New treatment strategy may thwart deadly brain tumors

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are important medications that boost the immune system’s response against certain cancers; however, they tend to be ineffective against glioblastoma, the most deadly primary brain tumor in adults. New research in mice led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the University of Florida reveals a promising strategy that makes glioblastoma susceptible to these medications. The […]

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Scientists reveal novel oncogenic driver gene in human gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Sarcomas—cancers that arise from transformed mesenchymal cells (a type of connective tissue)—are quite deadly. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common human sarcoma and are initiated by activating mutations in the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase. Micro-GISTs are a smaller variation of clinical GISTs and are found in one-third of the general population without clinical symptoms. Although the micro-GISTs and […]

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Mathematical tools to study tumors

Researchers from the Department of Cellular Biology at the University of Seville and the Seville Institute of Biomedicine (IBiS), Pablo Vicente and Doctor Luisma Escudero, in close collaboration with the researcher Rebecca Burgos and other members of the group of Doctor Rosa Noguera (University of Valencia—INCLIVA, CIBERONC) have published a study aimed at developing new therapies to fight childhood cancer. […]

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Shining light on rare nerve tumors illuminates a fresh path for fighting cancer

When a protein named “Merlin” fails to do its job, people can develop slow-growing, life-disrupting auditory nerve tumors that can disrupt their hearing and balance. This rare condition is called neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2). Now scientists at Cincinnati Children’s have discovered much more about how Merlin does its job—by working behind the scenes through a network of more than 50 other […]

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Researchers develop treatment that turns tumors into cancer vaccine factories

Researchers at Mount Sinai have developed a novel approach to cancer immunotherapy, injecting immune stimulants directly into a tumor to teach the immune system to destroy it and other tumor cells throughout the body. The “in situ vaccination” worked so well in patients with advanced-stage lymphoma that it is also undergoing trials in breast and head and neck cancer patients, […]

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Laser-targeted removal of prostate tumors works as well complete removal of prostate

Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, led by prostate cancer treatment pioneer Dr. Eric Walser, have shown that selectively destroying cancerous prostate tissue is as effective as complete prostate removal or radiation therapy while preserving more sexual and urinary function than the other treatments. This study is currently available in Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology. […]

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Engineered immune cells target broad range of pediatric solid tumors in mice

Immune cells engineered to attack childhood cancers were able to eradicate different types of pediatric tumors in mice, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The study, which will be published online Jan. 17 in Clinical Cancer Research, provides evidence that these engineered cells can target many types of pediatric solid tumors, including brain tumors. […]

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