Overview

• Experiments in melanoma models showed that only topical steroids produced measurable tumour shrinkage.
• The proposed mechanism involves steroids lowering Garp on tumour cells, which reactivates anti‑tumour immunity despite steroids’ usual immunosuppressive reputation.
• Analyses of datasets covering more than 2,000 people and 40 tumour samples linked steroid‑responsive signatures to longer survival and high Garp to poorer outcomes.
• Researchers report pre‑clinical signals in breast and colorectal cancers that suggest the pathway could extend beyond melanoma.
• The peer‑reviewed work in Cancer Discovery has spurred development of Garp‑targeting drugs with clinical trials planned, including for patients not responding to current immunotherapy.