New findings from researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute could help make immunotherapies for brain cancer more effective. The team analyzed almost 200,000 individual immune cells in tumor samples taken from patients with glioma, the most common and aggressive type of primary brain cancer. In Nature, the researchers describe four gene expression “programs” — sets of genes with coordinated activity — that either suppress the immune system or make it more active. Defining and understanding what drives these programs could one day help researchers target them with new drugs to dial up or down specific parts of the immune system to improve patient response to immunotherapy.

A study led by the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health at the University of California, Irvine has revealed possible links between exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water and an increased risk of certain childhood cancers.

LOS ANGELES — City of Hope^® Research Spotlight offers a glimpse at groundbreaking scientific and clinical discoveries advancing lifesaving cures for patients with cancer, diabetes and other chronic, life-threatening diseases. Each spotlight features research-related news, such as recognitions, collaborations and the latest research defining the future of medical treatment.