A protein long known to contribute to cancer development may hold the key to recent immunotherapy treatments, according to research published on March 14, 2026. The discovery, made by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, centers on the SRC enzyme and its surprising presence on the surface of cancer cells.
For decades, SRC was believed to function solely within cells, signaling pathways that promote tumor growth and evade the immune system. However, the new study reveals that SRC too appears on the exterior of cells in several cancer types, including bladder, colon, rectal, breast, and pancreatic cancers, and potentially others. This finding offers a novel target for immune-based therapies.
The unexpected location of SRC is linked to the rapid division of cancer cells and the resulting buildup of cellular waste. In healthy cells, this waste is broken down. But in tumors, the cellular recycling system becomes overwhelmed, causing SRC to be expelled to the cell surface, where it becomes visible to potential treatments like antibodies. This process creates a vulnerability that researchers are eager to exploit.
Researchers successfully directed antibodies – some carrying radioactive materials and others designed to help immune cells recognize cancer cells – toward SRC. Experiments conducted on mice demonstrated significant success, leading to the destruction of cancer cells and a reduction in tumor size. The research team hopes this discovery could lead to effective treatments for up to half of all human tumors.
This research represents a potentially significant step forward in cancer treatment, offering a new avenue for harnessing the power of the immune system to fight the disease. The ability to target SRC on the cell surface could open doors to more precise and effective immunotherapies, improving outcomes for patients facing a variety of cancers.
