Researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering believe they have found a new approach on CAR-T cells that offers hope of success against solid tumors. Their solution is called SHIFTERS. Instead of searching for a naturally occurring marker that may not even exist, the researchers developed a way to temporarily create one. Using focused ultrasound, physicians prompt tumor cells to briefly display CD19, a marker CAR-T cells already recognize. The work is described in the study,“Ultrasound Priming Gated by Solid Tumor Hallmarks to Guide CAR-T Therapy” in Science Advances. The idea behind SHIFTERS is surprisingly straightforward. Most solid tumors have characteristics that healthy tissue does not. One of those characteristics is low oxygen. As tumors grow rapidly, they often outgrow their blood supply, leaving pockets of cancer cells starved for oxygen.The USC researchers designed SHIFTERS to recognize that condition. But low oxygen alone isn’t precise enough to activate the system. Doctors must also apply focused ultrasound, a noninvasive technology that can precisely target tissue deep inside the body without surgery. The researchers first tested SHIFTERS in cancer cells grown in the laboratory. Next came three-dimensional tumor models that more closely resemble real tumors. Finally, they tested the technology in animal models carrying human brain and liver tumors. Across every stage, the results pointed in the same direction. Once ultrasound activated the temporary marker, CAR-T cells mounted a much stronger attack than they normally achieve against solid tumors. Tumors treated with ultrasound shrank dramatically, while untreated tumors continued to grow.

ITHACA, N.Y. - Using a photochemically driven labeling technique, a Cornell University-led research group has devised a strategy for capturing cancer-specific protein-to-protein interactions, which could one day spawn targeted therapies for prostate, small-cell lung, pancreatic and other deadly forms of the disease.

New biomarkers may help monitor treatment responses to perioperative immunotherapy for patients with lung cancer

Researchers demonstrate that donor cord blood composition could influence outcomes of CAR NK cell therapy

Immune cell signaling plays important roles in skin cancer development, arthritis following immunotherapy treatment, and responses to rapid-acting antidepressants

The gut microbiome and tumor microenvironments are emerging treatment targets to improve chemotherapy delivery and overcome drug resistance

Mount Sinai study shows tumors significantly reduced in patients who received dual approach before surgery

An international study has found that despite two decades of global tobacco control efforts, the message still is not getting through to enough smokers that smoking and second-hand smoke cause heart attack and stroke. Researchers at the University of Waterloo and the Global Tobacco Control Program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted the study, which is the largest of its kind.  

About the Study: This Research Letter describes the incidence and quality of active surveillance use for prostate cancer in the national Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. In the VA health system, active surveillance or watchful waiting for favorable-risk prostate cancer increased from 27% to 93% for low-risk disease and from 14% to 61% for favorable intermediate-risk disease. Overall, the study suggests that many veterans with favorable-risk prostate cancer are avoiding unnecessary treatment, but some disparities in care still need attention.

About the Study: In this randomized clinical trial of 698 patients with localized intermediate-risk prostate cancer, stereotactic body radiotherapy was not superior to moderately hypofractionated IMRT for disease-free survival at 3 years. SBRT was associated with better bowel-related quality of life, but cancer control was not improved.

About the Study: In this retrospective cohort study of 16,924 men with prostate cancer starting concurrent androgen deprivation therapy and an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor, metabolic syndrome and related abnormalities were frequently documented during the first year of treatment. Hypertension was the most common metabolic outcome.