- Researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) created an artificial intelligence (AI) tool “that uses data from individual cells” in tumors to predict patients’ response to a specific drug. The report was published in Nature Cancer.
- Purdue University researchers are developing nanoparticles capable of enhancing immunotherapy effects in cancer treatment. The study was published in ACS Nano.
- Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania gained insights into how cancer-caused liver inflammation hinders the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. The study was published in Nature Immunology.
- The researchers from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center found that a specific type of bacteria, Fusobacterium nucleatum, known as related to gum disease, may promote colorectal cancer. These findings pave the way for therapies targeting these bacteria in colorectal cancer patients. The findings were published in Nature Immunology.
- Researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center explored the potential of a two-drug combination, doxorubicin plus bocodepsin, as a promising treatment option for triple-negative breast cancer. The preclinical study paves the way for future human clinical trials. The study was published in Breast Cancer Research.
- A new multicenter study found that women with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer who have high levels of immune cells in the tumor may be at a lower risk of recurrence and have better survival rates. The study was published today in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA).
Author Archives: Marina
What’s NOT: More About the Boolean Operator “NOT”
Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) are tools for combining search terms and are inherent part of online database searching. While experienced searchers will use Boolean Operators directly in their search strategies, even novice searchers that just enter a string of terms into a database’s search box will end up indirectly using the Boolean operator AND, as each space between words will be treated by the database as AND, thus combining each term together into a search strategy that would retrieve results that have all terms present.
Most search strategies will either use just AND or a combination of both AND and OR. The third Boolean operator, NOT, is much more complicated and requires some understanding to use properly in a search.
Using the Boolean Operator NOT
The Boolean operator NOT can be used when a term or terms needs to be excluded from your search strategy.
For example, if you were interested in articles that looked at children with cancer, but you did not want articles that looked specifically at infants, you could create a search strategy like this:
cancer AND child* NOT infant*
— or —
(cancer AND child*) NOT infant*
The Problem with NOT
When using the Boolean operator NOT to exclude terms, it can become problematic when the database excludes records that contain both the term(s) you want to exclude and the term(s) you want in your search.
In the above example, not only articles about cancer in infants will be excluded from the results but it will also exclude any articles about cancer in both children and infants.
Information professionals (librarians and informationists) advise using the Boolean operator NOT with extreme caution when conducting searches. It’s better to reach out to an information professional for assistance with complex search techniques and how to best proceed with a search when there is a term you want to avoid.
Variations Across Databases
Not all databases function the same way, and using the Boolean operator NOT is no different. While most databases allow for using simply NOT to exclude terms, depending on the database or platform, you might need to use the operator AND NOT instead (Scopus), or once the search is performed use the Exclude button found within the Refine Search panel (also in Scopus).
Takeaway
The Boolean operator NOT should be used with extreme caution. It is best to consult a Librarian on its use in your search.
Chronic Stress Connection to Cancer Explained, Taking from Cancer to Fight Cancer, and More
- In a mice experiment, researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory got an insight into the exact nature of the connection between cancer and psychological stress. The researchers discovered that stress hormones called glucocorticoids impacted the neutrophils (white blood cells), forming structures called NETs (neutrophil extracellular traps). Usually, NETs play a positive role in immune defense in the body, but “in cancer, NETs create a metastasis-friendly environment.” The study was published in Cancer Cell.
- Researchers at the University of Virginia Cancer Center identified a new, more efficient than existing methods, way to identify high-risk patients with acute myeloid leukemia. By measuring specific molecules in cancer cells, the new method helps identify patients at risk of poor outcomes and how well patients would respond to treatments. In the future, the technique may lead to more personalized treatments and better outcomes for patients with blood cancer. This research was published in Blood Advances.
- Researchers from UC San Francisco (UCSF) and Northwestern University borrowed from cancer stratagems to fight cancer by using a specific mutation found in lymphoma to drastically increase the potency of normal human T cells in killing cancer cells without triggering side effects. Also, while current immunotherapies are used only against hematological cancers, the T cells engineered by Northwestern U and UCSF could kill solid tumors – “tumors derived from skin, lung and stomach in mice.” Human trials can be expected in the future. An article reporting on this research was published in Nature.
- In a preclinical study, researchers from Columbia University and other institutions explored a molecule called Malat1, responsible for activating breast cancer dormant cells and triggering metastasis. By deleting the Malat1 gene, researchers were able to suppress cancer’s ability to metastasize. Extended to humans in the future, this research may eventually lead to better treatments and improved patient outcomes. The study was published in Nature Cancer.
- Researchers from Vanderbilt University developed a way to kill a tumor by “disrupting its acidic “microenvironment” without harming normal tissue”. The method targets hydroxyapatite (HAP), a naturally occurring mineral also produced by some tumors. The study was published in Cancer Medicine.