Cancer Currents: An NCI Cancer Research Blog
A blog featuring news and research updates from the National Cancer Institute. Learn more about Cancer Currents.
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Oncolytic Virus Enables the Immune System to Attack Tumors
A cancer-infecting virus engineered to tamp down a tumor’s ability to suppress the immune system shrank tumors in mice, a new study shows. The modified oncolytic virus worked even better when used along with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.
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Is AI Ready to Play a Leading Role in Colorectal Cancer Screening?
Using computer-aided detection (CAD) during a colonoscopy doesn’t help doctors find the growths most likely to become colorectal cancer, two studies find. Researchers agreed that CAD, which is aided by artificial intelligence technology, needs further refinement.
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Can Artificial Intelligence–Driven Chatbots Correctly Answer Questions about Cancer?
Can AI chatbots give people accurate information about cancer and its treatment? The answer appears to be: Not yet. Results from two studies have found that, although AI chatbots can gather cancer information from reputable sources, their responses to questions about treatment and other topics can include errors and omissions.
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New on NCI’s Websites for September 2023
NCI periodically provides updates on new websites and other online content of interest to the cancer community. See selected content that has been added as of September 2023.
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Researchers Develop a Potential “Universal” CAR T-Cell Therapy for Blood Cancers
Researchers have used a form of CRISPR, called base editing, to engineer T cells and hematopoietic stem cells as part of a potential “universal” CAR T-cell therapy for blood cancers. In experiments in mice, the treatment rapidly eliminated tumors, including in mice with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
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Could Bacteria Help Find Cancer?
Engineered bacteria can detect tumor DNA that has been shed into the gut by colorectal tumors, a new study in mice shows. The bacteria are programmed to seek and capture DNA containing a specific genetic change found in cancer.
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Drinking Alcohol, Often Heavily, Common among People with Cancer and Long-Term Survivors
Many people being treated for cancer and longer-term cancer survivors reported regularly drinking alcohol—some heavily and often, a new study shows. The study’s leaders said the findings should be “wake-up call” for cancer care providers.
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Study Adds to Debate about Mammography in Older Women
For women in their 70s and older, the risk of overdiagnosis with routine screening mammography is substantial, a new study suggests. The findings highlight the need for conversations between older women and their health care providers about the potential benefits and harms of continuing screening mammography.
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Cholesterol Drug May Help Protect the Heart during Chemotherapy for Lymphoma
The cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin (Lipitor) may help reduce the risk of heart failure in people with lymphoma who receive chemotherapy drugs called anthracyclines, results from a clinical trial suggest. Anthracyclines, such as doxorubicin, are used to treat many types of cancer.
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Catch-Up HPV Testing May Help Prevent Cervical Cancer in Some Over Age 65
It may be worthwhile for some individuals between ages 65 and 69 to get tested for HPV, findings from a Danish study suggest. Specifically, the testing may help prevent cervical cancer among those who haven’t had cervical cancer screening for at least 5 years.
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New Class of Compounds Rewires Cancer Cells to Self-Destruct
Researchers have created a molecule that, in cancer cells, hooks onto the protein BCL6 at one end and another protein that turns genes on at the other end. The result: self-destruct genes are turned up, causing the cancer cells to die.
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Engaging People with Low-Grade Glioma in Cancer Research
An NCI-supported study called OPTIMUM, part of the Cancer Moonshot, was launched to improve the care of people with brain tumors called low-grade glioma in part by bringing them into glioma-related research.
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Quizartinib Approval Adds New Treatment Option for AML, Including in Older Patients
Treatment options for people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have expanded yet again. On July 20, FDA approved quizartinib (Vanflyta) combined with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for AML with a specific change in the FLT3 gene.
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Targeted Drug Combo May Change Care for Rare Brain Tumor Craniopharyngioma
Treating craniopharyngioma often requires surgery, radiation therapy, or both. But results of a study suggest that, for many, combining the targeted therapies vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and cobimetinib (Cotellic) may substantially delay, or even eliminate, the need for these treatments.
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FDA Approves New Initial Treatment Option for Some Metastatic Prostate Cancers
FDA approved enzalutamide (Xtandi) combined with talazoparib (Talzenna) for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with alterations in any of 12 DNA repair genes. The drug combination, which blocks both DNA repair activities and hormones that fuel cancer growth, was more effective than the standard treatment in a large clinical trial.
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Few People with Cancer Undergo Testing for Inherited Gene Mutations
Despite recommendations, a new analysis shows few people with cancer undergo germline testing to learn if their cancer may have been caused by gene changes inherited from a parent. Germline testing can help doctors determine the best treatments for a patient and help identify people whose family members may be at higher risk of cancer.
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Loss of Y Chromosome in Men Makes Bladder Cancer More Aggressive
In men, loss of the Y chromosome in bladder cancer cells helped tumors evade the immune system and grow unchecked, a new study shows. However, losing the chromosome also appears to make bladder cancer more susceptible to immunotherapy, researchers reported.
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New on NCI’s Website for July 2023 – Researcher/Trainee Special Edition
An update on new and updated content on NCI’s websites of interest to the cancer community. This edition features resources of interest to cancer researchers and trainees.
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Some People with Rectal Cancer Can Skip Radiation before Surgery
Radiation may not be needed for people undergoing surgery for rectal cancer, a large clinical trial has shown. A combination of two chemotherapy drugs before surgery appears to be as effective as chemo and radiation and may spare patients from long-term side effects.
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Three-Drug Regimen Improves Protection against GVHD after Stem Cell Transplant
A large clinical trial has shown that in people with blood cancers, a cyclophosphamide-based regimen better protects against graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) after an allogeneic stem cell transplant than the standard regimen.