MD Anderson Research Highlights for October 4, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments at MD Anderson include a computer game that helps breast cancer survivors improve symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, a publicly available single-cell atlas of CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, new targets for TP53-mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a preclinical target for preventing chemobrain, a blood test to help identify patients at higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer, and genomic insights to predict the risk of outcomes in patients with bone cancer.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for August 30, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.
Recent developments include a novel computational tool to detect single base pair DNA changes in single-cell sequencing data, a potential target to treat hypertension caused by drugs commonly used in organ transplants, further insights into the steps involved in genetic recombination, a novel treatment target for a subset of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), a combination therapy that improves outcomes in certain patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and a target for treating prolonged cytopenia in patients with relapsed/refractory large B cell lymphoma treated with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for March 29, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention.

Gut Microbiome Influences How Lymphoma Patients Respond to CAR T Therapy

In a new study published in Nature Medicine, Moffitt Cancer Center physician-scientists, in collaboration with four cancer centers in the United States and Germany, reveal how microorganisms in the gut influence non-Hodgkin lymphoma patient outcomes to a type of cellular immunotherapy called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, or CAR T.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for August 24, 2022

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include confirmation of improving response rates in Phase I trials over the last 20 years, a novel targeted therapy combination and biomarkers of response for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy in B-cell lymphomas, a combination therapy for patients with melanoma brain metastases, and new treatment options for metastatic sarcomas, HPV-driven cancers and uterine cancer.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for July 13, 2022

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include new targets involved in protecting DNA replication forks and preventing inflammatory responses, a new treatment option for elderly patients with late-stage acute myeloid leukemia, insights into the breast cancer tumor microenvironment, biomarkers of response to targeted and immune therapies, a novel cellular therapy option for osteosarcoma and a new target for inducing ferroptosis in cancer cells.

MD Anderson researchers present cellular therapy advances at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting

Promising clinical results with cellular therapies for patients with blood cancers highlight advances being presented by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

These findings include long-term outcomes of patients receiving an infusion of brexucabtagene autoleucel (KTE-X19) for mantle cell lymphoma, efficacy of gamma delta CAR T therapy for aggressive B-cell lymphoma and responses of umbilical cord blood-derived expanded natural killer cells when given together with combination therapy before stem cell transplant.

MD Anderson and Resilience launch joint venture to accelerate development and manufacturing of innovative cell therapies for cancer

MD Anderson and Resilience today announced the launch of a joint venture, the Cell Therapy Manufacturing Center, which unites the strengths of both parties to accelerate the development and manufacturing of cell therapies for patients with cancer.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for June 1, 2022

Current advances include new biomarkers to predict chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy outcomes and neurotoxicities, novel treatment targets for pre-cancerous pancreatic lesions and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a new approach to improve immunotherapy responses in cold tumors, a profile of synthetic lethal targets for cancers with tumor suppressor loss, and promising clinical data for acute myeloid leukemia and cancers of unknown primary.

Emily Whitehead, First Pediatric Patient to Receive CAR T-Cell Therapy, Celebrates Cure 10 Years Later

Ten years ago, Tom and Kari Whitehead came to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) looking for a miracle. Their 6-year-old daughter, Emily, had relapsed in her battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), after many months of unsuccessful chemotherapy and a disease that had progressed so rapidly that she was ineligible for a bone marrow transplant to treat it. Her family came to CHOP in the hopes that Dr. Stephan Grupp, a pioneer in the field of cellular immunotherapy, could provide the miracle they were looking for.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for May 4, 2022

Featured studies include clinical advances with a new combination therapy targeting angiogenesis in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and a promising immunotherapy combination for kidney cancer, plus laboratory studies that focus on targeting ferroptosis in specific lung cancers, developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasms, and characterizing racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer early detection.

CHOP Researchers Develop a New Class of CAR-T Cells that Target Previously Untargetable Cancer Drivers

In a breakthrough for the treatment of aggressive solid cancers, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed a novel cancer therapy that targets proteins inside cancer cells that are essential for tumor growth and survival but have been historically impossible to reach. Using the power of large data sets and advanced computational approaches, the researchers were able to identify peptides that are presented on the surface of tumor cells and can be targeted with “peptide-centric” chimeric antigen receptors (PC-CARs), a new class of engineered T cells, stimulating an immune response that eradicates tumors.

UCLA researchers awarded $1M from DOD to advance CAR T cell therapy for rare melanomas

Scientists Dr. Cristina Puig-Saus and Dr. Daniel Shin from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have received a $1 million Translational Research Award from the U.S. Department of Defense Melanoma Research Program to help advance the use of chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, T cell therapy as a treatment for people with acral, mucosal and uveal melanomas.

CAR T-cell therapy generates lasting remissions in patients with multiple myeloma

In a major advance in the treatment of multiple myeloma, a CAR T-cell therapy has generated deep, sustained remissions in patients who had relapsed from several previous therapies, an international clinical trial has found.

CAR T cell therapy effective as first-line treatment for high-risk large B-cell lymphoma

A study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that axi-cel, an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, is a safe and effective first-line therapy for patients with high-risk large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), a group with an urgent need for new and effective treatments.

CAR T-cell therapy found highly effective in patients with high-risk non-Hodgkin lymphoma

A CAR T-cell therapy known as axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) drove cancer cells to undetectable levels in nearly 80% of patients with advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in a phase 2 clinical trial, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators report at the virtual 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.

Dana-Farber to present more than 40 research studies at 2020 ASH Annual Meeting

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers will present more than 40 research studies at the virtual 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting on December 5-8, including two studies that were selected for inclusion in the official press program.

Fred Hutch at ASH: Fauci fireside chat, latest on cell therapies, repairing immune function, COVID and clots — and more

SEATTLE — Nov. 18, 2020 — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s latest findings on cell therapies, repairing immune function, and more will be featured at the 62nd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition, to be held virtually Dec. 5 – 8.Dr. Stephanie Lee, ASH president and Fred Hutch physician-scientist will kick off the meeting with a fireside chat with Dr.

Dana-Farber to offer first CAR T-cell therapy for mantle cell lymphoma following FDA approval

Today’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the first CAR T-cell therapy for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) represents a key advance for patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant forms of the disease, say Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators who helped conduct the decisive clinical trial of the therapy.

Moffitt Researchers Identify Factors to Predict Severe Toxicities in CAR T Patients

In a new study published in Clinical Cancer Research, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers identify possible factors that could help physicians know if patients are at higher risk for severe adverse events before they receive CAR T therapy.

NCCN: What People with Cancer and their Caregivers Need to Know about CAR T-Cell Therapy

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has published a new NCCN Guidelines for Patients: Immunotherapy Side Effects focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. This is book two in a series that includes another book on irAEs focused on immune checkpoint inhibitors.