Viruses engineered to kill cancer cells are already used to treat one form of skin cancer and are being widely tested as treatments for other cancers. A new study suggests that such viruses, known as oncolytic viruses, can be further enhanced to improve the body’s immune response against tumors. This new type of oncolytic virus, the researchers found, can simultaneously kill cancer cells and provide immune cells drawn into tumors with a hormone they need to perform their own cell-killing functions. In mice with melanoma tumors, the dual-function virus was far more effective at shrinking and eliminating tumors than a…
Author: Brett Johnson
The relatively new type of cancer treatment know as CAR T-cell therapy is already being used to treat some people with leukemia and lymphoma. This form of immunotherapy has also shown promise as a treatment for multiple myeloma, although it’s not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for that use. Although such an approval may not be far off, results from a new study already suggest a potential way to improve the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma. The approach, spearheaded by a research team from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, relies on…
For women with the most common type of early-stage breast cancer and high scores on the Oncotype DX test, receiving chemotherapy with hormone therapy after surgery can lead to excellent long-term outcomes. That’s the conclusion of a new data analysis from the NCI-funded TAILORx clinical trial. The 10,000-patient trial investigated the use of the Oncotype DX test to help guide the care of women with hormone receptor‒positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that has not spread to lymph nodes. This diagnosis accounts for half of all breast cancer cases in the United States each year. The Oncotype DX test is used to…
Out of the 42,030 new cases expected by year’s end, liver cancer will claim 31,780 American lives. Worldwide, the disease is predicted to strike 800,000, and kill 700,000. More than 82 percent of liver cancer patients die within five years of diagnosis, according to the National Institutes of Health. With numbers like that, it should come as no surprise that liver cancer, also called hepatic cancer, is the second cancer killer globally. As liver cancer is actually on the uptick (cases have increased by two percent since 2007), and with October being Liver Cancer Awareness Month, it is worth noting…
Glioblastoma, also known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is a type of primary brain cancer. It arises in brain cells called astrocytes, a type of supportive (glial) cell that composes the connecting tissue of the brain. GBM is also one of the most challenging cancers to cure due to its resistance to existing drug therapies, it is also notoriously difficult to remove completely via surgery. About 25 percent of children with this type of cancer live five years or longer, while the median survival time for adults with glioblastoma is 15 to 16 months with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment. Now…
While it’s no secret that early detection of cancer can greatly improve treatment outcomes, less than two-thirds of eligible women in the US have had a mammogram in the last two years. Dr. Alexia Matheson, an OBGYN resident at Monash Health, recognizes the need for greater participation in breast cancer screening. In honor of National Mammogram Day on the 18th of October, Dr. Matheson agreed to share some truths and debunk some myths surrounding mammograms. 1. Do mammograms use radiation? Is it dangerous? Mammograms do use radiation, although only a small amount. The benefit from mammography has been found to…
Carcinoid cancer is a type of slow-growing neuroendocrine tumors that form (usually) in the lungs and gastrointestinal tract, from the esophagus to the rectum. They are the most common cancer found in the appendix. While typified as a cancer of the elderly, women are more likely than men to develop carcinoid tumors. Additionally, a family history of multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN I), increases the risk of carcinoid tumors. However, this family of cancers, sometimes referred to as neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), do not manifest a single set of symptoms. Rather, carcinoid cancer often comes to light only after an…
Some types of cancer cells are surrounded by a dense layer of connective tissue that acts as a barrier to cancer-killing immune cells. That poses a problem for immunotherapies, treatments that depend on interactions between immune cells and cancer cells. But a new NCI-funded study in mouse models of metastatic breast cancer suggests that plerixafor (Mozobil)—a drug already used for bone marrow transplants—can thin this protective tissue layer and allow more immune cells to reach the tumors. The results, published January 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also show that treating mice with plerixafor improved how well immune checkpoint inhibitors, a common type of…