Here are a few newsworthy items in the world of cancer research

• A study conducted by researchers at the Van Andel Research Institute shows promise in a new drug combination that may be a one-two punch needed to help combat acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The results have been published in Cancer Cell.
• Bioengineers at UC San Diego have developed a new blood test that could detect cancer early on while avoiding invasive procedures like biopsies. Read more on this development in  Nature Genetics.
• Researchers at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health have discovered several gene variants which may predispose individuals to gallbladder cancer. Their findings are published in a recent issue of The Lancet Oncology.
• Researchers at multiple institutions collaborated on a study looking at cancer mortality in various Latino groups that included: Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Mexicans and other groups from Central and South America. Data specifically looked at mortality rates from 2008-2012 for the state of Florida. The results found variation among the Latino groups and are further discussed in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

• A recent post on the NIH Director’s blog showcased the video “Discovery Inside Living Cells in Multicellular Organisms” from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) lab of Roberto Weigert in the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, and at the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research. This video is the fulfillment, says Weigert, of every cell biologist’s dream–to watch living cells at work inside living tissue as they go about the business of keeping us alive.
• Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute have found that a combination of drugs known as SMAC Mimetics and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) amplifies kill rates of cancer tumour cells in laboratory testing. The findings are reported in Nature Communications.
• Two recent studies published in JAMA illustrate how scalp cooling devices may help reduce hair loss for women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Surfing the web, I uncovered these news items worth sharing

• A recent article in the New York Times reported on the wide disparity in death rates of cervical cancer between black women and white women. The full study has been published in the journal Cancer.
• Doctors at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have successfully treated a 26 year old female patient diagnosed with brain cancer using the anti-malaria drug, chloroquine. Further discussion can be found in eLife.
• A new multi-center study found that half of breast cancer patients experience at least one severe side effect from treatment. Side effects led to additional doctor’s appointments, trips to the emergency room, delays in treatment and reduced dosages.  The report was published in Cancer.
• According to a recent study in PLoS Biology, wearable devices can serve as a health dashboard, monitoring health and sensing early signs of illness, likely even before the person wearing it does.
• Researchers with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have identified genomic features of cervical cancer that may help with targeted therapies for patients. More information is available on their website.