October 23, 2017

Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women's researchers laud FDA approval of CAR T-cell therapy for non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Following a successful clinical trial involving Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital, the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for adult cancers was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today. Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, the only facility in the northeast to be part of the clinical […]
October 23, 2017

New gene-altering treatment offered for certain blood cancers

Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is one of the first centers nationwide to offer a new immunotherapy that targets certain blood cancers. Newly approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for types of advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma in adults, the CAR-T […]
October 23, 2017

Turning Brain Cells into Skin Cells

A new study published in Nature Communicationsreveals that it is possible to repurpose the function of different mature cells across the body — and harvest new tissue and organs from these cells. The research tracks the transformation of genetically manipulated cells into melanocytes, which are responsible for the production of skin […]
October 23, 2017

Inflammation trains the skin to heal faster

Scars may fade, but the skin remembers. New research from The Rockefeller University reveals that wounds or other harmful, inflammation-provoking experiences impart long-lasting memories to stem cells residing in the skin, teaching them to heal subsequent injuries faster. These stem cells, which replenish the skin’s outer layer take their cue […]
October 22, 2017

Delayed response times to a written word may be early signs of Alzheimer's

Some people may have mild memory problems without an increased risk of Alzheimer‘s. However, it is one of the factors that may reveal that a possibility to develop this disease is high. A new study lead by the University of Birmingham has shown that delayed response to written word could […]
October 20, 2017

Researchers ‘drug the undruggable’ through unique collaboration

A new study published in Nature, conducted by an alliance between industry and academia involving the University of Liverpool, highlights a new approach to targeting key cancer-linked proteins, thought to be ‘undruggable’. The majority of cancers have a faulty or inactive gene, p53, which allows them grow out of control. The […]
October 20, 2017

Chemistry provides a new supply of a promising cancer and HIV treatment

A drug isolated from a marine pest holds promise for treating some of the world’s nastiest diseases, and researchers would love to find out just how effective it is – if only they could get their hands on more. As it stands, the world’s supply of the chemical is down […]
October 20, 2017

Gene circuit switches on inside cancer cells, triggers immune attack

Researchers at MIT have developed a synthetic gene circuit that triggers the body’s immune system to attack cancers when it detects signs of the disease. The circuit, which will only activate a therapeutic response when it detects two specific cancer markers, is described in a paper published in the journal Cell. […]
October 19, 2017

Rare cancer linked with breast implants may be underreported, misunderstood

A rare cancer in patients with breast implants may be on the rise, but not all patients and physicians may be aware of the risks associated with the procedure, according to a group of Penn State College of Medicine researchers. Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma — or BIA-ALCL — […]
October 18, 2017

Menopause triggers changes in brain that may promote Alzheimer’s

Menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a team from Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of Arizona Health Sciences has shown in new research. The findings, published in PLoS One, could help solve a long-standing mystery about Alzheimer’s: namely, why women get […]
October 18, 2017

FDA Warning Leads to Rise in More Invasive Fibroid Surgeries

A Food and Drug Administration warning against a tool used to break up fibroid tissue during laparoscopic surgeries has led to a shift toward more invasive surgeries for hysterectomies for women with uterine fibroids, according to a new study by researchers at UCSF Health. The authors say this shift could […]
October 18, 2017

Cancer slows but can’t stop a UO discovery on protein motion

A discovery in Marina Guenza's UO chemistry lab, published in a major physics journal, is already being tapped by outside scientists working on a new medical treatment for tuberculosis. The UO research, however, included a detour. Jeremy Copperman, a doctoral student leading it, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in the final year […]
October 17, 2017

UB spinoff company For-Robin moves one step closer to human clinical trials

Scientists from For-Robin Inc., a University at Buffalo biotechnology spinoff, have published new research results showing that the company’s cancer-fighting antibody can target, penetrate and kill human tumor cells effectively. The findings, reported in September in the journal Neoplasia, bring the company one step closer to human clinical trials. “This is a […]
October 17, 2017

For Older Adults, Volunteering Could Improve Brain Function

Older adults worried about losing their cognitive functions could consider volunteering as a potential boost, according to a University of Missouri researcher. While volunteering and its associations with physical health are well known, less has been known about its associations with mental functioning. Now, Christine Proulx, an associate professor in the Human […]
October 17, 2017

Childhood poverty, poor support may drive up pregnant woman’s biological age

Pregnant women who had low socioeconomic status during childhood and who have poor family social support appear to prematurely age on a cellular level, potentially raising the risk for complications, a new study has found. Researchers at The Ohio State University examined blood from pregnant women to evaluate the length […]
October 13, 2017

Bioengineering Fate

Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a Harvard Medical School research team has bioengineered functional small intestine segments that, when implanted into rats, were capable of delivering nutrients into the bloodstream. The investigators describe their accomplishment in the online journal Nature Communications. Get more HMS news here. “In this study […]
October 13, 2017

NIH partners with 11 leading biopharmaceutical companies to accelerate the development of new cancer immunotherapy strategies for more patients

The National Institutes of Health and 11 leading biopharmaceutical companies today launched the Partnership for Accelerating Cancer Therapies (PACT), a five-year public-private research collaboration totaling $215 million as part of the Cancer Moonshot.  PACT will initially focus on efforts to identify, develop and validate robust biomarkers — standardized biological markers […]
October 13, 2017

Brain tumor treatment for dogs may soon be used in human patients

Data from a clinical trial at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech to treat brain tumors in dogs may eventually be used to help humans. The study is trying to determine the safety of a new chemotherapeutic drug and drug delivery method in the treatment of brain tumors in dogs. It’s […]
October 13, 2017

Cholesterol byproduct hijacks immune cells, lets breast cancer spread

High cholesterol levels have been associated with breast cancer spreading to other sites in the body, but doctors and researchers don’t know the cause for the link. A new study by University of Illinois researchers found that the culprit is a byproduct of cholesterol metabolism that acts on specific immune cells so […]
October 13, 2017

Crystallizing discovery on a key target for cancer drugs

Many approved cancer therapies target a protein called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) that regulates many crucial cellular processes and can speed the proliferation of tumor cells. Yale Cancer Center scientists now have made a fundamental discovery about EGFR signaling, reported in the journal Cell, that may open the potential for new types […]
October 13, 2017

New findings explain how UV rays trigger skin cancer

Melanoma, a cancer of skin pigment cells called melanocytes, will strike an estimated 87,110 people in the U.S. in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A fraction of those melanomas come from pre-existing moles, but the majority of them come from sources unknown – until now. […]
October 11, 2017

New use for alcohol aversion drug in treatment of chemo resistant lung cancer

Scientists have had positive results from a laboratory-based study using a well-known alcohol aversion drug to try to combat chemotherapy resistance in the most common type of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The findings from the scientists at Trinity College Dublin and St James’s Hospital have been published […]
October 11, 2017

Discovery of rogue messengers that hinder body’s immune response to cancer

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have made a discovery around treatment-resistant breast cancer that may turn the phrase, ‘don’t shoot the messenger’, on its head. The scientists have found that cell to cell messengers released by cancer cells which are not responding to treatment, can negatively affect the body’s immune […]
October 11, 2017

Scientists reveal how inflammation affects the life of brain cells

New King’s College London research reveals how blood inflammation affects the birth and death of brain cells, which could offer new treatment targets for antidepressants. Mounting evidence points to high levels of inflammation as an important biological abnormality leading to depression in at least one third of patients. However, this […]
October 10, 2017

Combination treatment targeting glucose in advanced brain cancer shows promising results in preclinical study

UCLA scientists have discovered a potential combination treatment for glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer in adults. The three-year study led by David Nathanson, a member of UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, found that the drug combination tested in mice disrupts and exploits glucose intake, essentially cutting off the […]
October 10, 2017

Liquid Biopsy May Be New Way to Detect Liver Cancer Earlier, Easier

An international team of researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, with colleagues at Sun Yet-sun University Cancer Center and other collaborating institutions, have developed a new diagnostic and prognosis method for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), based on a simple blood […]
October 9, 2017

DNA damage caused by cancer treatment reversed by ZATT protein

  An international team led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health is the first to discover a new way that cells fix an important and dangerous type of DNA damage known as a DNA-protein crosslink (DPC). The researchers found that a protein named ZATT can eliminate DPCs with […]
October 5, 2017

Diamonds track cancer

You would not expect diamonds to have anything to do with cancer treatment. But they can actually they improve patients’ chances of survival. “Using traditional techniques, it’s almost impossible to determine whether a cancer treatment has been 100 per cent or 99.9 per cent effective. The difference can have major […]