Cancer might evade immune defences by stealing mitochondria Hijacking the energy-producing organelles from immune cells seems to help tumours in mice to infiltrate lymph nodes. By Laura Dattaro

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00123-9?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=fe625a50d4-nature-briefing-daily-20260115&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-50432164 Cancer cells use stolen goods to stay hidden Cancer cells use mitochondria stolen from immune cells to escape detection and spread. Researchers found that when cancer cells take on these mitochondria in mice, it both weakens the immune cells and triggers a molecular pathway in the cancer cells that help them fly under the immune system’s radar and invade lymph nodes. This beneficial molecular pathway was activated even when researchers disrupted the mitochondria’s ability to produce the energy-carrying molecule ATP. The findings could explain how cancer cells survive in lymph nodes, which are packed with immune cells that should be able to kill them.