A new study identifies genes that are necessary in cancer cells for immunotherapy to work, addressing the problem of why some tumors don’t respond to immunotherapy or respond initially but then stop as tumor cells develop resistance to immunotherapy. The study, from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), was led by Nicholas Restifo, M.D., a senior...
Post
Study reveals how to reprogram cells in our immune system
When the immune system is imbalanced, either due to overly-active cells or cells that suppress its function, it causes a wide range of diseases, from psoriasis to cancer. By manipulating the function of certain immune cells, called T cells, researchers could help restore the system’s balance and create new treatments to target these diseases. Scientists...
Post
Mind-controlled hearing aids filter out background noise by tracking the wearer’s brain activity
The technology allows the user to focus on just a single strand of conversation Monitors the user’s brain activity to determine a ‘main’ voice, which is amplified According to the researchers, this process takes approximately 10 seconds Current hearing aids are unable to determine the person who is being listened to Previous research reveals more...
Post
Breakthrough device heals organs with a single touch
Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Ohio State’s College of Engineering have developed a new technology, Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT), that can generate any cell type of interest for treatment within the patient’s own body. This technology may be used to repair injured tissue or restore function of aging tissue, including organs,...
Post
Discovery points to drugs that would ‘short-circuit’ deadly leukemia
Researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered that survival of a particularly aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) depends on production of a small molecule called heme that is a kind of molecular “battery.” The researchers said discovery of this vulnerability points the way to new targeted drug therapies that block heme...
Post
How a chemo drug can help cancer spread from the breast to the lungs
COLUMBUS, Ohio -The very same treatment that thwarts breast cancer has a dark side—it can fuel the spread of the disease to the lungs. Researchers at The Ohio State University studied the cascade of events that lead to metastatic cancer and found clues to why it happens, opening up the possibility of one day interfering with the...
Post
Drug hope for acute myeloid leukemia
A new drug that strips cancer cells of their “immortality” could help to treat patients suffering from one of the most aggressive forms of leukaemia. The drug candidate, called HXR9, works by preventing the cancer cells from sidestepping the natural process that causes unhealthy and damaged cells to die, known as apoptosis. Researchers at the University...
Post
Prostate cancer cells become ‘shapeshifters’ to spread to distant organs
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists report they have discovered a biochemical process that gives prostate cancer cells the almost unnatural ability to change their shape, squeeze into other organs and take root in other parts of the body. The scientists say their cell culture and mouse studies of the process, which involves a cancer-related...
Post
Osteoporosis medications improve bone health in men with prostate cancer receiving androgen deprivation therapy
Both biophosphonates and denosumab improve bone mineral density (BMD) in men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer who are receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). The results from a systematic review and meta-analysis are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. One in two men with prostate cancer receives ADT at some point after diagnosis. While ADT has been the mainstay of...
Post
Researchers discover potential cancer treatment breakthrough
Patients undergoing conventional chemotherapy for certain cancers could potentially receive more effective and less toxic drug treatment. In a July issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Dong Zhang Ph.D., associate professor of Biomedical Sciences at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) and a team of researchers...