Like spies evading detection through being masters of disguise, many cancer cells are adorned with a copious coat of sugar-derived molecules that throws the proverbial hounds of our immune systems off the scent.
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and collaborators across North America published findings August 7, 2026, in Science Advances showing that cancer cells' cloaking costumes can be a result of changes in the nearby neighborhood of immune cells, connective tissue, blood vessels, proteins and carbohydrates called the tumor microenvironment. The researchers also found a way to thin this sugary shroud, enabling cancer cells to be recognized and eliminated by the immune system.
Lead and corresponding author Kevin Tharp, PhD , knew that cells squeezed by their surroundings change their mitochondrial function in surprising ways. He realized that a key place where cells would experience this kind of physical pressure was in the tumor microenvironment.
"Primary tumors are typically stiffer than their surrounding tissue," said Tharp, assistant professor in the Cancer Metabolism and Microenvironment Program at the Sanford Burnham Prebys NCI-Designated Cancer Center . "This led me to hypothesize that the biophysical properties of cells influence the altered metabolic programs that everyone observes in tumors."
One such metabolic alteration considered a hallmark feature of tumors is a drop in the oxidative metabolism of glucose. Prior research has shown that this can be caused by the availability of nearby nutrients and is not necessarily an intrinsic quality of tumor cells.
