Mutations in DNA repair genes are known drivers of hereditary cancers. However, only a tiny fraction of patients with hereditary breast or ovarian cancers have BRCA1/2 mutations involved in homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair. Researchers led by Nidhi Sahni, Ph.D., calculated scores across tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas to comprehensively identify positive or negative tumors for HR defects. Around 75% of tumors with a positive HR score did not have deficiencies in known HR genes, but the researchers identified nearly...

The human genome contains thousands of non-canonical open reading frames (ORFs) with the potential to encode functional proteins, including microproteins. These unannotated, cryptic proteins are not easily detected by conventional approaches and are considered part of the “dark” proteome. Previous studies have highlighted the tumor-suppressive function of some microproteins in colorectal cancer (CRC), but their role in cancer remains largely unknown. To provide further insights, researchers led by Yiwen Chen, Ph.D., used an integrated multi-omic approach combining ribosome...

The University of Texas Medical Branch recently started implementing a state-of-the-art robotic bronchoscopy system. This technology is set to revolutionize diagnostic procedures in pulmonary medicine, offering unprecedented precision and minimally invasive capabilities.   “This robotic bronchoscopy system represents a significant leap forward in the field of diagnostic bronchoscopy to identify early-stage lung cancer before it has spread,” says Dr. Shawn Nishi, Interventional Pulmonologist at UTMB, about the impact of this technology. “This offers the best...

A regimen of pre-surgical immunotherapy and chemotherapy followed by post-surgical immunotherapy significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) and pathologic complete response (pCR) rates compared to chemotherapy alone for patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results of a Phase III trial reported by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.   The AEGEAN trial evaluated durvalumab given perioperatively, meaning therapy is given both before and after surgery. Participants in the trial received either pre-surgical (neoadjuvant) durvalumab and platinum-based chemotherapy followed...

Targeted treatment with the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitor erdafitinib improved responses and overall survival compared to standard chemotherapy for patients with metastatic urothelial cancers with FGFR alterations. Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center led results from the Phase III THOR trial.   “Metastatic urothelial cancer continues to challenge us with its absence of a cure, highlighting the need for innovative treatment approaches,” said Arlene Siefker-Radtke, M.D., professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and senior investigator on the trial....

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that lactate-producing intratumoral bacteria drive resistance to radiation therapy, suggesting that lactic acid-producing bacteria present in various cancers may serve as novel therapeutic targets.   The study reported that a particular bacterial species, Lactobacillus iners (L. iners), caused cancer cells to respond to radiation by rewiring metabolic signaling pathways to resist treatment. The researchers also found that L. iners was associated with poorer clinical outcomes in patients with cervical cancer.   “These...

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has awarded $45 million to rapidly develop sense-and-respond implant technology that could slash U.S. cancer-related deaths by more than 50%.   The award to a Rice University-led team of researchers from seven states will fast-track the development and testing of a new approach to cancer treatment that aims to dramatically improve immunotherapy outcomes for patients with ovarian, pancreatic, and other difficult-to-treat cancers.   “Instead of tethering patients...

Patients with TP53-mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) respond poorly to currently available therapies, including the combination of venetoclax and hypomethylating agents, which presents a major therapeutic challenge. A new potential therapeutic target, the epichaperome complex, is a protein network consisting of heat-shock proteins and co-chaperones found in many tumors that support the survival of cancer cells. Researchers led by Bing Carter, Ph.D., and Michael Andreeff, M.D., Ph.D., identified high levels of epichaperomes in TP53-mutant AML cells. They found that targeting epichaperomes with...

Many patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B cell lymphoma respond well to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy targeting CD19. Still, most do not have a durable response, highlighting a need to understand the underlying resistance mechanisms. To address this issue, researchers led by Qing Deng, Ph.D., Michael Green, Ph.D., and Xubin Li, Ph.D., used single-cell RNA sequencing to establish a large dataset of CAR T cells to treat 59 patients with R/R large B cell lymphoma.   To show...

New research out of the University of Texas Medical Branch potentially points to an effective treatment for Lassa fever, a dangerous, often fatal disease common to much of West Africa but considered a significant threat to global health. UTMB’s scientists document how a new drug from Zalgen Labs successfully cured cynomolgus monkeys infected with Lassa virus. There currently is no approved treatment for the disease, estimated to infect 300,000 to 500,000 people a year across...