Overview
- Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research, Human Technopole and Chalmers report the results in Nature Genetics on November 5, 2025.
- Multi-omic profiling of 29 colorectal tumors showed an early immune-escape event that largely fixes how the cancer interacts with the immune system as it grows.
- The team links immune evasion to epigenetic alterations that reduce neoantigen expression, making tumor cells less visible to immune surveillance.
- The authors propose using these signals to stratify patients for immunotherapy and to test pairing immunotherapy with epigenome‑modifying drugs to boost neoantigen display.
- The work is a discovery-stage finding that needs larger validation and clinical trials before practice changes, while several bowel cancer vaccines are already in trials.