Two of the three research studies led by Jacqueline Douglass, M.D., Ph.D. candidate at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Emily Han-Chung Hsiue, M.D., Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins report on a precision medicine immunotherapy approach that specifically kills cancer cells by targeting mutant protein fragments presented as antigens on the cancer cell surface.
Although common across cancer types, p53 mutations have not been successfully targeted with drugs. Genetic alterations in tumor suppressor genes often resulted in their functional inactivation. Traditional drugs are aimed at inhibiting proteins. Inhibiting an already inactivated tumor suppressor gene protein in cancer cells, therefore, is not a feasible approach, says Hsiue, lead author on the
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A study led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reveals a novel role of the steroid receptor coactivator 3 (SRC-3/NCOA3), a protein crucial for steroid hormone function and a prognostic marker for aggressive human breast and other cancers.
The team discovered that SRC-3 also regulates human immune T regulatory cells (Tregs), which contribute to the regulation of the body s immunological activity by suppressing the function of other immune cells, including those involved in fighting cancer. The study, which appears in the journal
Scientific Reports, shows that Tregs whose SRC-3 function was eliminated failed to suppress the activity of other immune cells in the lab. The authors anticipate that their findings may help in the fight against cancer in the future by leading to new approaches to inhibit Tregs activity which consequently would release immune attack in tumors.
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Like weeds sprouting from cracks in the pavement, cancer often forms in sites of tissue damage. That damage could be an infection, a physical wound, or some type of inflammation. Common examples include stomach cancer caused by H. pylori infection, Barrett s esophagus caused by acid reflux, and even smoking-induced lung cancer.
Exactly how tissue damage colludes with genetic changes to promote cancer isn t fully understood. Most of what scientists know about cancer concerns advanced stages of the disease. That s especially true for cancers such as pancreatic cancer that are usually diagnosed very late.
Researchers in Scott Lowe s lab at the Sloan Kettering Institute are now trying to zero in on the earliest stages of pancreatic cancer development.
Two drugs targeting cancer cells’ energy source potentially could replace toxic chemo in osteosarcoma
January 26, 2021 SHARE A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that a two-drug combination targeting a tumor’s energy sources could be as effective and less toxic than methotrexate, a long-used chemotherapy drug often given in high doses to treat osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. Shown is a cross section of osteosarcoma. (Image: Richa Rathore)
An innovative approach to treating bone tumors starving cancer cells of the energy they need to grow could one day provide an alternative to a commonly used chemotherapy drug without the risk of severe side effects, suggests a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Studying human cancer cells and mice, the researchers said that a two-drug combination targeting a tumor’s energy sources could be as effective and less toxic than methotrexate, a long-used chemot
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IMAGE: From left, postdoctoral scholar Andrey Mikheykin, Ph.D., Jason Reed, Ph.D., and postdoctoral fellow Sean Koebley, Ph.D., worked together on the study. view more
Credit: John Wallace, VCU Massey Cancer Center
Doctors are increasingly using genetic signatures to diagnose diseases and determine the best course of care, but using DNA sequencing and other techniques to detect genomic rearrangements remains costly or limited in capabilities. However, an innovative breakthrough developed by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Department of Physics promises to diagnose DNA rearrangement mutations at a fraction of the cost with improved accuracy.