What happens when our defences against cancer fail?

The development of new cancer drugs has made enormous strides in recent decades, thanks largely to basic research at universities and institutes. Nevertheless, only a fraction of research approaches make it into clinical studies, with about 90% failing. Great – but so far unfulfilled – hopes are currently being placed in a new immunotherapy based on the inhibition of the immunomodulator IDO1. We have developed an alternative approach in which IDO1 is specifically degraded in the cell. This could open up new therapeutic options in cancer treatment.