Study describes mechanism that limits immunosupressive activity of tumor-associated macrophages Tumor cells are able to avoid the attack of the immune system through several mechanisms. For instance, these can secrete factors that turn macrophages -cells in the immune system- into dual action agents that contribute to the tumor progress and will protect it from immune body defenses: these become, thus, the tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). An article published in the journal Cancer Research describes a new molecular mechanism that counteracts the immunosupressive action of these macrophages to boost tumor growth, and brings knowledge of potential interest for the design of future therapeutical options against cancer. The preclinical study is led by the tenure-track 2 lecturer Annabel Valledor, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB).