Kyoto, Japan -- While modern life includes many conveniences, humans are still incessantly exposed to a variety of metabolic stresses we have never experienced before. Our immune systems are constantly trying to protect us, and CD8⁺ T cells in particular -- also known as killer T cells -- play an essential role in attacking tumors.

A team of researchers from Kyoto University's Center for Cancer Immunotherapy and Immunobiology, CCII, and the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences was motivated to investigate how metabolic stress can persist in the immune system and its consequences, particularly on anti-tumor immunity.

"Since each one of us experiences variable types of stress throughout our lives, we were interested in finding where and how that stress may influence our health," says first author Masaki Tajima of CCII.

A phase 1 study aiming to test tolerability of combination therapy with trastuzumab deruxtecan and olaparib in Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2)-expressing malignancies—including ovarian and uterine cancers—found a tolerable dosing schedule with promising activity, according to results reported by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute medical oncologist Dr. Elizabeth Lee at the AACR Annual Meeting 2026, held April 17-22, in San Diego, Calif.

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Phase I trial provides early clinical proof-of-concept supporting the combination of zedoresertib and lunresertib in certain advanced solid tumors

Zedoresertib, which targets WEE1, and lunresertib, a PKMYT1 inhibitor, are both investigational therapies that create synthetic lethality by blocking cell cycle proteins

Combination achieved notable responses in ovarian cancer at the preliminary recommended Phase II dose, with a 50% overall response rate across all patients and a 60% rate in patients with CCNE1 amplification

This combination has been granted FDA Fast Track Designation in patients with ovarian cancer harboring CCNE1 amplification, FBXW7 or PPP2R1A deleterious mutations