Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a novel strategy to reduce immune-related adverse events from immunotherapy treatment by targeting the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). The study establishes a proof of concept for combining immune checkpoint blockade with cytokine blockers to inhibit inflammatory autoimmune responses selectively. While combination immunotherapy with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 agents has revolutionized treatment for multiple cancer types, it also has high toxicity rates, which can affect the...

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch recently confirmed the presence of neutralizing antibodies to SARS–COV-2 in a common subcutaneous antibody therapy (Hizentra) used to treat immunocompromised or immunodeficient patients, citing its protective benefits to the immunocompromised patient community. An immune deficiency can be a result of a variety of factors, including a genetic disorder or the medication a patient takes. That can leave a patient with a weakened immune system that is unable...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that two distinct classes of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) accumulate in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment and play opposing roles to promote and restrain pancreatic cancer development.   The preclinical findings suggest that appropriately targeting these unique CAF populations may offer strategies to improve the use of other treatments, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.   “Cancer-associated fibroblasts are known to regulate cancer progression, but targeting these cells in pancreatic cancer has largely...

Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch have developed a vaccine showing promising protection against the Nipah virus, a zoonotic virus that has a mortality rate as high as 70 percent and that is considered to be a pathogen of pandemic potential.   Scientists working in the Biosafety Level 4 Lab at the Galveston National Laboratory developed the rapid-acting vaccine using a harmless recombinant Vesicular stomatitis virus vector to deliver a piece of the Nipah...

Rice University bioengineering students are making a critical procedure easier for airway managers and safer for patients with a simplified, high-tech intubation device.   The Gateway to Airway team at Rice, working with an anesthesiologist, has developed a sleek laryngoscope that simplifies intubating patients for scheduled or emergent procedures.   The handheld, 3D-printed device contains a miniature wireless camera. Clinicians can use a switch on the comfortable handle to adjust the light from an LED near the camera, which...

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered that treatment resistance in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is caused by two distinct classes of stem cells and identified possible therapeutic approaches that target these cells. Their findings could have significant benefits for patients with disease progression. This research, which spans preclinical and clinical studies, represents the largest analysis to date of MDS patient samples. If further validated in larger clinical trials, the data...

Details about variants hiding in the deluge of genetic SARS-CoV-2 sequences would be good to know, if only researchers a new program developed by Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering will make it possible, at least for “intrahost variants,” those that appear in genome data from the same COVID-19-positive person. A Rice team led by computer scientist Todd Treangen and graduate student Yunxi Liu has developed Variabel, which accurately identifies “low-frequency variants” of the virus that causes COVID-19....

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common leukemia in adults and, despite advances in targeted therapies, is associated with poor prognoses. Immunotherapy has shown promise, especially in combination with chemotherapy. A research team led by V. Lokesh Battula, Ph.D., demonstrated that the immune checkpoint protein B7-H3 may serve as a potential immunotherapy target in patients with AML. The team found elevated expression of B7-H3 to be associated with poor treatment outcomes in patients with AML. In preclinical studies,...

A moderate amount of a peptide-enhanced, biological cancer drug goes a long way in treating breast cancers that metastasize to the bone. A study by scientists at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine demonstrated the effective treatment of such cancers in rodent models, bringing hope for new therapies to treat bone metastases. The open-access study advances techniques pioneered by Rice chemist Han Xiao and his co-author at Baylor, biologist Xiang Zhang. They discovered through extensive testing that...

A study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported that the MEK inhibitor trametinib reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 52% compared to standard-of-care therapies for the treatment of low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. The international, multi-center Phase II/III trial led by David Gershenson, M.D., professor of Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine, is the first positive randomized clinical trial of any therapy to demonstrate significantly increased progression-free survival (PFS) and objective...