• Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a method to quantify tumor-specific total mRNA levels from patient tumor samples. The researchers used this method on tumors from more than 6,500 patients across 15 cancer types and found that higher mRNA levels in cancer cells were correlated with an increased risk of disease progression and poor survival. The study was published in Nature Biotechnology.
• The researchers at Johns Hopkins University investigated age-related mechanisms in melanoma metastasizing. While age-related changes suppress the growth of melanoma cells in primary tumors, this new study established aging as the factor that increased the spread of cancer cells to distant organs. This multicenter study was published in Nature.
• Although cancer cells can have thousands of mutations in their DNA, only some drive cancer progression. Scientists from MIT created a computer model that can quickly scan the genome of cancer cells and identify mutations that occur most frequently and thus potentially are responsible for driving tumor growth. The study was published in Nature Biotechnology.
• A researcher from the University of Texas synthesized a new molecule (ERX-41) that had proved, in in-vitro and animal experiments, to be effective against a broad spectrum of hard-to-treat cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer, pancreatic and ovarian cancers, and glioblastoma. The study was published in Nature Cancer.
• Cancer vaccines are on the rise as a cancer treatment modality. They work by inducing an immune response, but tumors often resist this response via an immune escape mechanism. A group of researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and other institutions created a new cancer vaccine targeting this mechanism and increasing immune antibody levels. The vaccine was studied on animals, and human trials are expected to come next. The study was published in Nature.

In a new study, a team of researchers highlights the benefits of prostate cancer screening, especially among Black men. Since implementing prostate-specific antigen screening (PSA) in the 80s, there have been controversies as those screenings may lead to over-diagnosis. The authors used epidemiologic data from 30 years of health records to study possible screening related tradeoffs. The study results showed that “for Black men diagnosed with prostate cancer using PSA, the test prevented one death for every eight to 12 men”. The researchers showcase the importance of updating the clinical guidelines, especially guidelines where race-specific recommendations are exceedingly lacking. The study was published in NEJM Evidence on May 15.

For guidelines to be inclusive, changes must also be implemented in clinical trial enrollment. The Food and Drug Administration is working on making the trials more inclusive, as described by Lola Fashoyin-Aje, Deputy Division Director & Assoc. Dir, Science & Policy to Address Disparities, Oncology Center of Excellence- FDA.

• Researchers from the UK used sodium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to discover, in a preclinical study, that tumors, unlike healthy tissue, had elevated sodium concentration ([Na+]). The findings demonstrated that sodium levels in tumors of breast cancer patients could be predictors of cancer aggressiveness and the potential efficacy of chemotherapy treatment. The study was published in British Journal of Cancer.
• A study led by the University of Granada in Spain discovered that men with prostate cancer had lower levels of melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone, than men without the disease. The study was published in Journal of Urology.
• Scientists in the UK have discovered bacteria linked to aggressive prostate cancer. By performing genetic analyses on the urine and prostate tissue, they found five species of bacteria connected to cancer progression. If the role of bacteria is confirmed in the ongoing experiments, that will pave the way for new ways of prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. The study was published in European Urology Oncology.
• Researchers from the University of Wisconsin have created a drug-releasing hydrogel to reduce the possibility of local cancer recurrence (colon cancer, melanoma, and triple-negative breast cancer) after surgery. Human clinical trials are needed as this was a preclinical study done on mice. Those findings could potentially be used in other types of cancer. The study was published in Nature Communications.
• The new research by Genetch, Inc., the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center explained how tumor cells or cells infected by pathogens resist killing by T cells, known as cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs).The in vitro study demonstrated that ESCRT protein recruitment helped cancer cells resist CTL attacks. The study was published in Science and commented upon in the same issue.