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Wednesday, may 15, 2024.

• New Study Links Protein Secreted by Blood Vessels to Drug-Resistant Cancer

Friday, May 10, 2024

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Thursday, May 9, 2024

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Wednesday, May 8, 2024

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Tuesday, May 7, 2024

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• Years After His Death, Late Scientist's Work Could Yield New Cancer Treatments
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• Intermittent Fasting Protects Against Liver Inflammation and Liver Cancer
• Study Sheds Light on Cancer Cell 'tug-of-War'
• Researchers Use Foundation Models to Discover New Cancer Imaging Biomarkers

Monday, May 6, 2024

• Direct Measurement of the Interaction Between Immune Cells and Cancer Cells from a Patient's Biopsy
• Past and Guides Future Efforts to Reduce Cancer Disparities
• Simulated Chemistry: New AI Platform Designs Tomorrow's Cancer Drugs
• Expanding a Lymph Node, Boosting a Vaccine
• Researchers Develop New AI Tool for Fast and Precise Tissue Analysis to Support Drug Discovery and Diagnostics

Friday, May 3, 2024

• Newly Discovered Mechanism of T-Cell Control Can Interfere With Cancer Immunotherapies
• Pan-Cancer Analysis Uncovers a New Class of Promising CAR T--Cell Immunotherapy Targets
• New Immunosuppressive Mechanism Found in Brain Cancer

Thursday, May 2, 2024

• Scientists Track 'doubling' In Origin of Cancer Cells
• Gene Signatures from Tissue-Resident T Cells as a Predictive Tool for Melanoma Patients
• Cancer Patients Gain Important Benefits from Genome-Matched Treatments
• Medical School Scientist Creates Therapy to Kill Hypervirulent Bacteria

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

• Therapy to Kill Hypervirulent Bacteria Developed
• Research Breakthrough on Birth Defect Affecting Brain Size
• Unraveling the Roles of Non-Coding DNA Explains Childhood Cancer's Resistance to Chemotherapy
• Biomarkers in Blood to Predict Liver Cancer
• New mRNA Cancer Vaccine Triggers Fierce Immune Response to Fight Malignant Brain Tumor
• Clogged Arteries Worsened by Cells That Behave Like Cancer Cells
• One-Two Punch Treatment Delivers Blood Cancer Knockout

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

• Difference Found in Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Offering New Hope for Immunotherapy Effectiveness
• New and Improved Way to Grow the Cells That Give Rise to the Kidney's Filtration System
• Regulating Cholesterol Levels Might Be the Key to Improving Cancer Treatment
• Scientists Find Cancer-Like Features in Atherosclerosis, Spurring Opportunity for New Treatment Approaches

Monday, April 29, 2024

• Kaposi Sarcoma Discovery Could Facilitate Drug Development
• The Aspirin Conundrum: Navigating Negative Results, Age, Aging Dynamics and Equity
• Blood Samples Enhance B-Cell Lymphoma Diagnostics and Prognosis

Friday, April 26, 2024

• Breast Cancer Rates Rising Among Canadian Women in Their 20s, 30s and 40s
• Component of Keto Diet Plus Immunotherapy May Reduce Prostate Cancer

Thursday, April 25, 2024

• Vitamin D Alters Mouse Gut Bacteria to Give Better Cancer Immunity
• Physical Activity in Nature Helps Prevent Several Diseases, Including Depression and Type 2 Diabetes
• Circadian Rhythms Can Influence Drugs' Effectiveness

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

• Tumor Cells Evade the Immune System Early On: Newly Discovered Mechanism Could Significantly Improve Cancer Immunotherapies
• Mini-Colons Revolutionize Colorectal Cancer Research
• Artificial Intelligence Can Develop Treatments to Prevent 'superbugs'
• Scientists Identify and Show How to Target a Key Tumor Defense Against Immune Attack
• CAR T Cell Therapy Targeting HER2 Antigen Shows Promise Against Advanced Sarcoma in Phase I Trial
• Discovering Cancers of Epigenetic Origin Without DNA Mutation

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

• Researching Cancer by Studying Lipids Cell by Cell
• Genetics Predict Type 2 Diabetes Risk and Disparities in Childhood Cancer Survivors
• New Study Uncovers Lasting Financial Hardship Associated With Cancer Diagnosis for Working-Age Adults in the U.S.
• Liver Cancer: Molecular Signaling Pathway of Tumor Development Decoded

Monday, April 22, 2024

• Breakthrough Rice Bran Nanoparticles Show Promise as Affordable and Targeted Anticancer Agent
• Genetically Engineering a Treatment for Incurable Brain Tumors

Friday, April 19, 2024

• Researchers Develop a New Way to Safely Boost Immune Cells to Fight Cancer
• Study Opens New Avenue for Immunotherapy Drug Development

Thursday, April 18, 2024

• Mutations in Noncoding DNA Become Functional in Some Cancer-Driving Genes
• AI Tool Predicts Responses to Cancer Therapy Using Information from Each Cell of the Tumor
• Siblings With Unique Genetic Change Help Scientists Progress Drug Search for Type 1 Diabetes
• New Urine-Based Test Detects High-Grade Prostate Cancer, Helping Men Avoid Unnecessary Biopsies

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

• Researchers Uncover Human DNA Repair by Nuclear Metamorphosis

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

• Researchers Discover Urine-Based Test to Detect Head and Neck Cancer
• Nanoparticle Delivery of FZD4 to Lung Endothelial Cells Inhibits Lung Cancer Progression and Metastases
• New Insights Could Unlock Immunotherapy for Rare, Deadly Eye Cancer

Monday, April 15, 2024

• Next-Generation Treatments Hitch a Ride Into Cancer Cells
• Epilepsy Drug Prevents Brain Tumors in Mice With NF1
• New Study Sheds Light on the Mechanisms Underlying the Development of Malignant Pediatric Brain Tumors

Friday, April 12, 2024

• Melanomas Resist Drugs by 'breaking' Genes
• Scientists Uncover a Missing Link Between Poor Diet and Higher Cancer Risk

Thursday, April 11, 2024

• Researchers Identify New Genetic Risk Factors for Persistent HPV Infections
• Colorless, Odorless Gas Likely Linked to Alarming Rise in Non-Smoking Lung Cancer
• Scientists Uncover Key Resistance Mechanism to Wnt Inhibitors in Pancreatic and Colorectal Cancers
• Study Lays the Basis for New Knowledge on Gastrointestinal Diseases

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

• Researchers Identify Protein That Controls CAR T Cell Longevity
• New Insight Into Combating Drug-Resistant Prostate Cancer
• A Promising Target for New RNA Therapeutics Now Accessible
• A New Screening Protocol Can Detect Aggressive Prostate Cancers More Selectively
• AI-Assisted Breast-Cancer Screening May Reduce Unnecessary Testing

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

• Targeting RAS Proteins May Prevent Relapse in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
• Bacteria in Cancer Unmasked
• Periostin Shows Promise to Help Fight a Common Form of Esophageal Cancer
• Research Could Unlock More Precise Prognoses and Targeted Treatments for Children With Cancer
• Immune Key to Chronic Viral Infections Discovered

Monday, April 8, 2024

• The Surprising Connection Between Male Infertility and Family Cancer Risk
• Targeting Vulnerability in B-Cell Development Leads to Novel Drug Combination for Leukemia
• Opening a New Front Against Pancreatic Cancer

Thursday, April 4, 2024

• Less Extensive Breast Cancer Surgery Results in Fewer Swollen Arms
• Microbial Signature of Colorectal Cancer-Associated Mutations Identified in New Study
• Study Finds Less Invasive, Safer Option for Removing Benign Pancreatic Tumors

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

• Investigators Develop Novel Treatment for T-Cell Leukemias and Lymphomas

Monday, April 1, 2024

• New Antibiotic Class Effective Against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria
• Exposure to Common Environmental Carcinogens Linked to Decreased Lifespan Happiness

Thursday, March 28, 2024

• Genomic Research May Help Explain Cancer Resistance in Tasmanian Devils
• Cell Division Quality Control 'stopwatch' Uncovered
• 'Exhausted' Immune Cells in Healthy Women Could Be Target for Breast Cancer Prevention

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

• A Combination of Approved Drugs Enhances the Delivery of Anti-Bacterial Medications to Treat Tuberculosis
• Combining Epigenetic Cancer Medications May Have Benefit for Colorectal Cancers and Other Tumor Types
• Researchers Turn Back the Clock on Cancer Cells to Offer New Treatment Paradigm
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This experimental drug could change the field of cancer research

Sacha Pfeiffer

Jonaki Mehta

The new treatment is categorized as immunotherapy. skaman306/Getty Images hide caption

The new treatment is categorized as immunotherapy.

A tiny group of people with rectal cancer just experienced something of a scientific miracle: their cancer simply vanished after an experimental treatment.

In a very small trial done by doctors at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, patients took a drug called dostarlimab for six months. The trial resulted in every single one of their tumors disappearing. The trial group included just 18 people, and there's still more to be learned about how the treatment worked. But some scientists say these kinds of results have never been seen in the history of cancer research.

Dr. Hanna Sanoff of the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center joined NPR's All Things Considered to outline how this drug works and what it could mean for the future of cancer research. Although she was not involved with the study, Dr. Sanoff has written about the results.

This interview has been lightly edited

On her first reaction to the results: I mean, I am incredibly optimistic. Like you said in the introduction, we have never seen anything work in 100 percent of people in cancer medicine.

On how the drug works to treat cancer: This drug is one of a class of drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors. These are immunotherapy medicines that work not by directly attacking the cancer itself, but actually getting a person's immune system to essentially do the work. These are drugs that have been around in melanoma and other cancers for quite a while, but really have not been part of the routine care of colorectal cancers until fairly recently.

On the kinds of side effects patients experienced: Very, very few in this study - in fact, surprisingly few. Most people had no severe adverse effects at all.

On how this study could be seen as 'practice-changing': Our hope would be that for this subgroup of people - which is only about five percent to 10 percent of people who have rectal cancer - if they can go on and just get six months of immunotherapy and not have any of the rest of this - I don't even know the word to use. Paradigm shift is often used, but this really absolutely is paradigm-shifting.

On why the idea of being able to skip surgery for cancer treatment is so revolutionary: In rectal cancer, this is part of the conversation we have with someone when they're diagnosed. We are very hopeful for being able to cure you, but unfortunately, we know our treatments are going to leave you with consequences that may, in fact, be life-changing. I have had patients who, after their rectal cancer, have barely left the house for years - and in a couple of cases, even decades - because of the consequences of incontinence and the shame that's associated with this.

On next steps for the drug: What I'd really like us to do is get a bigger trial where this drug is used in a much more diverse setting to understand what the real, true response rate is going to be. It's not going to end up being 100 percent. I hope I bite my tongue on that in the future, but I can't imagine it will be 100 percent. And so when we see what the true response rate is, that's when I think we can really do this all the time.

This piece was reported by Sacha Pfeiffer, produced by Jonaki Mehta and edited by Kathryn Fox. It was adapted for the web by Manuela Lopez Restrepo.

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Scientists develop a rapid gene-editing screen to find effects of cancer mutations

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Tumors can carry mutations in hundreds of different genes, and each of those genes may be mutated in different ways — some mutations simply replace one DNA nucleotide with another, while others insert or delete larger sections of DNA.

Until now, there has been no way to quickly and easily screen each of those mutations in their natural setting to see what role they may play in the development, progression, and treatment response of a tumor. Using a variant of CRISPR genome-editing known as prime editing, MIT researchers have now come up with a way to screen those mutations much more easily.

The researchers demonstrated their technique by screening cells with more than 1,000 different mutations of the tumor suppressor gene p53, all of which have been seen in cancer patients. This method, which is easier and faster than any existing approach, and edits the genome rather than introducing an artificial version of the mutant gene, revealed that some p53 mutations are more harmful than previously thought.

This technique could also be applied to many other cancer genes, the researchers say, and could eventually be used for precision medicine, to determine how an individual patient’s tumor will respond to a particular treatment.

“In one experiment, you can generate thousands of genotypes that are seen in cancer patients, and immediately test whether one or more of those genotypes are sensitive or resistant to any type of therapy that you’re interested in using,” says Francisco Sanchez-Rivera, an MIT assistant professor of biology, a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and the senior author of the study.

MIT graduate student Samuel Gould is the lead author of the paper , which appears today in Nature Biotechnology .

Editing cells

The new technique builds on research that Sanchez-Rivera began 10 years ago as an MIT graduate student. At that time, working with Tyler Jacks, the David H. Koch Professor of Biology, and then-postdoc Thales Papagiannakopoulos, Sanchez-Rivera developed a way to use CRISPR genome-editing to introduce into mice genetic mutations linked to lung cancer.

In that study, the researchers showed that they could delete genes that are often lost in lung tumor cells, and the resulting tumors were similar to naturally arising tumors with those mutations. However, this technique did not allow for the creation of point mutations (substitutions of one nucleotide for another) or insertions.

“While some cancer patients have deletions in certain genes, the vast majority of mutations that cancer patients have in their tumors also include point mutations or small insertions,” Sanchez-Rivera says.

Since then, David Liu, a professor in the Harvard University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and a core institute member of the Broad Institute, has developed new CRISPR-based genome editing technologies that can generate additional types of mutations more easily. With base editing, developed in 2016, researchers can engineer point mutations, but not all possible point mutations. In 2019, Liu, who is also an author of the Nature Biotechnology study, developed a technique called prime editing, which enables any kind of point mutation to be introduced, as well as insertions and deletions.

“Prime editing in theory solves one of the major challenges with earlier forms of CRISPR-based editing, which is that it allows you to engineer virtually any type of mutation,” Sanchez-Rivera says.

When they began working on this project, Sanchez-Rivera and Gould calculated that if performed successfully, prime editing could be used to generate more than 99 percent of all small mutations seen in cancer patients.

However, to achieve that, they needed to find a way to optimize the editing efficiency of the CRISPR-based system. The prime editing guide RNAs (pegRNAs) used to direct CRISPR enzymes to cut the genome in certain spots have varying levels of efficiency, which leads to “noise” in the data from pegRNAs that simply aren’t generating the correct target mutation. The MIT team devised a way to reduce that noise by using synthetic target sites to help them calculate how efficiently each guide RNA that they tested was working.

“We can design multiple prime-editing guide RNAs with different design properties, and then we get an empirical measurement of how efficient each of those pegRNAs is. It tells us what percentage of the time each pegRNA is actually introducing the correct edit,” Gould says.

Analyzing mutations

The researchers demonstrated their technique using p53, a gene that is mutated in more than half of all cancer patients. From a dataset that includes sequencing information from more than 40,000 patients, the researchers identified more than 1,000 different mutations that can occur in p53.

“We wanted to focus on p53 because it’s the most commonly mutated gene in human cancers, but only the most frequent variants in p53 have really been deeply studied. There are many variants in p53 that remain understudied,” Gould says.

Using their new method, the researchers introduced p53 mutations in human lung adenocarcinoma cells, then measured the survival rates of these cells, allowing them to determine each mutation’s effect on cell fitness.

Among their findings, they showed that some p53 mutations promoted cell growth more than had been previously thought. These mutations, which prevent the p53 protein from forming a tetramer — an assembly of four p53 proteins — had been studied before, using a technique that involves inserting artificial copies of a mutated p53 gene into a cell.

Those studies found that these mutations did not confer any survival advantage to cancer cells. However, when the MIT team introduced those same mutations using the new prime editing technique, they found that the mutation prevented the tetramer from forming, allowing the cells to survive. Based on the studies done using overexpression of artificial p53 DNA, those mutations would have been classified as benign, while the new work shows that under more natural circumstances, they are not.

“This is a case where you could only observe these variant-induced phenotypes if you're engineering the variants in their natural context and not with these more artificial systems,” Gould says. “This is just one example, but it speaks to a broader principle that we’re going to be able to access novel biology using these new genome-editing technologies.”

Because it is difficult to reactivate tumor suppressor genes, there are few drugs that target p53, but the researchers now plan to investigate mutations found in other cancer-linked genes, in hopes of discovering potential cancer therapies that could target those mutations. They also hope that the technique could one day enable personalized approaches to treating tumors.

“With the advent of sequencing technologies in the clinic, we'll be able to use this genetic information to tailor therapies for patients suffering from tumors that have a defined genetic makeup,” Sanchez-Rivera says. “This approach based on prime editing has the potential to change everything.”

The research was funded, in part, by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, an MIT School of Science Fellowship in Cancer Research, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Hanna Gray Fellowship, the V Foundation for Cancer Research, a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant, the Ludwig Center at MIT, the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program via the Casey and Family Foundation Cancer Research Fund, Upstage Lung Cancer, and the Michael (1957) and Inara Erdei Cancer Research Fund, and the MIT Research Support Committee.

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Researchers reveal promising treatment target for resistant brain cancer

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists identify key cell pathway in glioblastoma, potentially opening new avenues for therapy.

John Pastor

17 May 2024

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For many patients with a deadly type of brain cancer called glioblastoma, chemotherapy resistance is a big problem. But now, Virginia Tech researchers led by Zhi Sheng (center) of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC may have moved a step closer to a solution.

For many patients with a deadly type of brain cancer called glioblastoma, chemotherapy resistance is a big problem.

Current standard treatments, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy using the drug temozolomide, have limited effectiveness and have not significantly changed in the past five decades. Although temozolomide can initially slow tumor progression in some patients, typically the tumor cells rapidly become resistant to the drug.

But now, Virginia Tech researchers with the  Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC  may have moved a step closer to a solution. 

Working with glioblastoma cell cultures, including glioblastoma stem cells derived from patient specimens, and laboratory mouse models harboring human cancer cells, scientists have pinpointed an effective molecular signaling pathway that is thought to be crucial for cancer cell survival during temozolomide treatment. The findings are now online in  iScience , an open-access journal of Cell Publishing.

“In the past 50 years, treatment options for glioblastoma have remained largely unchanged, relying on surgery, radiation, and temozolomide,” said Zhi Sheng, senior author of the study and assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. “However, temozolomide's effectiveness is limited, and resistance to the chemotherapy inevitably develops in patients. Since it's the only currently available approved chemotherapy that can effectively reach the brain, finding ways to restore its effectiveness is crucial in addressing the treatment failure in glioblastoma.”

Researchers examined the Phosphoinositide 3 Kinase (PI3K) molecular signaling pathway, which is like a communication system inside cells. It tells cells how to grow, survive, and divide. When this pathway is activated, it can promote cancer growth, so scientists and clinicians generally thought blocking it could be a way to treat cancer. 

Their results have not been successful.

In the new research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists found that in some brain cancer patients who didn’t respond to treatment, levels were high of a specific form of the signaling protein called PI3K-beta that helps regulate cellular processes.  

When they blocked just PI3K-beta in cell cultures and mouse models harboring cancer cells, the tumor cells became more sensitive to temozolomide treatment. In addition, using a drug that blocks PI3K-beta along with the usual treatment slowed down the cancer cells' growth. 

Researchers are uncertain why PI3K, in its various forms, are very similar in structure yet do different things in the body.

“The reason previous treatments targeting the PI3K pathway failed is because they didn't distinguish between PI3K-beta and its related proteins,” Sheng said. “This research shows that PI3K-beta is specific to glioblastoma, making it the crucial target for effective treatment.”

Going forward, overcoming the blood-brain barrier remains a hurdle for delivering P13K-beta inhibitors into the brain, which will be crucial for translating the findings into the clinic to help patients. 

“We will resolve these issues in our future studies,” Sheng said.

Co-first authors of the study are Kevin Pridham, a former postdoctoral associate at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and Kasen Hutchings and Patrick Beck, two former medical students at the  Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine  who are pursuing their medical careers in radiology in Las Vegas and pediatrics in Philadelphia, respectively.

Cell specimens were provided by Carilion Clinic. Study results are in part based on data generated by The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network, the Dependency Map, the Genotype-Tissue Expression, or the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

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The success of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 could help accelerate research on using mRNA vaccine technology to treat cancer, including the development of personalized cancer vaccines.

Aneuploidy—when cells have too many or too few chromosomes—is common in cancer cells, but scientists didn’t know why. Two new studies suggest that aneuploidy helps the cells survive treatments like chemotherapy and targeted therapies.

New research suggests that fungi in the gut may affect how tumors respond to cancer treatments. In mice, when bacteria were eliminated with antibiotics, fungi filled the void and impaired the immune response after radiation therapy, the study found.

FDA has approved belumosudil (Rezurock) for the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The approval covers the use of belumosudil for people 12 years and older who have already tried at least two other therapies.

In lab studies, the antibiotic novobiocin showed promise as a treatment for cancers that have become resistant to PARP inhibitors. The drug, which inhibits a protein called DNA polymerase theta, will be tested in NCI-supported clinical trials.

A drug called avasopasem manganese, which has been found to protect normal tissues from radiation therapy, can also make cancer cells more vulnerable to radiation treatment, a new study in mice suggests.

While doctors are familiar with the short-term side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors, less is known about potential long-term side effects. A new study details the chronic side effects of these drugs in people who received them as part of treatment for melanoma.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors may improve the effectiveness of cancer immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to studies in mice. The drugs appear to improve the immunotherapy drugs’ ability to find tumors and slow their growth.

Researchers have developed a nanoparticle that trains immune cells to attack cancer. According to the NCI-funded study, the nanoparticle slowed the growth of melanoma in mice and was more effective when combined with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

A comprehensive analysis of patients with cancer who had exceptional responses to therapy has revealed molecular changes in the patients’ tumors that may explain some of the exceptional responses.

Researchers are developing a new class of cancer drugs called radiopharmaceuticals, which deliver radiation therapy directly and specifically to cancer cells. This Cancer Currents story explores the research on these emerging therapies.

FDA has recently approved two blood tests, known as liquid biopsies, that gather genetic information to help inform treatment decisions for people with cancer. This Cancer Currents story explores how the tests are used and who can get the tests.

Cancer cells with a genetic feature called microsatellite instability-high (MSI-high) depend on the enzyme WRN to survive. A new NCI study explains why and reinforces the idea of targeting WRN as a treatment approach for MSI-high cancer.

Efforts to contain the opioid epidemic may be preventing people with cancer from receiving appropriate prescriptions for opioids to manage their cancer pain, according to a new study of oncologists’ opioid prescribing patterns.

The gene-editing tool CRISPR is changing the way scientists study cancer, and may change how cancer is treated. This in-depth blog post describes how this revolutionary technology is being used to better understand cancer and create new treatments.

FDA’s approval of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to treat people whose cancer is tumor mutational burden-high highlights the importance of genomic testing to guide treatment, including for children with cancer, according to NCI Director Dr. Ned Sharpless.

Patients with acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) that does not respond to steroid therapy are more likely to respond to the drug ruxolitinib (Jakafi) than other available treatments, results from a large clinical trial show.

NCI is developing the capability to produce cellular therapies, like CAR T cells, to be tested in cancer clinical trials at multiple hospital sites. Few laboratories and centers have the capability to make CAR T cells, which has limited the ability to test them more broadly.

An experimental drug may help prevent the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin from harming the heart and does so without interfering with doxorubicin’s ability to kill cancer cells, according to a study in mice.

In people with blood cancers, the health of their gut microbiome appears to affect the risk of dying after receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, according to an NCI-funded study conducted at four hospitals across the globe.

A novel approach to analyzing tumors may bring precision cancer medicine to more patients. A study showed the approach, which analyzes gene expression using tumor RNA, could accurately predict whether patients had responded to treatment with targeted therapy or immunotherapy.

Bone loss associated with chemotherapy appears to be induced by cells that stop dividing but do not die, a recent study in mice suggests. The researchers tested drugs that could block signals from these senescent cells and reverse bone loss in mice.

Some experts believe that proton therapy is safer than traditional radiation, but research has been limited. A new observational study compared the safety and effectiveness of proton therapy and traditional radiation in adults with advanced cancer.

In people with cancer, the abscopal effect occurs when radiation—or another type of localized therapy—shrinks a targeted tumor but also causes untreated tumors in the body to shrink. Researchers are trying to better understand this phenomenon and take advantage of it to improve cancer therapy.

An experimental drug, AMG 510, that targets mutated forms of the KRAS protein completely shrank tumors in cancer mouse models and data from a small clinical trial show that it appears to be active against different cancer types with a KRAS mutation.

Researchers have engineered an oncolytic virus to kill cancer cells and boost the immune response against tumors. In a new study, the virus provided T cells around tumors with a hormone they need for their own cell-killing functions.

FDA has approved entrectinib (Rozlytrek) for the treatment of children and adults with tumors bearing an NTRK gene fusion. The approval also covers adults with non-small cell lung cancer harboring a ROS1 gene fusion.

A new NCI-supported study showed that altering cancer cell metabolism by feeding mice a diet very low in the nutrient methionine improved the ability of chemotherapy and radiation therapy to shrink tumors.

An NCI-funded clinical trial is testing the immunotherapy drug nivolumab (Opdivo) in people who have advanced cancer and an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or multiple sclerosis, who are often excluded from such trials.

Researchers have identified a protein called CD24 that may be a new target for cancer immunotherapy. The protein is a ‘don’t eat me’ signal that prevents immune cells called macrophages from engulfing and eating cells.

Injecting cells undergoing necroptosis, a form of cell death, into tumors in mice kickstarted an immune response against the tumors, researchers have found. When combined with immunotherapy, the treatment was effective at eliminating tumors in mice.

Researchers have identified proteins that may play a central role in transforming T cells from powerful destroyers to depleted bystanders that can no longer harm cancer cells. The findings could lead to strategies for boosting cancer immunotherapies.

Did you know that NCI supports clinical trials of new treatments for pet dogs with cancer? Learn more about NCI’s comparative oncology studies and how they may also help people with cancer.

Researchers have discovered a potential way to turn on one of the most commonly silenced tumor-suppressor proteins in cancer, called PTEN. They also found a natural compound, I3C, that in lab studies could flip the on switch.

New findings from a clinical trial suggest that a single dose of radiation therapy may control painful bone metastases as effectively as multiple lower doses of radiation therapy.

The expanding use of cancer immunotherapy has revealed a variety of side effects associated with this treatment approach. Researchers are now trying to better understand how and why these side effects occur and develop strategies for better managing them.

The investigational immunotherapy drug bintrafusp alfa (also called M7824), a bifunctional fusion protein, shrank the tumors of some patients with advanced HPV-related cancers, according to results from a phase 1 clinical trial.

A new study provides insight into how cancer immunotherapy works and suggests ways to enhance the treatment’s effectiveness. The NCI-led study, published in Science, examined the effect of high potassium levels on T cells.

Pain is a common and much-feared symptom among people with cancer and long-term survivors. As more people survive cancer for longer periods, there is a renewed interest in developing new, nonaddictive approaches for managing their chronic pain.

A monthly newsletter from the National Institutes of Health, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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February 2022

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Advances in Breast Cancer

Screening and Treatment Get Personal

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among American women. Breast cancer death rates have been falling over the past 30 years. But nearly 13% of women are still diagnosed in their lifetime. Men can get breast cancer too, although it’s rare.

Cancer is caused by changes to genes Stretches of DNA you inherit from your parents that defines features, like your risk for certain diseases. that control the way our cells function. These changes affect how cells grow and divide. Cancer results when cells divide uncontrollably. In breast cancer, this happens in the breast tissue.

Researchers are studying the risk factors for different types of breast cancer. They’re also searching for more personalized treatments.

Unraveling The Risks

“Breast cancer is caused by a combination of factors,” says Dr. Montserrat García-Closas, a cancer researcher at NIH. Your genes, lifestyle, and environment all contribute to your risk. Researchers are trying to better understand how each plays a role.

People with a family history of breast cancer are at increased risk for the disease. Some are born with rare versions of certain genes that put them at high risk. These include the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 .

“But the vast majority of patients have no known family history and no known gene that causes cancer,” explains Dr. Margaret Gatti-Mays, a breast cancer treatment specialist at The Ohio State University.

So researchers are also searching for combinations of genes that may lead to breast cancer. “Women can inherit hundreds or thousands of common versions of genes that each have tiny effects, but in combination can put them at substantial risk for developing breast cancer,” García-Closas says. An NIH study called the Confluence Project is trying to unravel these combinations.

Other factors can increase your risk for breast cancer, too. These include your age, whether you’ve had children, alcohol use, and obesity.

Studies are examining how all these factors—genes, medical history, and lifestyle—interact to affect cancer risk. One is called Connect for Cancer Prevention. “It’s recruiting 200,000 people in the U.S. and following them for years to see who develops different types of cancers,” says García-Closas.

Staying Ahead of Breast Cancer

Another study, called the Wisdom Study, is exploring how to best personalize breast cancer screening. Screening tests look for signs of a disease before symptoms appear. Finding cancer early may increase the chance that it can be treated and cured.

If you’re at high risk for breast cancer, your doctor may advise you to get screenings at an earlier age than most, or more often.

“Women from 40 to 50 should talk with their doctor about when they should start screening. And that should be based on their personal risks,” says Dr. Brandy Heckman-Stoddard, an NIH expert on breast cancer.

Mammograms are the most common way to screen for breast cancer. These are X-ray pictures of the breast. An NIH study called TMIST is comparing whether 2D or 3D mammograms are better for screening. 2D mammograms are taken from two sides of the breast. 3D mammograms are taken from different angles around the breast. Then, a computer builds a 3D-like image.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is sometimes used to screen women at high risk of breast cancer. MRIs can create a clearer image of the breast and don’t use radiation.

Researchers are looking for other ways to detect breast cancer, too. García-Closas’ team is trying to detect cancer using blood samples. These “liquid biopsies” detect DNA from cancer cells, which travel around the body in the bloodstream.

“Liquid biopsies should reflect what’s going on in your whole body,” García-Closas says, “versus when you look at a tissue biopsy, you’re taking a tiny sample of tissue in a particular location.”

Liquid biopsies may one day be able to detect cancer before other clinical tests, she says. “And, they might be able to better monitor what’s happening in your body after cancer has been diagnosed.”

Fighting Back

When breast cancer is found, treatment depends on the type of tumor. Surgery and radiation are common. Chemotherapy may also be used. Doctors might recommend other treatments as well, depending on the type of breast cancer.

“There are three main types of breast cancer,” Gatti-Mays says. “The subtype is determined by the presence or absence of three receptors Molecules that receive and respond to signals, such as hormones. .” These receptors respond to the hormones Substances made in the body’s glands that signal another part of the body to react a certain way. estrogen or progesterone or a protein called HER2.

“If your tumor has estrogen and progesterone receptors, then you can be treated with hormone therapies,” says Heckman-Stoddard. These block the action of hormones that can cause certain cancers to grow.

Hormone treatments can also be used to prevent or lower the risk of cancer for certain women. One such drug is called tamoxifen. But it has side effects that make it unappealing for prevention. Heckman-Stoddard’s team is studying whether using the drug as a gel lessens the side effects.

There are newer treatment options called targeted treatments. These block specific proteins that control how cancer cells grow, divide, and spread. Targeted treatments for HER2-positive cancer have improved survival over the last decade.

The most recent type of cancer treatment is called immunotherapy. It trains your body to fight cancer using your own immune system The system that protects your body from invading viruses, bacteria, and other microscopic threats. .

“Immunotherapy is very promising, but the benefits are still limited to only some patients with triple negative breast cancer,” says Gatti-Mays. These cancers lack all three receptors. But researchers are trying to expand this treatment to more patients with breast cancer. They’re also testing whether using it in combination with other treatments will work better.

Scientists continue to look for ways to improve screening, prevention, and treatment. “In the next five to 10 years, there should be better ways for women to determine their risk of breast cancer,” says García-Closas. “That should help them have a conversation with their physicians on what will be the best tailored prevention strategies.”

No matter what your personal risk of cancer, a healthy lifestyle is the best way to prevent it. Eat a heart-healthy diet, reduce alcohol intake, don’t smoke, and get regular exercise. See the Wise Choices box and talk with your health care provider about ways to lower your risk.

Related Stories

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Testing an mRNA Vaccine to Treat Pancreatic Cancer

Stop Smoking Early To Improve Cancer Survival

Advances in Childhood Cancer

NIH Office of Communications and Public Liaison Building 31, Room 5B52 Bethesda, MD 20892-2094 [email protected] Tel: 301-451-8224

Editor: Harrison Wein, Ph.D. Managing Editor: Tianna Hicklin, Ph.D. Illustrator: Alan Defibaugh

Attention Editors: Reprint our articles and illustrations in your own publication. Our material is not copyrighted. Please acknowledge NIH News in Health as the source and send us a copy.

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Australian of the Year Richard Scolyer cancer-free one year on from seizure which prompted brain cancer diagnosis

Australian of the Year Richard Scolyer has confirmed his latest scans reveal no recurrence of brain cancer, a year on from his initial diagnosis. 

Professor Scolyer, 57, was diagnosed with glioblastoma IDH wild-type last year and became "patient zero" in a pioneering immunotherapy approach developed by his own research on melanoma, which has produced remarkable results. 

On Tuesday, he wrote in an Instagram post that a recent scan showed no new cancer growth. 

"I had brain MRI scan last Thursday looking for recurrent glioblastoma... found out yesterday that there is still no sign of recurrence. I couldn't be happier!!!!!," he said. 

"Thank you to the fabulous team looking after me so well especially my wife Katie [and] wonderful family!"

About a year ago, the father of three suffered a seizure while in Poland which led to his diagnosis. 

In a video posted in June last year, he said he was "scared" for his future but "thrilled by the support of my colleagues and people around the world as I embark on my cancer journey".

"I am hoping above all hope that the incredible discoveries in melanoma can be utilised to improve brain cancer."

Glioblastoma is an aggressive form of cancer with an average survival rate of 12 months.  

Research partner and fellow Australian of the Year oncologist Georgina Long adapted their pioneering research on the treatment of melanomas to treat the brain cancer. 

The duo are co-directors of Melanoma Institute Australia, which revolutionised the treatment of the deadly skin cancer by using combination immunotherapy before removing the melanoma.

Many brain cancer patients and those who have lost loved ones to the disease have expressed their gratitude and hope for a cure on Professor Scolyer's social media pages. 

Professor Long said a scientific paper about Professor Scolyer's treatment was undergoing peer review. 

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Cancer immunotherapy articles from across Nature Portfolio

Cancer immunotherapy is a therapy used to treat cancer patients that involves or uses components of the immune system. Some cancer immunotherapies consist of antibodies that bind to, and inhibit the function of, proteins expressed by cancer cells. Other cancer immunotherapies include vaccines and T cell infusions.

Overall survival with adjuvant pembrolizumab in renal cell carcinoma — the shock of the lightning

In the KEYNOTE-564 trial, patients with resected clear cell renal cell carcinoma at a high risk of relapse experienced disease-free survival and especially overall survival benefits following treatment with pembrolizumab, which in turn was established as the novel standard adjuvant therapy for these patients. Accurate patient selection is crucial. Managing post-pembrolizumab recurrence is challenging owing to limited evidence for guiding therapeutic decisions based on clinical features.

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Vegetarian and vegan diets linked to lower risk of heart disease, cancer and death, large review finds

A plant-based diet is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and death, according to a large-scale review published Wednesday. 

The research , which appears in the journal PLOS ONE, analyzed the results of nearly 50 studies published from 2000 to 2023.

The studies examined the health effects of either vegetarian diets or vegan regimens, which restrict any food derived from animals, including dairy.

A clear consensus emerged: Both eating patterns were associated with a lower risk of cancer and ischemic heart disease (heart problems caused by narrowed arteries). In particular, the diets seemed to reduce the risk of prostate cancer and gastrointestinal cancers like colon cancer. Vegetarian diets were also linked to a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

In addition, plant-based diets were associated with a reduction in risk factors for heart disease and cancer, including high body weight, inflammation and LDL or “bad” cholesterol. 

“This research shows, in general, that a plant-based diet can be beneficial, and taking small steps in that direction can make a difference,” said Matthew Landry, one of the review’s authors and an assistant professor of population health and disease prevention at the University of California, Irvine.

“You don’t have to go completely vegan to see some of these benefits,” he added. “Even reducing a day or two per week of animal-based consumption can have benefits over time.”

However, Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, pointed out that not everyone who follows a plant-based diet eats the same foods, so levels of healthiness still vary.

“A vegetarian diet could be based primarily on refined starches and sugar, which we see to be the worst dietary pattern,” Willett, who was not involved in the new research, said in an email. 

A healthy plant-based diet, he said, should consist mostly of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, soy, beans and non-hydrogenated plant oils. 

Why are plant-based diets so healthy?

Researchers are still investigating the mechanisms through which plant-based diets lower the risk of disease. 

Some of it may have to do with preventing obesity, which is linked to heart disease and certain cancers . But the benefits likely extend beyond that, Landry said. 

“Some of it is independent of weight. Even when weight is maintained or doesn’t change, we still see reductions in some of these other clinical health outcomes, especially when it relates to cardiovascular disease,” he said.

One possible reason is that many fruits and vegetables are high in anti-inflammatory nutrients and antioxidants, which can reduce plaque buildup in the arteries.

Plant-based diets also tend to be high in fiber, which helps lower bad cholesterol, said Brie Turner-McGrievy, a professor of health promotion, education and behavior at the University of South Carolina. She published a study in 2014 which found that plant-based diets can reduce risk factors for heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. The research was included in the new review.

“Soluble fiber that’s found in things like beans and oats is really a powerful tool to help lower LDL cholesterol levels,” she said.

Turner-McGrievy noted, though, that much of that benefit can only be achieved through eating whole foods: “It’s not like you can take a fiber supplement and hope to have these same outcomes.”

Another benefit of a plant-based diet may come simply from the absence of meat, she said. People who are vegan tend to consume less saturated fat than meat eaters. 

“It’s just really hard to lower your saturated fat intake if you’re consuming animal-based foods,” Turner-McGrievy said. “Cheese, for example, is the No. 1 source of saturated fat in the diet.”

Processed meat products such as bacon or salami are also known to raise the risk of cancer , according to the World Health Organization. The agency considers red meat in general to be a “probable human carcinogen.”

Is a vegan or vegetarian diet right for everyone?

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegetarian and vegan diets are adequate and healthy at all stages of life , including pregnancy, childhood and older adulthood. 

But the new review stopped short of recommending plant-based diets for everyone. 

“During pregnancy, it’s not recommended based on the data that we have to use a strict vegetarian diet,” said Dr. Federica Guaraldi, one of the review’s authors and an endocrinologist at the IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna in Italy. 

Guaraldi and her co-authors found that the plant-based regimens studied didn’t lower the risk of gestational diabetes or hypertension in pregnant women. One study included in the review suggested that pregnant women who followed a vegetarian diet had lower levels of zinc — which is important for children's growth, development and immune function — than those who ate meat. Another study in the review found that vegetarian mothers had an increased risk of delivering babies with low birthweights. 

The review's authors also cautioned that plant-based diets might lead to vitamin B12 deficiencies in the general population. Landry said that can be addressed by taking a B12 supplement.  

“From my perspective as a dietitian, a healthy plant-based diet — either vegetarian or vegan — can really meet just about all your vitamin and mineral needs,” he said. 

Aria Bendix is the breaking health reporter for NBC News Digital.