By analyzing tumors from more than 2,600 patients and from 38 cancer types, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and fellow member institutions of the international Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium have characterized the extensive genetic diversity across cancer and within individual tumors.   The study found that 95% of the analyzed tumors had at least one subclone or genetically distinct group of tumor cells, and these subclones were often very diverse — even...

There are many ways to test municipal wastewater for signs of the virus that causes COVID-19, but scientists in Houston have determined theirs is the best yet. A study led by environmental engineer Lauren Stadler of Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering with the aid of the City of Houston Health Department and Baylor College of Medicine compared five processes used by labs around the country to concentrate samples and find the virus in wastewater from six Houston plants....

A high rate of genetic mutations within a tumor, known as high tumor mutation burden (TMB), was only useful for predicting clinical responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors in a subset of cancer types, according to a new study led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.   The findings suggest that TMB status may not be reliably used as a universal biomarker for predicting immunotherapy response. While TMB status was capable of successfully predicting response to...

A team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) focused on drug addiction research have pioneered a new way to study frustration as a factor in substance use disorders.   Traditional addiction research has focused on three aspects of substance use disorders: craving, impulsivity, or habit.  Scientists hypothesized that a fourth factor, frustration, could also lead to escalation of drug use and addiction.   The Psychopharmacology paper noted that research into the role of...

Open communication and trust are essential for successful teamwork in challenging health care situations, as detailed in “Building effective healthcare team development interventions in uncertain times: Tips for success.” The paper was authored by researchers at Rice University, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and The Group for Organizational Effectiveness. The study outlines a new model, developed at MD Anderson under the guidance of the researchers, with recommendations for health care team effectiveness....

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed the first comprehensive framework to classify small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) into four unique subtypes, based on gene expression, and have identified potential therapeutic targets for each type. SCLC is known for rapid, aggressive growth and resistance to treatment, which leads to poor outcomes. While recent advances in immunotherapy and targeted therapy have improved survival for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), progress for SCLC has been limited. “For decades, small-cell lung cancer...

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered what may be the Achilles’ heel of the coronavirus, a finding that may help close the door on COVID-19 and possibly head off future pandemics. The coronavirus is an RNA virus that has, in its enzymatic toolkit, a “proofreading” exoribonuclease, called nsp14-ExoN, which can correct errors in the RNA sequence that occur during replication, when copies of the...

Finding a needle in a haystack is hard enough. But try finding a specific molecule on the needle. Rice University researchers have achieved something of the sort with a new genome editing tool that targets the supporting players in a cell’s nucleus that package DNA and aid gene expression. Their work opens the door to new therapies for cancer and other diseases. Rice bioengineer Isaac Hilton, postdoctoral researcher and lead author Jing Li and their colleagues programmed a...

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center who profiled more than 45,000 individual cells from patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC), a specific form of metastatic gastric cancer, defined the extensive cellular heterogeneity and identified two distinct subtypes correlated with patient survival. Based on their findings, the researchers developed and validated a gene expression signature capable of predicting patient survival better than other clinical features. If validated in prospective studies, this tool may be useful...

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that a protein called NF-kappa B-inducing kinase (NIK) is essential for the shift in metabolic activity that occurs with T cell activation, making it a critical factor in regulating the anti-tumor immune response. The preclinical research suggests that elevating NIK activity in T cells may be a promising strategy to enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy, including adoptive cellular therapies and immune checkpoint blockade. In a preclinical melanoma...