Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created a new track-breaking method to attack ovarian cancer cells. To deliver this groundbreaking treatment, they’re using highly targeted nanoparticles. Ivan Pires, a postdoctoral researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is the study’s first author. It’s an important step in showing how these nanoparticles are able to target interleukin-12 (IL-12) directly to tumor cells, arming the immune system with better tools to attack cancer. Those results appeared in the journal Nature Materials in January 2025.
Paula Hammond, an MIT Institute Professor and vice provost for faculty. She is a senior author of the study, working alongside Darrell Irvine, a professor of immunology and microbiology at the Scripps Research Institute. It was Hammond’s lab that started on a radical new approach. This gives the injectable nanoparticles the green light to deliver IL-12 locally, energizing T cells and other immune cells.
In addition, unique challenges exist with ovarian cancer. T cells, armed with the ability to kill tumor cells, frequently go ignored, or blocked entirely, by the hostile cancerous landscape. Pires said that what’s most challenging about treating this rare type of cancer is what makes it so exciting.
“The problem with ovarian cancer is no one is hitting the gas. So, even if you take off the brakes, nothing happens,” – Ivan Pires.
The groundbreaking nanoparticles — which were created in Hammond’s lab — have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in preclinical trials. When paired with IL-12, this therapeutic approach completely destroyed metastatic tumors in over 80% of mice tested in the study. The nanoparticles have been engineered to release IL-12 over the course of about one week, allowing for sustained immune activation.
Perhaps the most intriguing feature of this work is its ability to reprogram the tumor microenvironment. Hammond explained that the nanoparticles work by fooling cancer cells into signaling immune attacks on themselves.
“With our current technology, we optimize that chemistry such that there’s a more controlled release rate, and that allowed us to have better efficacy.”
The research represents a significant new advance in cancer treatment. This last point—that the approval provides hope for ovarian cancer patients who have few treatment options available—is a big one. Now, researchers are using cutting edge nanotechnology to go right for the jugular—tumor cells themselves. They hope to achieve better patient outcomes and increase the efficacy of immunotherapy.
“What’s really exciting is that we’re able to deliver IL-12 directly in the tumor space. And because of the way that this nanomaterial is designed to allow IL-12 to be borne on the surfaces of the cancer cells, we have essentially tricked the cancer into stimulating immune cells to arm themselves against that cancer,” – Paula Hammond.
The study represents a significant leap forward in cancer therapy, particularly for ovarian cancer patients who have limited treatment options. By harnessing advanced nanotechnology to directly target tumor cells, researchers hope to improve patient outcomes and enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy.
