Genetically engineered vesicles target cancer cells more effectively

Nanovesicles can be bioengineered to target cancer cells and deliver treatments directly, according to research at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Cancerous brain tumor cells may be at ‘critical point’ between order and disorder, study suggests

Glioblastoma cells are poised near a “critical point” of order and disorder — meaning, the cells possess some form of large-scale coordination throughout the whole tumor that allows them to respond in practical unison to attempts to kill tumor cells, such as chemotherapy or radiation, a study suggests. Researchers say disrupting the large-scale organization of brain tumors may result in more powerful ways to treat and one day eliminate brain tumors.

Liver Cancer’s Supercharged Metabolism Offers a New Treatment Strategy, Penn Study Suggests

Data published in Cell Metabolism on liver cancer’s rapid growth which leads to a vulnerability in its energy-production and cell-building processes that may be potently exploited with a new combination-treatment strategy, according to a study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Scientists Find a Pair of Proteins Control Supply Lines That Feed Cancer Cells

In human cancer cell and mouse studies, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine have found that a set of proteins work in tandem to build supply lines that deliver oxygen and nutrients to tumors, enabling them to survive and grow. The protein twosome, PADI4 and HIF-1, ramp up their activity under low-oxygen conditions that are typically found in a fast-growing tumor, allowing it to build new blood vessels that feed the cancer’s growth.

Right Program Could Turn Immune Cells into Cancer Killers

Cancer-fighting immune cells in patients with lung cancer whose tumors do not respond to immunotherapies appear to be running on a different “program” that makes them less effective than immune cells in patients whose cancers respond to these immune treatments, suggests a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

UK HealthCare Launches Pediatric Neuroendocrine Tumor Program

UK HealthCare recently launched a new Pediatric Neuroendocrine Tumor Clinical and Research Program to improve treatment for children diagnosed with or at high risk for developing rare neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). This program is a joint effort between the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center and the Kentucky Children’s Hospital and is one of only a handful of centers specializing in this field in the world.

Scientists kill cancer cells by “shutting the door” to the nucleus

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have shown that blocking the construction of nuclear pores complexes—large channels that control the flow of materials in and out of the cell nucleus—shrank aggressive tumors in mice while leaving healthy cells unharmed. The study, published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, reveals a new Achilles heel for cancer that may lead to better treatments for deadly tumors such as melanoma, leukemia and colorectal cancer.

New Treatment Developed by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Shows Success in High-Risk Solid Tumors

In a breakthrough study, researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have shown that an enhanced treatment developed in their lab leads to long-term remissions in 80% to 100% of mice with drug-resistant or high-risk solid tumors. The research, which could soon lead to clinical trials, is described in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Chronic Stress Can Impact Response to Radiation Therapy for Cancer, Roswell Park Study Suggests

Radiation is one of the oldest and most common therapies for cancer, and typically is delivered locally, or to specific targeted sites in the body. While it has long been thought that locally-delivered radiation therapy typically does not help to shrink tumors outside the field of irradiation, new preclinical research from a team at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests a strategy for significantly increasing both the local and distant, or “abscopal,” effects of radiation. Results of the study, which was led by Elizabeth Repasky, PhD, have been newly published in Nature Communications.

Most Rehabilitating Sea Turtles with Infectious Tumors Don’t Survive

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is the most significant infectious disease affecting sea turtle populations worldwide. FB leads to tumors on the turtles’ eyes, flippers and internal organs and is widespread in warmer climates like Florida. A large-scale study evaluated tumor score, removal and regrowth in rehabilitating green sea turtles with FP in the southeastern U.S. from 2009 to 2017, and found that 75 percent did not survive following admission into a rehabilitation facility, irrespective of whether or not tumor regrowth occurred after surgery.

Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab

This edition of Science Snapshots highlights the discovery of an investigational cancer drug that targets tumors caused by mutations in the KRAS gene, the development of a new library of artificial proteins that could accelerate the design of new materials, and new insight into the natural toughening mechanism behind adult tooth enamel.

Better Biosensor Technology Created for Stem Cells

A Rutgers-led team has created better biosensor technology that may help lead to safe stem cell therapies for treating Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and other neurological disorders. The technology, which features a unique graphene and gold-based platform and high-tech imaging, monitors the fate of stem cells by detecting genetic material (RNA) involved in turning such cells into brain cells (neurons), according to a study in the journal Nano Letters.

SOFIE And University Clinic Heidelberg Sign License Agreement For Theranostics That Target Cancer Associated Fibroblasts

LOS ANGELES and HEIDELBERG, Germany, June 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — SOFIE Inc. (SOFIE), a Theranostics company, is pleased to announce an exclusive global license with University Clinic Heidelberg (UKHD) for a class of molecular targeted diagnostics and radiotherapeutics (“theranostics”) that are…