High blood sugar may help cancer cells hide from the immune system
Scientists have discovered that high glucose levels help cancer cells create a sugar-based camouflage that hides them from the immune system. This finding suggests that metabolic interventions could potentially improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies.
Why it matters
Identifying how tumors evade immune detection provides new targets for cancer treatments and highlights the role of metabolism in oncology.
Cancer cells can sometimes evade the immune system by surrounding themselves with a dense layer of sugar-derived molecules. This coating can act as a form of camouflage, making it harder for immune cells to recognize and destroy them.
Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and collaborating institutions across North America have now identified environmental conditions that can help cancer cells build this protective layer. Their findings, published August 7, 2026, in Science Advances , suggest that changes within the tumor microenvironment, the surrounding mixture of immune cells, connective tissue, blood vessels, proteins and carbohydrates, can influence how effectively cancer cells conceal themselves.
The researchers also identified a potential way to reduce this sugar-rich coating, potentially making cancer cells easier for the immune system to detect and eliminate.
How the Tumor Environment Changes Cancer Cells
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