Vaccine teaches immune system to recognise rogue cells as part of treatment Method involves extracting immune cells from a patient, altering them in lab they can then ‘see‘ a protein common to many cancers and then reinjected A trial vaccine is showing promising results in patients with a range of cancers. One woman treated with the vaccine, which teaches the immune system to recognize rogue cells, saw her ovarian cancer...
Tag: <span>Immunology</span>
Post
Enhancing immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy using treatment combination
A combination of a novel inhibitor of the protein CK2 (Casein kinase 2) and an immune checkpoint inhibitor has dramatically greater antitumor activity than either inhibitor alone, according to research from The Wistar Institute that was published online in Cancer Research. Credit: The Wistar Institute Immune checkpoint inhibitors have been approved to treat several types...
Post
Immunotherapy could offer hope for some men with aggressive prostate cancers
A group of men with especially aggressive prostate cancer may respond unusually well to immunotherapy, a major new study reports. Micrograph showing prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma (the most common form of prostate cancer) Credit: Wikipedia The research offers the possibility of effective treatment for men with prostatecancer who currently die from their disease much more rapidly...
Post
Beating cancer after 13 years of struggles
Michael English, from Surrey, was told to prepare for the end after 13-year battle He was first diagnosed with aggressive stage 3/4 prostate cancer back in 2005 Doctors tried various treatments, but the stubborn cancer always returned Now, he’s been given the all-clear after ten doses of controversial new treatment Michael English is living evidence...
Post
Research team develops predictor for immunotherapy response in melanoma
In a new study, researchers developed a gene expression predictor that can indicate whether melanoma in a specific patient is likely to respond to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a novel type of immunotherapy. The predictor was developed by Noam Auslander, Ph.D., with other researchers in the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the...
Post
Why is snot green? Immunologist answers 8-year-old’s burning question (and reveals the grim colour is actually good news for your immune system!)
When someone has a cold or infection immune cells kill off the virus or bacteria When the immune cells, which contain a green chemical, die they end up in snot The green colour is a sign your body is successfully fighting an infection It is thought to be a sign that a sniffle is something...
Post
Rare Immune Cells, Cytokine May Predict Response to Cancer Immunotherapy
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The presence of certain rare immune cells and a cytokine one of them produces may affect how well cancer patients respond to immunotherapies, according to a new study. While immunotherapies to jump-start T-cell responses have been successful in a portion of cancer patients, many don’t appear to respond to such treatments....
Post
How a thieving transcription factor dominates the genome
One powerful DNA-binding protein, the transcription factor PU.1, steals away other transcription factors and recruits them for its own purposes, effectively dominating gene regulation in developing immune cells, according to a new Caltech-led study. The research was conducted in the laboratory of Ellen Rothenberg, Albert Billings Ruddock Professor of Biology. A paper describing the work appears in...
Post
Researchers uncover new target to stop cancer growth
ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY PRESS Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that a protein called Munc13-4 helps cancer cells secrete large numbers of exosomes–tiny, membrane-bound packages containing proteins and RNAs that stimulate tumor progression. The study, which will be published June 21 in the Journal of Cell Biology, could lead to new therapies that stop tumor growth...
Post
Team identifies, advances a drug that targets metabolic vulnerability and impairs cancer cell growth and survival
A drug discovered and advanced by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS) and the Center for Co-Clinical Trials (CCCT) inhibits a vital metabolic process required for cancer cells’ growth and survival. Credit: Min Yu (Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC),USC Norris...