Chronic Interferon Paradox: How Immune Signaling Can Fuel Tumor Growth

For generations, medicine held that activating the immune system's interferon signals was a straightforward ally against cancer — more activation, more protection. New research by Gerald Shadel, Melissa Johnson, and colleagues now reveals that when interferon exposure becomes chronic, the immune system can paradoxically turn against itself, creating conditions that shelter tumors rather than destroy them. The discovery, rooted in the unexpected behavior of mitochondrial RNA, invites a fundamental rethinking of how we wield the body's own defenses — not as a volume to be turned up, but as a bal