- In collaboration with other researchers, researchers at the National Institutes of Health discovered an entirely new ways RAS genes, which are “the second most frequently mutated genes in cancer”, drive cancer growth. The knowledge of RAS genes’ role in cancer was well established, but discovering how RAS genes trigger a chain “of events involving the transport of specific proteins in the nucleus” is an entirely new turn. The discovery can pave the way for new drug combinations to treat RAS-promoted cancers more effectively. The study was published in Nature Cancer.
- Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) conducted the phase I clinical trial of an investigational vaccine for the prevention of triple-negative breast cancer recurrence. This small clinical trial of a new type of vaccine, known as a neoantigen DNA vaccine, demonstrated promising, better-than-expected, results for patients with this aggressive, hard-to-treat, type of breast cancer. The study was published in Genome Medicine.
- Another research that has implications for triple-negative breast cancer, among other cancer types, is conducted at Johns Hopkins University. This research is related to cancer cells that, after leaving the hypoxic (i.e., lacking oxygen) environment deep in the tumor, enter the bloodstream and spread. Scientists have identified 16 genes that breast cancer cells use to survive in the bloodstream. Each of these genes can become a therapeutic target to stop cancer recurrence, one of which has already been in clinical trials. The research was reported on in Nature Communications.
- Researchers from Northwestern University have found an unexpected connection between COVID-19 infection and cancer regression. They discovered that the RNA from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 triggers the development of a unique type of immunity that can fight cancer. The discovery may lay a foundation for novel cancer treatments. The study was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
- Researchers from MD Anderson found significant survival benefits in patients who quit smoking after cancer diagnosis. “The best outcomes were observed in patients who started tobacco treatment within six months of a cancer diagnosis and were abstinent from smoking three months later.” The study was published in JAMA Oncology.
Category Archives: Cancer Research News
5-FU Acts Differently in Gastrointestinal Cancers, New Insights into Biology of Bladder Cancer and More
- A study by researchers from Rockefeller University provided a new insight into cancer biology by demonstrating that a lipid type is crucially essential for cancer immune evasion. The findings imply that existing medications for impeding lipid production can boost the immune system in fighting cancer. The study was published in Nature.
- Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital showed that lung cancer screening guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force don’t adequately serve their purpose, especially in Black patients. In place of requiring the equivalent of a pack a day for 20 years the Harvard researchers suggest switching “to a simple measure that would recommend annual screening for anyone who’s smoked for 20 years, regardless of how many cigarettes they smoke a day”. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
- Unlike other breast cancer types, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) does not respond to hormone therapy or anti-HER2 drugs. A new study from Mass General Brigham established that combining two types of therapeutic agents (AKT and EZH2 inhibitors) can selectively kill these cancer cells, establishing a foundation for a new triple-negative breast cancer treatment. The study is published in Nature.
- A study by Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center has offered “unprecedented insights” into early bladder cancer (specifically, urothelial carcinoma) development. Researchers found that antiviral enzymes and standard chemotherapy were the main culprits for bladder cancer development as sources of mutations. The researchers also gained insights into the mechanisms of bladder cancer resistance to therapy. These findings are breakthrough contributions to the knowledge of bladder cancer biology and pave the way to new therapeutic strategies. The study was published in Nature.
- Researchers from MIT discovered that the old cancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) which has been around since the 1950s, “acts differently in different types of cancer”. While it was long established that it affects cancer by damaging building blocks of DNA, the new study found that in gastrointestinal cancers it kills cells by interfering with RNA synthesis. This new finding will have an impact on what combinations of 5-fluorouracilwith with other chemotherapy drugs are given to achieve synergistic effects in different types of cancer. The study was published in Cell Reports Medicine.
Ancient Viruses Contributing to Cancer, Enhancer for CAR-T Cell Therapy, and More
- In a preclinical study, scientists from Yale University used therapy carrying antibodies redesigned from lupus to target tumors. The novel approach allows the antibodies to get “unnoticed into the tumor environment”, which makes this therapy very targeted. This results in a “reduction in toxic side effects experienced by patients when less precise therapies kill off healthy tissue.” The study was published in ACS Central Science.
- Researchers from Rockefeller University discovered that sensory nerves within breast tumors strongly influence cancer progression and metastasizing. This discovery opens new possibilities for stopping breast cancer growth. The study also determined that the TACR1 antagonist aprepitant, an FDA-approved drug for nausea prevention, may prevent cancer growth and metastasis by targeting neuron chemistry/breast cancer interplay. The study was published in Nature.
- Researchers from Harvard University and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute designed a protein that allowed the prolongation of the potency of CAR-T Cell therapy, a crucially important type of cancer treatment. The study was published in Nature Biotechnology.
- The latest cohort study by a group of researchers from multiple medical centers established that people at risk of pancreatic cancer have better survival rates if they undergo annual imaging as part of preventive surveillance. The study’s findings may lead to early detection of pancreatic cancer in high-risk individuals and improved survival rates. The study was published in JAMA Oncology.
- In the latest research on the subject, researchers from the University of Colorado established that pieces of DNA “left behind by viruses that infected primate ancestors tens of millions of years ago” and present inside the human genome, if reawakened, may help cancer “survive and thrive.” The findings suggest that “silencing certain endogenous retroviruses” can help cancer treatments become more efficient. The study was published in Science Advances.
- A new study from the American Cancer Society that “used 2019 information from nationally representative data on cancer incidence and mortality, as well as risk factor prevalence” found that “four in 10 cancer diagnoses and almost half of all cancer deaths of adults over the age of 30 in the United States could be attributed to modifiable risk factors.” The article published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians reports in some detail epidemiology correlating the risk factors with different cancer types.