Biomarkers including circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) clearance and molecular residual disease (MRD) status may help identify which patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) get the greatest benefit from immunotherapy given before and after surgery (perioperative). The study analyzed biomarkers and clinical outcome data from the Phase 3 CheckMate 77T trial, which previously demonstrated improved outcomes with perioperative immunotherapy. The researchers found that the best indicators of a positive outcome were ctDNA clearance before surgery and achieving a pathologic...

The composition of donor cord blood may play a critical role in the success of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell therapies. A small population of immature NK cells present in donor cord blood can undermine the activity of CAR NK cell therapy by redirecting potent immune cells away from tumors and causing them to attack one another. The study, led by first and co-corresponding author Ye Ethan Li, M.D., Ph.D., identifies a previously...

Researchers discovered that immunosuppressed patients with non-melanoma skin cancer are not missing the key cancer-fighting immune cells found in immunocompetent patients, but those cells – known as macrophages – have lost the ability to communicate effectively. This new understanding may help researchers develop new treatment approaches for these aggressive skin cancers. The study was co-led by Moran Amit, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Head and Neck Surgery; Kunal Rai, Ph.D., professor of Genomic Medicine; Frederico Gleber-Netto, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor of Head...

A new study has identified a way to reshape the gut microbiome that can enhance the delivery of certain chemotherapies to tumors, offering a potential strategy to make nanoparticle-based cancer drugs more effective. In preclinical models, reshaping gut bacteria with a short course of antibiotics roughly doubled how long nanoparticle-based chemotherapy remained in circulation, increased drug accumulation in tumors and improved survival across multiple cancer types.   The study was led by Betty Kim, M.D., Ph.D., professor...

Researchers have discovered a promising strategy to overcome PARP inhibitor resistance in ovarian cancer, one of the most common barriers to the long-term effectiveness of this widely used treatment. Targeting a signaling pathway activated by the acidic tumor microenvironment restored sensitivity to PARP inhibitors in preclinical models, suggesting a potential new therapeutic strategy for overcoming acquired resistance. The study was led by Rugang Zhang, Ph.D., professor and chair of Experimental Therapeutics, and Kaixin Cheng, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Rugang Zhang Laboratory.  ...

Researchers uncovered insights that may help explain how rapid-acting antidepressants, such as ketamine and psychedelics, can reduce symptoms in difficult-to-treat depression. The findings may also help identify patients who are most likely to benefit from these treatments.   The study, co-led by Gregory Jones, M.D., assistant professor of Psychiatry, showed that these therapies work by changing communication signals between the immune system and the brain, suggesting that they share certain neuroimmune pathways, even though they act...

A new study has shown that inflammatory arthritis occurring as a side effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors behaves like an immune-memory disease, suggesting that certain immune cell populations could serve as potential biomarkers for targeted therapies. The study was co-led by Roza I. Nurieva, Ph.D., professor of Immunology, Synat Keam, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Nurieva Laboratory, and Yuanteng Jeff Li, M.D., assistant professor of General Internal Medicine, along with Sang Taek Kim, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor from Yale University. The...

With a $4M grant from the National Institutes of Health, a University of Houston pioneer in autoimmune research, Chandra Mohan, is launching a 10-year study set to target the very heart of autoimmune disease – examining what causes the body to attack itself and identifying biological pathways that could become targets for new treatments.   The debilitating array of Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases (SARD) includes Rheumatoid Arthritis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Sjogren’s Syndrome and Systemic Sclerosis....

In the largest study of its kind, a virus-specific T cell therapy achieved a response in more than half of treated patients with a rare and often deadly neurological condition caused by viral infection, according to Phase 2 study results. The investigational, off-the-shelf virus-specific T cells achieved an overall response rate of 56.8% in 37 patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), including 43.2% achieving complete viral clearance with stabilization or improvement of neurological symptoms. Patients...

Patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) who were treated with the CD70-targeted allogenic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, ALLO-316, experienced encouraging results with durable responses, according to results of the Phase 1a/b TRAVERSE clinical trial. This first-in-human study evaluated ALLO-316 in patients with metastatic ccRCC who had progression after treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The Phase 1a portion of the study established the recommended dose and lymphodepletion...