Leukemia cells use a sugar-coated protein to hide from the immune system, study reveals

Leukemia is adept at dodging the immune system, making it resistant to many of the newest generation of cancer immunotherapies. Now, researchers have identified a key part of the cancer's disguise: a protein called CD43 on the surface of leukemia cells that is coated so heavily in sugar molecules that it forms a physical barrier, shielding the cells from immune attack.