Researchers are exploring a paradoxical approach to cancer treatment, leveraging the body's immune response to nanoparticles to potentially improve drug delivery and reduce side effects. This method draws inspiration from how the immune system defends against viruses, suggesting a novel way to enhance chemotherapy.

• A 2022 study in mice showed that an initial dose of drug-carrying nanoparticles triggered an immune response, producing the protein interferon lambda, which limited the second dose's delivery to healthy tissues but not to tumors.
• The research is led by Tom Anchordoquy, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
• This proposed strategy could reduce common chemotherapy side effects like hair loss and gastrointestinal problems by concentrating drugs more effectively in cancerous cells while sparing healthy ones.