Lung cancer is often diagnosed at late stages, making treatment challenging. To understand its early development, researchers led by Bo Zhu, Ph.D., Jia Wu, Ph.D., Alexandre Reuben, Ph.D., and Jianjun Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., used imaging mass cytometry to map the spatial tumor microenvironment across 114 lung cancers and precancers. They found a gradual shift from innate to adaptive immune responses as lesions progressed to more invasive cancer. High levels of TIM-3, an immune checkpoint marker, were found in precancers but dropped off in more advanced stages.
This pattern was also seen in lab models. Notably, researchers found that blocking TIM-3 at the precancer stage, but not at a later stage, helped reduce tumor growth. These results highlight TIM-3 as a promising target for early intervention strategies.