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Head and neck cancer is an aggressive type of cancer that often grows back, despite patients undergoing harsh treatments. Researchers of the Hubrecht Institute (KNAW) and UMC Utrecht succeeded in growing mini-tumors (or organoids) of head and neck cancers, that can be kept alive in the petri-dish for a long time. Else Driehuis, researcher at the Hubrecht Institute: “These mini-tumors […]
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The gut has a population of organisms that live within in it, called the gut microbiome, which are linked to human health and disease. Recent studies have shown that assessing the genetic changes in fecal samples can accurately reflect the status of the gut microbiome, and may be useful for the early diagnosis of diseases. A group of researchers from […]
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A new study by University of Manitoba, CancerCare Manitoba and Mayo Clinic researchers has found that when women at high risk are provided with the results of genetic testing, they are more likely to take preventive medications to reduce their chances of developing breast cancer. Studies have shown that the risk of breast cancer can be reduced by half using […]
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A novel imaging test shows promise for identifying kidney cancer patients most likely to benefit from immunotherapy. In a study published today in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, investigators with the UT Southwestern Medical Center Kidney Cancer Program developed a new test to illuminate kidney cancers that may respond to checkpoint inhibitors. The strategy involved transforming an immunotherapy drug, […]
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For people diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer, the outlook is about as grim as it gets: the average patient won’t live longer than a year. But a new study involving a targeted drug therapy has demonstrated it may be possible to significantly slow its spread, with a third of patients receiving the medication still alive two years into a clinical […]
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Cancer therapies that use immune cells to trigger the body to attack tumours could be improved by a molecule that boosts their function. Studies with mice have found the improved therapies produced a powerful anti-cancer immune response, which led to tumours shrinking. Initial experiments show the molecule has similar effects on human cells and could boost the success of cancer […]
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Embedded at the ends of chromosomes are structures called telomeres, which in normal cells become shorter as cells divide. Progressive shortening triggers cell proliferation arrest or death. Cancer cells adopt different strategies to overcome this control mechanism that keeps track of the number of times that a cell has divided. One of these strategies is the alternative lengthening of telomeres […]
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Until now, researchers have assumed that the growth of solid tumors originates from cancer stem cells characterized by specific surface markers, which develop in a fixed, hierarchical order. Accordingly, such cancer stem cells are responsible for tumor progression and produce specific types of more differentiated cancer cells whose fates are predetermined. In a joint interdisciplinary project led by the Luxembourg […]
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The anti-tumor protein p53 can decide on the life or death of a cell: If it detects damage in the cell’s genome, the protein pushes the cell to suicide. New research conducted at Technical University of Munich (TUM) shows that this inborn cancer prevention only works when special proteins, known as chaperones, allow it to take place. A cancer therapy […]
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Potentially life-saving cancer risk assessment tools are being widely underused by general practices across the UK, according to new research. A team of experts from the University of Exeter’s Medical School has designed a set of risk assessment tools—which can predict the likelihood of undiagnosed cancer based on patients’ symptoms, test results and other clinical information. Now, new NIHR-funded research […]
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