Thousands of men with prostate cancer could live longer thanks to a new treatment designed to help the body’s immune system tackle tumors

Thousands of men with prostate cancer could live longer thanks to a breakthrough by British experts.

Scientists have developed a new form of immunotherapy to slow resistance to hormone treatments and help the body’s immune system tackle the tumor.

For many with prostate cancer, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a powerful first-line treatment. Although it is initially effective, some patients’ tumors can become resistant to it.

Thousands of men with prostate cancer could live longer thanks to breakthrough by British experts (stock image)

Immunotherapy has been shown to be extremely successful in other cancers, but not in prostate cancer.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have now published their findings in the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, showing that a new form of cancer treatment using nanoparticles could help men live longer.

The team found that a certain type of white blood cell, called a macrophage, accumulates in tumors during ADT treatment.

Scientists have developed a new form of immunotherapy to slow resistance to hormone treatment and help the body’s immune system tackle the tumor (stock image)

They then developed a way to use nanoparticles to target the delivery of a drug that increases immunity levels in these cells. When released into tumors, it stimulates other immune cells – called T cells – to kill cancer cells. When done with ADT, it slows tumor resistance.

Professor Claire Lewis, who led the research, said she was “excited” about the impact of the therapy and hoped to conduct clinical trials “as soon as possible”.

Around 52,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK. The Daily Mail has been campaigning for better diagnosis and treatment of the disease for more than two decades.