, 2026 | Read the paper: “Nano-Conjugate Strategy Integrating Immunogenic Cell Death Induction and Innate Immune Activation for Potent Anti-Cancer Immunity”

Summary reviewed by: Tengyu He, PhD, first author; Natalie Artzi, PhD, senior author