🧬 #ScienceSaturday Why can cancer become harder to control as we #age? A new study published in @Nature Communications points to a possible answer: #thymulin, a small hormone-like peptide produced by the thymus that naturally declines with age. Researchers found that older mice and older human adults had more pro-inflammatory myeloid cells, including monocytes and macrophages. These cells produced higher levels of inflammatory signals such as IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α. In aged mice, these cells were also more abundant inside tumors and were associated with faster tumor growth and shorter survival. To understand whether this inflammation could be reversed, the researchers exposed older mice to a younger circulatory environment. That reduced inflammatory activity in the older immune cells and slowed tumor progression, suggesting that factors present in younger circulation help keep this inflammation under control. The team then identified thymulin as one of those potential regulators. Because thymulin levels fall as the thymus ages, the researchers tested whether replacing it could restore balance. In older mice, thymulin reduced inflammatory cytokine production by blocking NF-κB, a major pathway that turns inflammatory genes on. The treatment also improved antitumor immunity. Tumors grew more slowly, cancer-fighting T cells became more active, and tumors that had not responded to anti-PD-L1 therapy became more sensitive when thymulin was added. 🔬 Why it matters: This study suggests that age-related inflammation may be one reason immunotherapy works less effectively in some older patients. Rather than only targeting the tumor, future treatments may also need to address how the aging immune system has changed. @USC @KECKSchool_USC @uscnorris @USCStemCell @USCBioSci @lab_ito @NatureComms Read more here: nature.com/articles/s41467-0…

Thymulin, the peptide derived from the thymus, suppresses age-related inflammaging and, in the experimental model, helps protect vs cancer nature.com/articles/s41467-0…

A thymus hormone that drops with age may help reverse chronic inflammation; in older mice, raising thymulin improved survival and made immunotherapy work better. @KeckSchool_USC @NatureComms medicalxpress.com/news/2026-…

Congratulations to USC Norris member Fumito Ito, MD, PhD, on his appointment as Vice Chair of Basic and Translational Science in the @KECKSchool_USC's Department of Surgery. We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved recognition!

Congratulations to USC Norris member Fumito Ito, MD, PhD, on his appointment as Vice Chair of Basic and Translational Science in the @KECKSchool_USC's Department of Surgery. We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved recognition!

Check out this month's Editors' Pick: Impact of Glucocorticoids on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Efficacy and Circulating Biomarkers in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients aacrjournals.org/cancerresco…

Steroids Linked to Immunotherapy Failure New research from @KeckMedicineUSC reveals that corticosteroids, often used to ease cancer-related symptoms in non-small cell lung cancer patients, may reduce the effectiveness of certain immunotherapies. news.keckmedicine.org/common…