- New research by scientists at Vanderbilt and Cornell universities demonstrated that cancer-killing immune system T cells become dysfunctional or “exhausted” within hours of encountering a tumor, significantly reducing the effect of immunotherapy. The challenge now becomes to identify targets that could prevent or reverse it. So far, the researchers have identified biomarkers that allow them to predict whether T cells will respond to a tumor or not, which is helpful for personalizing immunotherapies. The study was published in Nature Immunology.
- A recent study discovered that two new genes, NEK2 and INHBA, cause resistance to chemotherapy in head and neck cancer patients and that “silencing either gene can make cancer cells previously unresponsive to chemotherapy subsequently respond to it.” These two genes also play role in other cancers, so these findings can potentially expand to managing different cancer types. The study is published in Molecular Cancer.
- A new study found that antioxidants such as vitamins C and E can promote cancer growth and metastasizing by stimulating the development of new blood vessels in tumors, boosting their growth and spread. This new finding warrants caution in taking antioxidant supplements without true medical necessity. The study was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
- A new cancer therapy has been introduced by Purdue University researchers. “A first in class” targeted microRNA therapy that slows tumor growth was reported in an article published in Oncogene.
- A randomized trial demonstrated that Artificial Intelligence-enabled breast cancer mammography screening was more effective than the standard reading by two experienced radiologists. The study was published in Lancet Oncology. At the same time, two other studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that AI didn’t improve the detection of advanced adenomas leading to colorectal cancer. Thus, it remains unclear whether AI use could reduce the incidence of colon cancer. The first study is a randomized trial, and the second one is a systematic review and meta-analysis.
- Two recent studies evaluated Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbox responses to cancer related searches on the World Wide Web. The first study found that chatbox responses were of high quality but had some limitations. The second study found that a chatbot’s responses on cancer treatments were inconsistent with recommendations in National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines.