- 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.
Automated MeSH Indexing in PubMed
This year the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is transitioning the process of MeSH indexing in PubMed from manual to automated.
MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) are assigned to MEDLINE citations for the purposes of enriching the metadata and increasing discoverability.
Until 2022 MeSH indexing was done by human indexers at the National Library of Medicine. Starting 2022 human indexers will only oversee and troubleshoot MeSH indexing.
One of the major benefits of automating the process of MeSH indexing is almost instant appearance of MeSH in MEDLINE citations in PubMed. With manual indexing this was delayed for a few months on average. Citations awaiting MeSH indexing were called In Process citations which could be found by keyword searches only.
The downside of automated MeSH indexing, at least in the beginning, could be, potentially, increase in indexing errors. The NLM will be engaged in the ongoing improvement of MeSH indexing algorithm.
Read more about the transition.
A Career of Advances in Pediatric Oncology
Dr. Richard J. O’Reilly
In a recent feature for OncLive, MSK’s Dr. Richard J. O’Reilly reflects on his influences and long career as a pediatric oncologist. Most striking are the great strides made in treating children with cancer:
“One has to think about the fact that when I was a resident, I was told that it was unethical for people to tell a parent that their child was going to survive leukemia. Unethical. […] Now we’re talking about 90% of kids with the most common type of acute leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, who can achieve durable remissions and cures. These changes…occurred initially through development of intensive combinations of chemotherapeutic agents coupled with the development of exceptionally effective methods for supportive care that have sustained kids extremely well.”
Still, Dr. O’Reilly continues to push for continued research and questioning the status quo, concluding the article saying, “Never be satisfied.”