Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting CTLA-4 and PD-1, which stimulate the body’s own T cells to eliminate cancer, are an efficient treatment strategy for many cancers. Notably, CTLA-4 blockade seemingly leads to more durable responses compared to PD-1 blockade.   Some studies suggest this could be attributed to differing memory CD8 T cell responses from each strategy, but the mechanisms remain unclear. In a new study, researchers led by Stephen Mok, Ph.D., and James Allison, Ph.D., used tumor...

DNA is wrapped into nucleosomes that form chromatin and are rearranged by protein complexes. The INO80 chromatin remodeler enzyme moves nucleosomes along DNA and modifies its protein composition, which is important for many processes including gene regulation and cell differentiation. To better understand how INO80 modifies the protein composition of nucleosomes, researchers led by Blaine Bartholomew, Ph.D., discovered that Arp5 – a protein subunit of INO80 – dynamically rotates, thereby switching the region of Arp5 contacting the nucleosome.   If...

UTMB pathologists recently began using an AI-based tool from Ibex to create digital overlays of every prostate biopsy that comes through the lab.   Pathologists can examine these biopsy images on a computer screen, along with Ibex-generated colored overlays. This process allows pathologists to make more accurate diagnoses of prostate cancer, according to Dr. Harsh Thaker, vice chair for digital and integrative pathology.   In fact, Thaker said he has already seen the new tool...

Adult patients with newly diagnosed malignancy-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (mHLH) – a rare, aggressive hyperinflammatory condition – who were treated with the first-in-class monoclonal antibody, ELA026, experienced a 100% response rate and an improved survival rate at two months, according to researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.   Findings suggest that early intervention with ELA026 may provide meaningful clinical benefits for patients with few options.   “It is common for patients with mHLH...

A new Rice University study sheds light on the critical role marital relationships play in the mental and physical health of caregivers for spouses living with dementia, revealing that caregiver mental health dramatically improves when carers feel supported, understood and appreciated by their loved ones requiring care. The research was led by Vincent Lai, a graduate student in psychological sciences at Rice. The study involved 161 spousal caregivers and explored the unique challenges they face....

Definitive radiotherapy (dRT), intended for long-term disease control, is an effective option for several solid tumors that are oligometastatic, meaning they have limited metastatic lesions, or oligoprogressive, meaning few metastases are progressing. However, the benefit of dRT for metastatic thyroid cancers is largely unknown. Researchers led by Matthew Ning, M.D., examined the use of targeted dRT using stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in 119 patients with oligometastatic/oligoprogressive thyroid cancer.   Treatment with dRT showed a 91% local control rate for treated sites at...

Many patients with late-stage pancreatic cancer develop resistance to various treatments including first-line chemotherapy, highlighting a need to identify and understand the mechanisms of resistance. To provide insights, researchers led by Yohei Saito, Ph.D., Yi Xiao, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D., examined single-cell transcriptomic data from models of pancreatic cancer and clinical pathological information from patients with pancreatic cancer.   They discovered a novel signaling circuit – Yap1 in cancer cells and Cox2 in fibroblasts of tumor microenvironment...

Appendiceal adenocarcinoma (AA), a rare type of appendix cancer, can be challenging to detect. While it is often treated with surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), better tools are needed to guide patient selection, monitoring and treatment decisions. Researchers led by Michael White, M.D., and John Paul Shen, M.D., analyzed circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in AA and identified a unique mutational profile, with TP53mutations being the most common. They detected ctDNA less frequently in metastatic AA and at lower levels...

A new method of assessing patient blood by running it through a miniaturized device that mimics narrowed arteries could help doctors better understand a patient’s risk factors for developing blood clots in the arteries according to a study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch.   Arterial thrombosis, which describes the formation of disease-causing blood clots in the artery, is one of the leading causes of death and serious illness worldwide.   Researchers...