Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital has installed a new radiation therapy system, which integrates imaging, beam delivery, and motion management to give physicians unmatched control of radiation therapy. “This is a major step forward in cancer treatment,” said Twisha Verma, M.D., radiation oncologist at Houston Methodist Cancer Center at Clear Lake. “The new system allows us to limit side effects and reduce the impact on surrounding tissue while improving the delivery of radiation. It actually...

A study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center revealed the investigational drug umbralisib as an effective treatment for patients with relapsed marginal zone lymphoma (MZL). MZL is a low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma that accounts for 6 percent of all lymphoma diagnoses. Although it is treatable, many patients relapse, at which point few treatment options exist. “Umbralisib is part of a new class of drugs that are quite active in low-grade lymphomas,” said Fowler. “These PI3K inhibitors...

If an antibiotic doesn’t kill all the bacteria that infects a patient, the surviving bugs may be particularly adept at timing their resurgence. Theoretical scientists at Rice University have proposed a better way to understand how to prescribe antibiotics to kill every last bacterium or at least discourage them from developing resistance. Anatoly Kolomeisky, a Rice professor of chemistry and chemical and biomolecular engineering, considers antibiotic resistance “the most serious problem of the 21st century.”...

A collaborative team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Saudi Arabia, and Canada developed a potent and safe vaccine that protects against the deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS. MERS was first identified when someone died from the viral infection in 2012. The virus, which can suddenly cause severe and fatal respiratory symptoms, systemic infection and multi-organ failure, has caused more than 2,250 confirmed infections with a 35 percent mortality rate...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported cellular identity switch protects a cancer-promoting genetic pathway from targeted therapy. Working in cell lines and mouse models of lung cancer, a team led by Don Gibbons, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology, demonstrated how the KRAS-driven lung cancer cells defeat treatment by switching from stable, stationary cells into a type of mobile, resistant cell associated with embryonic development. They also found a drug combination...

Complication rates following invasive diagnostic procedures for lung abnormalities were twice as high in the community setting compared to those reported in lung cancer screening trials, and associated downstream costs ranged from $6,320 to $56,845 on average, according to a new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The researchers believe the findings, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, reinforce the need for including these risks in the shared decision-making communication between...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered an immune regulator that appears to dictate glioblastoma (GBM) progression by shutting down immune surveillance, indicating a potential new area of therapeutic investigation. “Classical wisdom is that brain tumor progression is linked to oncogene activation and tumor suppressor gene inactivation; however genetic and epigenetic mutations are not the only cause of GBM progression,” said Shulin Li, Ph.D. “Some immune regulators can do the...

A large nationwide study led by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has confirmed that among various surgical procedures, removing sections of the colon carries the highest risk of complications and has a 46 percent mortality rate, despite efforts to improve surgical outcomes at large. Shining light on this issue can guide advances and improvements targeted directly toward this procedure. The American College of Surgeons works to improve the quality of surgeries throughout...

There is a new medication that in one dose successfully protected nonhuman primates against a lethal infection of all strains of the deadly Ebola virus. Dr. Thomas Geisbert, a world-renowned Ebola researcher at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, said that previous therapeutics typically were of the “one bug, one drug” variety. But because of the unpredictable nature and variety of the Ebola virus, scientists have been seeking a way to protect against...