A new national clinical trial led by Dartmouth Cancer Center clinical researcher and urologist Florian R. Schroeck, MD, will determine whether a less intensive follow-up plan for bladder cancer patients can deliver the same outcomes while improving quality of life. VATSIT, which stands for “VA Randomized Trial of Surveillance Intervals after Transurethral Resection of High-Grade Bladder Tumors,” is for patients with high-grade, early-stage bladder cancer. It will compare the current standard approach of cystoscopy procedures every 3 to 4 months with a lower-intensity, less invasive urine-testing strategy. VATSIT will expand to more than 30 VA hospitals nationwide. Over 10 years, researchers will track outcomes such as survival, cancer progression, need for additional treatment, and quality of life to determine if fewer procedures can still deliver optimal outcomes for people with bladder cancer.

Scientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and Helmholtz Munich have developed RegVelo, a new AI framework that predicts how cells acquire their identities and identifies the genetic regulators guiding those changes. Published in Cell, the study used zebrafish neural crest development to show RegVelo can uncover early drivers of cell fate, including regulators of pigment cell formation, and then support those predictions experimentally. The researchers also applied the framework across multiple biological systems, suggesting its value extends beyond neural crest cells as a broadly useful tool for studying how cells change over time. The team says the new model could pave the way for future cell therapy treatments.