How immuno-oncology works

Your immune system is like your body’s security team – it constantly checks for anything that doesn’t belong, like viruses, bacteria, or damaged cells. Normally, if it finds something suspicious, it attacks and removes it.

But cancer cells are sneaky. They start as your own cells, so your body doesn’t recognise them as enemies. They can hide from the immune system or even trick it into helping them grow. This is why cancer can develop, spread and be hard to treat.

Immuno-oncology works by training the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells. Unlike chemotherapy or radiation, which can harm healthy tissue and cause significant side effects, it can be targeted directly to the cancer cells. This can mean fewer complications and provide long-term protection against recurrence.

King’s at the forefront of new research

King’s has long been a leader in this space. Working closely with our hospital partners, we have translated cutting-edge discoveries into clinical trials and from there into patient treatments.

But a transformative donor gift allowed us to push forward with an expanded programme of research, headed by a newly created post – the Joan Reece Chair in Immuno-oncology. 

After an extensive search, Professor Richard Vile, an internationally recognised cancer researcher with over 40 years’ experience, was appointed to the role. His pioneering work focuses on therapies that stimulate the immune system to fight cancer. This includes:

• CAR-T cell therapies – which work by taking T cells (blood cells that help to protect you from infection and disease) out of the body, genetically modifying them in a lab so they are much better at finding and killing cancer cells and then putting them back into the body to fight the cancer. 

• Oncolytic viruses – specially designed viruses that can find and destroy cancer cells, without harming healthy ones. They work by directly infecting and killing cancer cells, while also alerting the immune system to recognise and attack any remaining cancer cells.

• A combination of the two – bringing these strategies together to help immune cells home in on tumours more precisely and generate stronger, longer-lasting anti-cancer responses

Breakthroughs in triple-negative breast cancer

Professor Vile will work closely with another leading figure in immuno-oncology at King’s, Professor Sheeba Irshad.

Professor Irshad leads a research team focused on hard-to-treat forms of breast cancer, which are typically more aggressive, spread more quickly and respond poorly to existing treatments. One reason for this is that cancer cells can send out signals that suppress immune responses, preventing the body’s defences from working effectively.

Her team, which includes two fully-funded Joan Reece fellows, has made key discoveries about why some cancers evade immune detection, new ways to accelerate T cell activity and how this knowledge can be used to design smarter combinations of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

This work could lead to more effective treatments for some of the hardest-to-treat cancers.

Innovative approaches to cancer treatment

Professor Vile’s appointment at King’s will take our world-leading expertise in immuno-oncology to exciting new levels and he and Professor Irshad have two exciting new studies already planned for 2026.

The first is a clinical trial evaluating an experimental breast cancer treatment called ADZE1.C. Many breast cancers are ‘cold’ tumours, meaning they are cancers that hide from the immune system so that our bodies don’t send out signals to fight it. ADZE1.C is designed to address this challenge by turning cold tumours ‘hot’ so that the immune system can recognise and attack them.

The second is a new therapy called THOR (Tumor Homing OV-induced Recall Response). This works by using an oncolytic virus to deliver ‘recall antigens’; pieces of something the immune system already remembers from past infections or vaccinations, into the tumour. This tricks the immune system into recalling its previous fight against the virus and sending those memory immune cells to the tumour site.

A new era of collaboration

In November 2025, Professor Richard Vile gave the Inaugural Joan Reece Lecture: A Ray of Sunshine Never Dies - Joan Reece, Immuno-oncology and King’s.

He outlined his vision for immuno-oncology at King’s: building a world-class oncology department that translates groundbreaking discoveries into patient care, creating a legacy of excellence and educating future generations of students, translational scientists and clinicians.

Professor Richard Vile delivers the Inaugural Joan Reece Lecture.

He also aims to foster collaboration across academic and clinical disciplines, making King’s a global hub of innovation and excellence. This event began this process by bringing together academics, clinicians and key figures in cancer research to share expertise and ways to drive ideas from early concept through to clinical application.

Shaping the future of cancer care

With Professor Vile and Professor Irshad at the helm, King’s is the best place to pioneer new ways to harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer. With the support of philanthropy, we are shaping the future of cancer care one breakthrough at a time.

If you are interested in supporting the next stage of this research, or finding out how you can have a transformational impact on the future of cancer detection and treatment, please contact giving@kcl.ac.uk.