The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Children’s Hospital have announced a transformational collaboration dedicated solely to pediatric cancer care. Approved by the UT System Board of Regents and the Texas Children’s Board of Trustees, this new, first-of-its-kind joint venture will unite the nation’s largest comprehensive pediatric system and a top pediatric cancer program with the nation’s leading comprehensive cancer center. The collaboration has a single mission: to end childhood cancer. “The scope and scale of...

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Myriad Genetics, Inc. announced a five-year strategic alliance to accelerate the clinical evaluation and development of Myriad’s molecular residual disease (MRD) assay.   This strategic alliance brings together the longstanding oncology diagnostic experience of Myriad Genetics and the clinical and translational research expertise of MD Anderson to create a portfolio of studies to evaluate the clinical validity and utility of Myriad’s PreciseMRD.   “We look forward to...

The omentum – a fatty tissue that suspends from the stomach – is a common site of metastasis for abdominal cancers, especially ovarian cancers. The omentum contains abundant clusters of immune cells, but it is unclear why they do not effectively defend against cancer cells. In a new study, researchers led by WonJae Lee, Ph.D., and  Honami Naora, Ph.D., showed that neutrophils release webs of DNA called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) that specifically attract innate-like B...

A new biomarker study provides novel insights into how dose-dense chemotherapy can improve survival for some patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. In the study, researchers analyzed 12-year follow-up data from the Phase III CALGB 9741 trial, which included 1,973 patients with node-positive, early-stage breast cancer.   The results showed that dose-dense chemotherapy, given every two weeks instead of the standard three-week schedule, improved disease-free survival by 20% and overall survival by 15%. Using a biomarker test developed at...

Many patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma are treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors as part of their systemic regimens, but only a small subset of patients achieve durable long-term or curative responses. To identify molecular biomarkers for these exceptional responders and better predict which patients benefit most, researchers led by Sachet Shukla, Ph.D., utilized whole-exome and RNA sequencing to analyze pre-treatment tumor samples and matched germline samples from treated patients in two clinical trials.   The researchers identified...

Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may benefit from immune checkpoint inhibition, but many end up with immune-related side effects, highlighting a need to identify potential risk factors. Patients with higher T cell receptor (TCR) richness in their peripheral blood have improved outcomes, but the characteristics of TCR and their role in side effects is poorly understood.   In the LONESTAR clinical trial, researchers led by Mehmet Altan, M.D., Alexandre Reuben, Ph.D., John Heymach, M.D., Ph.D., and Jianjun Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.,...

Patients with advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NET) – rare tumors that develop in the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract – are routinely monitored for disease progression using imaging tests. Circulating chromogranin A (CgA) is an established biomarker for these tumors, but there are mixed results in using serum or plasma CgA to monitor disease progression.   In the prospective, multicenter CASPAR study, Qing Meng, Ph.D., and colleagues examined imaging tests from 153 patients with well-differentiated GEP-NET and validated an...

Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting CTLA-4 and PD-1, which stimulate the body’s own T cells to eliminate cancer, are an efficient treatment strategy for many cancers. Notably, CTLA-4 blockade seemingly leads to more durable responses compared to PD-1 blockade.   Some studies suggest this could be attributed to differing memory CD8 T cell responses from each strategy, but the mechanisms remain unclear. In a new study, researchers led by Stephen Mok, Ph.D., and James Allison, Ph.D., used tumor...

DNA is wrapped into nucleosomes that form chromatin and are rearranged by protein complexes. The INO80 chromatin remodeler enzyme moves nucleosomes along DNA and modifies its protein composition, which is important for many processes including gene regulation and cell differentiation. To better understand how INO80 modifies the protein composition of nucleosomes, researchers led by Blaine Bartholomew, Ph.D., discovered that Arp5 – a protein subunit of INO80 – dynamically rotates, thereby switching the region of Arp5 contacting the nucleosome.   If...

UTMB pathologists recently began using an AI-based tool from Ibex to create digital overlays of every prostate biopsy that comes through the lab.   Pathologists can examine these biopsy images on a computer screen, along with Ibex-generated colored overlays. This process allows pathologists to make more accurate diagnoses of prostate cancer, according to Dr. Harsh Thaker, vice chair for digital and integrative pathology.   In fact, Thaker said he has already seen the new tool...