MD Anderson Research Highlights for August 7, 2024

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 insights into evolutionary cellular adaptations to environmental stressors, potential targets to overcome trouble swallowing in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiation therapy, a promising chemotherapy-free combination treatment for patients with a subset of acute lymphocytic leukemia, a single-cell atlas for stomach cancer metastasis, encouraging results of a PARP inhibitor on patients with advanced cancers and specific DNA damage repair mutations, and a liquid biopsy signature that could improve early pancreatic cancer detection.

Revolutionizing Ovarian Cancer Treatment With Adaptive PARP Inhibitor Therapy

A new study led by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center introduces an adaptive therapy approach that could optimize PARP inhibitor maintenance therapy, offering a more personalized and potentially less toxic treatment option for patients. Their work is featured as the cover article of the June 19 issue of Cell Systems.

New findings offer improved therapy of early-stage, BRCA mutation-associated breast cancer

Results were released this week on a new treatment with the potential to improve the outcomes for patients with hereditary BRCA mutations and high-risk, early-stage breast cancer. These results represent the first time a drug that blocks cancer cells from repairing their DNA (called a PARP inhibitor) has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer returning in high-risk patients following completion of standard chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy.

Study Shows Immunotherapy Prior to Surgery May Help Destroy High-Risk Breast Cancer

A new study led by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers shows women with high-risk HER2-negative breast cancer treated before surgery with immunotherapy, plus a PARP inhibitor with chemotherapy, have a higher rate of complete eradication of cancer from the breast and lymph nodes compared to chemotherapy alone.