Boosting Immunotherapy in Breast Cancer: Researchers at the Jules Bordet Institute Publish in Nature Medicine

This clinical study, conducted by researchers at the Jules Bordet Institute, focused on so-called "cold" breast cancers—tumours that are poorly recognized by the immune system. Immunotherapy is most effective when tumours are already "hot", meaning they naturally attract immune cells capable of attacking cancer cells. The NeoCheckRay study explored an innovative approach: using highly targeted radiotherapy to modify the tumour microenvironment and make these tumours more responsive to immunotherapy.

“Radiotherapy has traditionally been used to destroy tumours. Our findings show that it can also act as a trigger for the immune response. In a way, it helps the immune system recognize a cancer that had previously gone unnoticed,” explains Dr Alex De Caluwé, radiation oncologist at the Jules Bordet Institute.

Improving treatment efficacy

These encouraging findings suggest that a widely available treatment such as radiotherapy could enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy when used differently, particularly by optimizing the timing of treatment, the radiation dose, and the areas being targeted.

“This study represents an important step towards understanding how to optimally combine radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy in breast cancer,” says Dr Laurence Buisseret, medical oncologist at the Jules Bordet Institute.

International recognition

The publication of these findings in Nature Medicine, one of the world's leading medical journals, highlights the scientific significance of this research and represents international recognition of the quality of the work carried out at the Jules Bordet Institute. It also underscores the crucial role of academic clinical trials in developing innovative therapeutic strategies that ultimately benefit patients.

Improving clinical outcomes without increasing treatment costs

Unlike many innovations in oncology, this approach does not rely on the development of a new drug but rather on optimizing the use of treatments that are already available. If confirmed, this strategy could improve clinical outcomes without substantially increasing healthcare costs.

While these results are highly promising, they will need to be confirmed in a larger clinical trial before they can influence routine clinical practice. Such a study represents a major challenge for independent academic research, which often has limited resources to evaluate new treatment strategies based on existing therapies. Researchers at the Jules Bordet Institute are continuing their work with the aim of confirming these findings and developing increasingly effective and personalized treatments.

Publication: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04453-z