Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers have identified factors that determine whether donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI), a standard therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who have relapsed after allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, will successfully move the patient into remission. The team identified that a key cell type in the DLI product and features of the tumor microenvironment in patients both play a role.

A study presented this week at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ 61st Annual Meeting explores findings in more than a million U.S. Medicare beneficiaries who underwent CABG from 2001 to 2019. The researchers found that patients who received multi-arterial grafting (MAG) had improved survival over those who received single-arterial grafting (SAG), supporting findings from prior retrospective studies.

Researchers find blocking the KCNB2 gene can slow tumour growth, paving the way for next-gen treatments for childhood brain cancer.

Recent results from the phase III NRG Oncology RTOG 0920 (NRG-RTOG 0920) trial assessing postoperative radiotherapy with or without concurrent cetuximab for selected patients with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN) showed that radiotherapy with cetuximab demonstrated superiority as measured by improved disease-free survival, a secondary endpoint. The study also showed no increase in long-term toxicity. The trial results, however, did not show a statistically significant improvement in overall survival, the primary endpoint. 

A new review led by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center assessed how three genomic tests — Decipher, Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score (GPS) and Prolaris — can help doctors make better decisions about how to treat patients with early stage prostate cancer. The review, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that these tests can provide more detailed information about the cancer, but experts say more data is needed on the cost-effectiveness and clinical utility of these tests, as well as their impact on racial and ethnic groups, especially Black men. 

Successful test in breast cancer patients: the active agent digoxin, a cardiac medication, dissolves clusters of circulating breast cancer cells in the blood, thus reducing the risk of metastases formation.