Technology - Cancer Currents Blog
News and commentaries on technology used to conduct cancer research, deliver cancer treatment, improve patient care, and screen for cancer, as well as other topics.
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Can the New “Omics” on the Block Find Liver Cancer in Blood?Researchers have developed a blood test that, in a preliminary study, accurately detected liver cancer, including in people with early-stage disease. The test uses a new type of technology called fragmentomics to analyze bits of DNA in the blood.
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Coming Full Circle on Cancer and Extrachromosomal DNAA new study shows for the first time that a circular form of DNA, called ecDNA, is present in precancerous tissue and not just cancer cells. The study also suggested that when ecDNA is present in Barrett’s esophagus, that tissue is almost certain to become cancer.
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Multiple mRNA Vaccines Show Promise for Treating HPV-Related CancersA new study has compared three formulations of an mRNA vaccine designed to treat cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. All three vaccines showed promise in mice.
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Liquid Biopsies on the Horizon for Children with Solid CancersResults from a new study highlight the progress being made toward developing liquid biopsies specifically for use in children with solid cancers like Ewing sarcoma and Wilms tumor. The tests can help detect and diagnose cancer and monitor for response to treatment and recurrence.
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Telehealth Can Save People with Cancer Time, Travel, and MoneySince the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people with cancer have had telehealth visits with their doctors. According to an analysis of nearly 25,500 telemedicine visits to the Moffitt Cancer Center by more than 11,600 adults with cancer, the use of telehealth saved people with cancer time, travel, and money.
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Studies Test CAR T-Cell Therapies Designed to Overcome Key LimitationsTwo research teams have developed ways of overcoming barriers that have limited the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapies, including engineering ways to potentially make them effective against solid tumors like pancreatic cancer and melanoma.
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Is a Genomic Test Better at Finding Aggressive Prostate Cancer?The Decipher genomic test found high-risk prostate cancer even when conventional tests said the tumors were lower risk. This discrepancy appeared to happen more frequently for African-American men.
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New Cancer Model Shows Promise in Predicting If Treatment Will Shrink TumorsA research team hopes to offer oncologists a new tool to guide treatment choices for their patients. In a small study, a tumor model called micro-organospheres accurately predicted whether patients would respond to their chemotherapy treatment.
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Screening for Many Cancers with One Test: Uncertainty AboundsProgress has been made on developing noninvasive tests that may be able to find many cancers early. But, as NCI’s Dr. Phil Castle explains, there’s still much to learn about these multi-cancer early detection tests before they become widely used.
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Implanted “Drug Factories” Deliver Cancer Treatment Directly to TumorsResearchers have developed tiny “drug factories” that produce an immune-boosting molecule and can be implanted near tumors. The pinhead-sized beads eliminated tumors in mice with ovarian and colorectal cancer and will soon be tested in human studies.
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Can Artificial Intelligence Help See Cancer in New, and Better, Ways?Researchers have been developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools that could make cancer imaging faster, more accurate, and more informative. But there are also questions about whether these tools are ready for doctors’ offices, whether they will actually help people, and whether that benefit will reach all—or only some—patients.
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Telehealth-Based Cancer Care Surged during COVID. Will It Continue?Experts say studies are needed on how to best transition telehealth from a temporary solution during the pandemic to a permanent part of cancer care that’s accessible to all who need it.
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Experimental Medulloblastoma Treatment Gets a Boost with NanoparticlesA nanoparticle coating may help cancer drugs reach medulloblastoma tumors in the brain and make the treatment less toxic. Mice treated with nanoparticles containing palbociclib (Ibrance) and sapanisertib lived substantially longer than those treated with either drug alone.
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Can mRNA Vaccines Help Treat Cancer?The success of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 could help accelerate research on using mRNA vaccine technology to treat cancer, including the development of personalized cancer vaccines.
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Test Detects Early Signs of Remaining Cancer in Kids Treated for MedulloblastomaA new test could potentially be used to identify children treated for medulloblastoma who are at high risk of their cancer returning. The test detects evidence of remaining cancer in DNA shed from medulloblastoma tumor cells into cerebrospinal fluid.
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Studies Delve Deep into the Protein Machinery of Cancer CellsA research team has identified common interactions between cancer-related proteins in cancer cells. They also created a map of how these protein complexes function in those cells and identified a promising treatment target for head and neck cancer.
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Whole-Genome Sequencing Could Help Guide AML TreatmentFor people with acute myeloid leukemia and related cancers, a new study shows whole-genome sequencing could replace a series of conventional tests used to help guide decisions about treatment.
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Researchers Create Modified Antibodies to Target RAS and p53 in CancerResearchers have developed synthetic antibodies, called diabodies, that block the activity of two of the most notorious cancer-related proteins, RAS and p53. In experiments in mice, the synthetic antibodies shrank tumors with these mutated proteins.
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Imaging Test Could Help Guide Breast Cancer Treatment DecisionsFor some people with ER-positive breast cancer, a new imaging test may help guide decisions about receiving hormone therapy, according to a new study. The test can show whether estrogen receptors in tumors are active and responsive to estrogen.
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PDX Mouse Models Are Reliable Stand-Ins for Human Tumors, Study FindsA large study from an international group of researchers provides reassurance that cancer models, known as PDX mice, largely retain the genetics of the human tumors from which they were created. PDX mice are increasingly used in cancer research.