Biology of Cancer - Cancer Currents Blog
Cancer biology research news, with context from experts at NCI and elsewhere. Topics include cancer metastasis, the tumor microenvironment, and new targets for cancer therapies.
-
Stress-induced hormones called glucocorticoids can cause biological changes—in the form of sticky traps called NETs—that help create hospitable environments for cancer cells to form metastatic tumors, according to new research done largely in mice.
-
Adding a fusion of parts of two genes helped engineered T cells divide faster, kill more tumor cells, and survive longer in mice without making the T cells behave like cancer cells.
-
In a new study in mice, researchers showed they could enhance radiation therapy by boosting levels of the BAMBI protein in MDSC immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. After radiation, T cells flooded into the tumor and killed tumors elsewhere in the body.
-
The activity of 34 genes can accurately predict the aggressiveness of meningiomas, a new study shows. This gene expression signature may help oncologists select the best treatments for people with this common type of brain cancer than they can with current methods.
-
Antibodies currently used in many cancer treatments have only been able to reach proteins outside of cancer cells. In a new study in mice, scientists found a way to target cancer-fueling KRAS and IDH1 proteins buried inside cancer cells.
-
A new study shows that, in some tumors, a subset of cancer cells can drain mitochondria, the tiny structures within cells that produce energy, from T cells and use them for their own energy needs.
-
A new study, conducted largely in mice, may help explain why a currently used molecular marker—called mismatch repair deficiency—doesn’t always work to predict which patients will respond to immunotherapies called immune checkpoint inhibitors.
-
The ENLACE study is the first to use cutting-edge technologies to describe the molecular features of colorectal tumors in Hispanic and Latino people. The study’s goals are to improve treatments and increase Hispanic/Latino engagement in cancer research.
-
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.
-
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).