New research from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, published in the June 2019 issue of JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, pilots multidisciplinary team approach for providing diagnosis and management of immunotherapy-related adverse events (irAEs).
Human and mouse experiments show that an antibody in breastmilk is necessary to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis – an often deadly bacterial disease of the intestine.
In cancer and chronic infections immune balance can be disrupted, resulting in immune system dysfunction or “exhaustion.” An important protein called TOX, which varies in amount in different immune cell types, controls the identity of the cells that become exhausted. With this knowledge, investigators now have a way to accurately identify immune cells that are exhausted in a tumor or site of an infection and improve the effectiveness of patients’ immune response to treatment.
An international research team has discovered a gene that triggers a process called “exhaustion” in the immune T cells used to battle cancer in immunotherapy. The gene, called Tox, launches a process that remodels the cells’ machinery to weaken their ability to attack cancer cells, as well as infections. The discovery, published in advance online in the journal Nature, could lead to diagnostic tests to detect T cell exhaustion, and the researchers hope their basic findings will also result in techniques to prevent exhaustion.
New York University is launching a Chemical Biology Initiative, committing to six new tenure-track positions in its Chemistry Department, the renovation of nearly 70,000 square feet of lab space, and a multi-disciplinary approach to develop molecular solutions to challenges in both biology and medicine.
Researchers have identified a genetic mutation that caused an 11-year-old girl to suffer a fatal reaction to infection with the Hepatitis A virus (HAV). The study, which will be published June 18 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, reveals that mutations in the IL18BP gene causes the body’s immune system to attack and kill healthy liver cells, and suggests that targeting this pathway could prevent the deaths of patients suffering rapid liver failure in response to viral infection.
A Ludwig Cancer Research study has deciphered a complex molecular conversation between cancer and immune cells that is key to orchestrating the successful invasion of tumors by T cells that kill cancer cells.
A drug that targets the immune system can delay the onset of type 1 diabetes an average of two years in children and adults at high risk, according to findings from TrialNet’s Teplizumab (anti-CD3) Prevention Study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
One of the greatest enigmas of evolutionary biology is that while sex is the dominant mode of reproduction among multicellular organisms, asexual reproduction appears much more efficient and less costly.
Sanjay B. Maggirwar, PhD, MBA, has been selected to serve as chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
A UCLA-led research team has pinpointed a three-drug combination that could prove to be an effective new therapy for people with a specific type of advanced melanoma.
Harvard Medical School’s Media Fellowship program, now entering its 22nd year, is accepting applications for Fall 2019.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Africa Health Research Institute have identified a master cell that coordinates the body’s immune defenses in the crucial early days after infection. Boosting the activity of such cells could help reduce the millions of new infections that occur worldwide every year.
Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutch research, with links for additional background and media contacts.
A team of researchers from Indiana University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have been awarded a $4.1 million National Cancer Institute “Cancer Moonshot” grant to develop immunotherapy treatments for cancer in children and adolescents, especially those with leukemia.
Eric Zwisler, former President and Chairman of Cardinal Health China, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of La Jolla Institute for Immunology. He will assume his role effective May 31, 2019.
The results of a study led by physicians at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed that patients living with HIV and one of a variety of potentially deadly cancers could be safely treated with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, also known by its brand name, KEYTRUDA®.
Five-year survival data for pembrolizumab patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer were presented June 1 at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, May 31-June 4, in Chicago. The study results showed a marked improvement over 5-year survival rates in the pre-immunotherapy era, which averaged only 5.5%. Pembrolizumab increased the survival rate to 23.2% after five years in people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who had not previously been treated with chemotherapy and to 15.5% in those who had been previously treated with chemotherapy. The KEYNOTE-001 is the longest follow-up study to date of people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with pembrolizumab.
As part of a program called the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, the DOD is awarding Texas Biomedical Research Institute $2 million over the next three years to study a promising experimental Zika vaccine.
A previously unknown autoimmune muscle disease involving sudden onset of debilitating muscle pain and weakness has been identified by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The syndrome easily could be mistaken for other muscle diseases that require different treatment, so the findings are expected to help physicians treat patients appropriately, the researchers said.
From understanding the genetics of cancer cells to improving cellular therapies and incorporating new methods of radiation therapy, a $12 million grant will help researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania pursue the next generation of cancer treatments.
There are no approved treatment options for patients with advanced bladder cancer after standard chemotherapy and immune treatments, but the results of a phase II clinical trial led by Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital researchers demonstrates an effective treatment for this deadly disease.
With their phase II study in patients with aggressive brain cancer now completed, the developers of the cancer immunotherapy SurVaxM report that combination therapy with the vaccine was more effective than standard therapy for nearly all patients.
Studies to be presented at the ASCO meeting are co-authored by research oncologists Eric Whitman, MD; Missak Haigentz, MD; and Angela Alistar, MD. Their ASCO studies include: two separate studies looking at TILS therapy and Keytruda for advanced melanoma; immunotherapy for metastatic head and neck cancer; treatment for recurrent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma; and a combination of CPI-613 -- a new type of medication, pioneered by Dr. Alistar, known as an altered energy metabolism drug -- with 5-FU in treating metastatic colorectal cancer.
Pre-surgical immunotherapy shows promise in trial for patients with early stage lung cancer
An international collaboration led by scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center has identified a potential new therapeutic target for sepsis.
Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say mysterious, previously unseen “X cell” may be cause of type 1 diabetes
Findings from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey focused on immunotherapy will be featured at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting being held in Chicago tomorrow through Tuesday.
BK polyomavirus is harbored in most humans; in kidney transplant patients, immune suppression drugs to help the kidney can reactivate the virus and instead cause kidney failure. Research shows a way to reduce BK polyomavirus levels in patients without reducing immunosuppressing drugs.
More than 20 physicians and researchers from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) will present at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, IL May 31 – June 4, 2019.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s latest findings in immunotherapy, prevention of cancer-linked viruses, health care disparities and more will be showcased at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The conference, “Caring for Every Patient, Learning from Every Patient,” will be held May 31-June 4 in Chicago. See highlights below.
A new compound which visualises and kills antibiotic resistant superbugs has been discovered by scientists at the University of Sheffield and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL).
A decade ago researchers announced development of a cancer immunotherapy called CAR (for chimeric antigen receptor)-T, in which a patient is re-infused with their own genetically modified T cells equipped to mount a potent anti-tumor attack.
Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center took a step toward making gene therapy more practical by simplifying the way gene-editing instructions are delivered to cells. Using a gold nanoparticle instead of an inactivated virus, they safely delivered gene-editing tools in lab models of HIV and inherited blood disorders, as reported May 27 in Nature Materials.
Dr. Lawrence Fong, leader of the HDFCCC Cancer Immunotherapy Program, was featured last month on the CureTalks podcast for a live discussion of the latest in cancer immunotherapy research, clinical trials, and treatments. Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer. Several types of immunotherapy are used to treat cancer.
Roger D. Pechous, Ph.D., studies the bacteria that caused the infamous black death of the Middle Ages, shedding light on something old to potentially protect against something new: bioterrorism.
The re-introduction of measles, mumps and other previously eradicated diseases to the United States is nothing short of a public health crisis
A new study has shown that restoring environments to include a wider range of species can promote ‘good’ bacteria over ‘bad’ – with potential benefits for human health.
Cancer researchers have discovered surprising new functions for a protein called MYC, a powerful oncogene that is estimated to drive the development of almost half a million new cancer cases in the US every year. The study, which will be published May 29 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, shows that MYC affects the efficiency and quality of protein production in lymphoma cells, fueling their rapid growth and altering their susceptibility to immunotherapy.
The Cancer Research Institute announced today a series of public education and awareness offerings during its seventh annual Cancer Immunotherapy Month™ in June.
A new discovery made mainly in mice could provide new options for getting the insulin-making "factories" of the pancreas going again when diabetes and obesity have slowed them down. It could offer new pathways to ramping up insulin supply to get metabolism back on track in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
”There's a lot of merit in bringing medicines to people who can't reach them themselves, but it's sort of putting a bandaid on the situation and I realized that only through scientific discovery will we really make huge changes that impact large populations of people. So that's why I started doing research and global health, specifically dengue virus and Zika virus.” —Dr. Melanie McCauley
in 47 years operating the Balboa Park Carousel in San Diego, Bill Brown has only missed two weeks of work. For him, Life Without Disease means that he never has to miss another day.
Page and Larry have been exploring the world together since their days as high school sweethearts. For them, Life Without Disease means they can keep going wherever adventure leads them.
Yale researchers have pinpointed a key reason why people are more likely to get sick and even die from flu during winter months: low humidity.
A new HIV vaccine delivery strategy appears to enhance the protective immune response in a preclinical model. Scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have discovered that delivering an HIV vaccine in small doses over a series of days leads to a stronger immune response than when the same vaccine is given all at once.
The Tisch Cancer Institute and the Precision Immunology Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have launched the Center for Computational Immunology, a hub that will help researchers studying cancer, genomics, machine learning, and immunology collaborate to find better targeted immunotherapies for patients. Benjamin Greenbaum, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oncological Sciences, Pathology, and Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology), will serve as Director.
New research published in Cell Immunity has defined the chain of molecular events that goes awry in sepsis, opening up opportunities for new treatments.
Researchers have detailed the role of a key controlling factor in the transformation of B cells into antibody-secreting cells, cells that make antibodies to fight invading pathogens like viruses. The factor also is needed for memory B cells to respond to a second, subsequent infection by a pathogen.
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