Helping tumor-fighting T cells stay in lymph nodes to improve cancer immunotherapy
Official title: Targeting lymphoid tissue residency to boost tumor immunotherapies
Funded at South Texas Veterans Health Care System · NIH-11212816 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looking for ways to help tumor-fighting CD8+ T cells settle in tumor-draining lymph nodes so cancer immunotherapies like vaccines and PD‑1 blockers work better for more patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | South Texas Veterans Health Care System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Antonio, United States) |
| Project start | October 1, 2022 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX005955-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11212816 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with solid tumors who are receiving or considering T cell–based immunotherapies (such as PD‑1/PD‑L1 blockers or therapeutic cancer vaccines) and who are willing to provide blood or lymph node samples would be most relevant.
✕Less likely to help
People with cancers not treated by T cell–based immunotherapy or those unwilling to provide samples are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this research.
What this research studies
If you take part, researchers will study a special group of tumor-fighting CD8+ T cells that act like stem cells and live in tumor-draining lymph nodes. Using laboratory and animal models, they will examine how these cells adopt a tissue-resident-like state driven by TGF‑beta and how that affects responses to cancer vaccines and PD‑1/PD‑L1 therapy. They will test approaches to manipulate lymph node residency to keep these T cells ready to respond to tumors. Results could point to new ways to make immunotherapies produce stronger, longer-lasting anti-tumor T cell responses.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could help immunotherapies trigger stronger and longer-lasting T-cell responses so more cancer patients benefit from vaccines and PD‑1/PD‑L1 treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies in infections and early cancer work show tissue-resident and stem-like CD8+ T cells can support immunotherapy responses, but deliberately targeting lymph node residency to boost tumor vaccines is a newer strategy.
Where this research is happening
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South Texas Veterans Health Care System
San Antonio, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhang, Nu — South Texas Veterans Health Care System
- Study coordinator: Zhang, Nu
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.