Natural killer (NK) cells engineered to express interleukin-21 (IL-21) demonstrated sustained anti-tumor activity against glioblastoma stem cell-like cells (GSCs) both in vitro and in vivo, according to new research published today by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.   The preclinical findings represent the first evidence that engineering NK cells, a type of innate immune cell, to secrete IL-21 resulted in strong activity against glioblastoma, a cancer type in need of more effective treatment options.   “Our research uncovered a previously unknown...

New research out of the University of Texas Medical Branch holds promise for helping people maintain strength and mobility as they age.   The research describes how a small-molecule drug being developed at UTMB is superior to intensive resistance/aerobic exercise at improving muscle strength and function in aged mice.   “Amazingly, the strength improvements with our drug were twice those observed with exercise alone,” said Dr. Stanley Watowich, associate professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology...

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center demonstrated that adding metastasis-directed radiation therapy to standard-of-care chemotherapy improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with oligometastatic pancreatic cancer. Findings from the multicenter EXTEND trial were first presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.   At a median follow-up of 17.3 months, PFS was 10.3 months in patients who received metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) plus chemotherapy compared to only 2.5 months in those who received standard...

Researchers at the University of Houston unveiled a groundbreaking advancement in X-ray imaging technology that could provide significant improvements in medical diagnostics, materials and industrial imaging, transportation security and other applications.   Mini Das, Moores professor at UH’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Cullen College of Engineering, and Jingcheng Yuan, a physics graduate student at UH, introduce a novel light transport model for a single-mask phase imaging system that enhances non-destructive deep imaging...

A recent study at the University of Texas Medical Branch has shown that an mRNA vaccine developed by UTMB scientists protects against Andes virus in an animal model. Andes virus is a prominent rodent-borne virus in South America and has human fatality rates up to 30 percent.   “In 2019-2020, Andes virus caused an outbreak in Argentina with 34 confirmed human infections, 11 of which were fatal,” said Dr. Alex Bukreyev, principal investigator on the...

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Summit Therapeutics, Inc. announced a strategic five-year collaboration agreement for the purpose of accelerating the development of ivonescimab.   Leveraging MD Anderson’s clinical infrastructure and research expertise together with Summit’s innovative, investigational, potential first-in-class PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody, the collaboration is designed to quickly discover additional opportunities for ivonescimab, including several tumors outside of its current development plan. MD Anderson will lead multiple clinical trials in several tumor types to...

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch recently discovered a significant advancement in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The study introduces an innovative nasal spray treatment that has shown promising results in clearing harmful tau protein build-up and improving cognitive functions in aged mice models with neurodegenerative diseases.   “This nasal spray approach opens new avenues for non-invasive delivery of tau therapeutic antibodies directly to the brain, and...

A particular area of interest in uncovering the earliest mechanisms driving cancer is a stress response cell state called senescence, in which cells stop growing but continue to function. Senescence has a known role in preventing cancer, but its underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. In a study led by Rugang Zhang, Ph.D., researchers uncovered some of these mechanisms by investigating the role of METTL3, a methyltransferase enzyme that helps regulate gene expression. They found that METTL3...

Adolescents and young adults with Ewing’s sarcoma (ES), a highly aggressive bone cancer, have few treatment options and a poor prognosis for recurrence. A multi-center Phase I/II clinical trial co-led by Joseph Ludwig, M.D., investigated the ability of the novel small molecule TK216 to disrupt the oncogenic fusion protein EWS-FLI1 in previously treated, relapsed/recurrent ES. In the study, 85 ES patients between the ages of 11 and 77 received TK216 by a continuous intravenous infusion. Researchers observed...

Resistance to certain KRAS G12C inhibitors can result from the buildup of active, GTP-bound RAS, which can increase tumor growth in cancer patients. Therefore, effectively blocking active RAS becomes crucial. In a recent study, researchers led by Ferdinandos Skoulidis, M.D., Ph.D., and Haniel Araujo, M.D., evaluated the antitumor effects of a new class of inhibitors that target the active form of RAS proteins: RMC-7977, a pan-RAS inhibitor of KRAS/HRAS/NRAS, and RMC-4998, a RAS G12C-selective inhibitor. Active RAS...