Trial cancer treatment stops tumour growth in pre-clinical study
October 06, 2026
OCRF-funded cancer researchers in Queensland have identified a new combination treatment that completely halts the growth of tumours, including ovarian, in laboratory studies.
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The results of the study, led by OCRF-funded researcher Professor Brian Gabrielli at Mater Research, The University of Queensland, were published in the journal Cell Death & Differentiation.
The Mater Research team found the novel treatment causes increased inflammation when cancer cells are killed, which encourages the body’s immune system to attack the tumour.
The pre-clinical study involved melanoma, ovarian and lung cancer laboratory models. Researchers believe the trial combination could be effective against a broad range of cancers.
The OCRF funded this project from 2023-2026.
“Further work is needed before we can progress to clinical studies involving cancer patients, but these early results are exciting,” Prof Gabrielli said.
Conventional cancer treatments focus primarily on eliminating tumours, but often cause collateral damage and actively impair a patient's immunity.
“Standard chemotherapy drugs typically cause cancer cells to die in an orderly, programmed way known as apoptosis,” Prof Gabrielli said.
“Because this form of cell death often goes unnoticed by the immune system, it fails to trigger a strong anti-tumour response.”
To combat this, the researchers investigated whether forcing cancer cells to die in a more inflammatory manner could generate a stronger immune response.
The team tested a novel combination of a drug that inhibits the protein CHK1 (which stops cancer cells from repairing DNA damage, causing them to die) and a low-dose of the chemotherapy drug hydroxyurea.
The study found the combination treatment traps cancer cells during the vulnerable stage of the cell cycle, when they are actively copying their DNA.
Study first author Dr Rituparna Bhatt said that halting the tumour cells in this phase activates proteins called caspases.
“These caspases rupture the cell membrane, triggering a highly inflammatory form of cell death known as pyroptosis,” Dr Bhatt said.
“This causes the dying cells to release vital danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) directly into the surrounding tissue. These act as a flare, alerting dendritic and T cells to the tumour's presence and recruiting the patient's own immune system to fight the disease.”
When compared to conventional options like the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin, the results were stark.
While both approaches eradicated a similar number of cancer cells, doxorubicin primarily triggered apoptosis. In contrast, the CHK1 inhibitor and low dose hydroxyurea combination generated a stronger immune response and halted tumour growth in preclinical models.
The findings suggest that how cancer cells are killed may be just as important as how many are destroyed, opening new avenues for treatments that actively recruit the immune system to fight cancer.
The full paper, S-phase targeted treatment triggers caspase-dependent lytic immunogenic cell death with pyroptotic features in cancers was published in Cell Death & Differentiation in July 2026.
This article was first published by Mater Research and is reproduced here with permission.
- The Mater Research news article used as a reference for this page: Trial cancer treatment stops tumour growth in pre-clinical study - Mater Research
- The full paper in Cell Death & Differentiation: S-phase targeted treatment triggers caspase-dependent lytic immunogenic cell death with pyroptotic features in cancers
- Combination treatments use two or more unique ingredients to treat a single disease or condition.
- Apoptosis is a form of cell death where old, damaged, or unneeded cells neatly destroy themselves.
- Pyroptosis is a form of cell death where cells swell and burst releasing inflammatory signals that can be detected by the immune system. It is typically triggered by infections and cell-stress.
- Danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are molecules released by stressed, damaged, or dying cells that alert the immune system. They can be imagined like a flare or a beacon.
- Dendritic cells (DCs) are immune cells that help “teach” the immune system to recognise and attack threats like cancer.
- T cells are a type of white blood cell. They are an essential part of the immune system.
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