Smac mimetics combined with innate immune stimuli create the perfect cytokine storm to kill tumor cells.

A dual immunotherapy approach employing small-molecule inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) protein antagonists in combination with innate immune stimuli has proven to be highly synergistic and effective in animal tumor models. This strategy overcomes many of the limitations of either single agent therapy and our results suggest that the combination could be easily and effectively translated to the clinic.