Researchers have discovered that some cancer cells express the YAP1 protein only after treatment with chemotherapy, allowing them to survive by becoming more invasive and leading to treatment resistance with eventual relapse in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The study, led by Carl Gay, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, suggests that targeting cells with YAP1 may be a possible strategy to help overcome treatment resistance.   “These findings highlight YAP1-expressing cells as biomarkers...

Researchers have identified specific blood-based genomic biomarkers that distinguish inflammatory breast cancer from other subtypes, providing a new and less invasive method for early diagnosis, disease progression monitoring and treatment development for patients with this aggressive disease. The study used an improved method of RNA sequencing, called TGIRT sequencing, that allows for a more comprehensive overview of all RNA types and amounts present in a given sample. The research was led by Savitri Krishnamurthy, M.D., professor of Anatomic Pathology. “These findings...

Researchers have identified a key enzyme – RNase H2 – that helps triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells survive high levels of DNA replication stress. Because many breast cancer therapies work by causing replication stress, these results suggest RNase H2 is a promising treatment target. The study, led by Shiaw-Yih Lin, Ph.D., professor of Systems Biology, reveals that blocking RNase H2 directly damages cancer cell DNA while also activating the innate immune system to produce signals that attract T cells...

Baylor College of Medicine scientist will begin exploring the possible link between Alzheimer’s disease and viral infections thanks to a $2 million grant awarded in March. Dr. Ryan S. Dhindsa is an assistant professor of pathology & immunology at Baylor and a principal investigator at Texas Children’s Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI). He hypothesizes that Alzheimer’s may have some link to previous viral infections contracted by the patient. To study this intriguing possibility, the...

Memorial Hermann Health System and Nurses on Boards Coalition (NOBC)have joined forces to improve the health of communities across the nation by empowering nurses to expand their impact beyond the bedside through service on executive boards and other leadership bodies. “Memorial Hermann is proud to join Nurses on Boards Coalition as we continue our work to elevate the voice of nurses in shaping the future of health care,” said Bryan Sisk, senior vice president and...

A new study has revealed a promising new approach to curb the spread of triple‑negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive and difficult‑to‑treat forms of the disease.   Dan Duda, Ph.D., scientific director of transplant oncology and therapeutics at Houston Methodist Research Institute, and his research team discovered pairing targeted treatments with CAR T‑cell therapy may help control cancer recurrence when intervention options are otherwise limited.   CAR T‑cells are immune cells engineered in the laboratory to recognize and attack cancer. While they have worked well in some blood cancers, success in solid tumors such as breast cancer has been more...

Patients with leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) have historically had few treatment options. Now, researchers have found a combination of targeted therapies, tucatinib and trastuzumab, plus the chemotherapy drug, capecitabine, may improve symptoms and extend survival in some breast cancer patients with LM. The Phase II study included 17 female patients with newly diagnosed LM and HER2+ breast cancer. Median overall survival (OS) in those treated with the combination therapy increased from a historical average of 4.4...

Researchers found that simultaneously blocking two key “don’t eat me signals” found in cancer cells heightens the immune response and sensitizes tumors to immunotherapy in models of glioblastoma (GBM), highlighting a promising strategy. The study was co-led by Wen Jiang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Radiation Oncology, and Betty Kim, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Neurosurgery and core member of the James P. Allison Institute™. Low testosterone levels may be associated with an increased risk of...

Researchers developed a new computational approach designed to better account for changes in gene expression within tumors relative to their unique microenvironments. This approach outperformed current methods for predicting chemotherapy response in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The new tool, developed by Wenyi Wang, Ph.D., professor of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and colleagues, aims to improve upon similar methods to predict treatment responses using an approach known as deconvolution, which involves breaking down, calculating...

Bloodstream infections (BSI) can turn deadly fast, particularly for patients with weakened immune systems. A new study from Houston Methodist Research Institute finds that artificial intelligence can assist clinicians in identifying previously unseen patterns of infection inpatients and save lives.   Led by Masayuki Nigo, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Medicine at Houston Methodist, the study was published in the American Journal of Transplantation and used an unsupervised machine learning model to identify...