Category: Cancer

Dell has joined forces with the University of Limerick (UL) in Ireland to propel cancer research into a new era using artificial intelligence (AI). Their collaboration will focus on enhancing cancer care for B-cell lymphoma patients, spanning the entire spectrum of diagnosis, treatment, and long-term outcomes.

Dell’s AI Platform Transforms Cancer Care

Dell has developed a cutting-edge AI platform, seamlessly integrated with the latest storage arrays and PowerEdge servers, to drive innovation in the field of cancer research. This platform has become an integral part of UL’s Digital Cancer Research Centre’s multicloud ecosystem and has the capability to create digital replicas of patients, known as digital twins.

Continue reading… “Dell and University of Limerick Harness AI for Breakthroughs in Cancer Research”

Researchers from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) and the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) have achieved a groundbreaking advancement in cancer treatment through their innovative 3D bioprinting technology. This cutting-edge approach utilizes natural killer cells (NK cells) for highly effective immunotherapy against cancer.

In traditional immunotherapy methods, the intravenous injection of NK cells has faced challenges in effectively treating solid tumors due to their limited viability and targeting capabilities. However, the newly developed 3D bioprinting technique by Korean research institutes addresses these issues head-on. By encapsulating NK cells within 3D-printed hydrogels, the technology prevents cell loss and enables a large number of NK cells to specifically target tumor cells.

Continue reading… “Advancing Cancer Treatment: 3D Bioprinting Boosts NK Cell Immunotherapy”

Cancer is a complex disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and the ability to spread throughout the body. One unique feature of cancer cells is their adaptability and resistance to treatment. In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Oncogene, Professor Mohamed Bentires-Alj and his research team have made significant strides in the treatment of triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of carcinoma.

The researchers from the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel explored the potential of differentiation therapy, a strategy previously successful in treating blood-borne cancers, but not yet applied to solid tumors. Differentiation involves transforming cancer cells into less harmful cells that cease their uncontrolled growth.

Continue reading… “Promising Advances in Treating Aggressive Breast Cancer: Differentiation Therapy Shows Potential”

A new breakthrough technique could revolutionize the treatment of glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer with a survival rate of only 6.8 percent within the first five years of diagnosis. The new technique involves the use of sound waves to permeate the blood-brain barrier, a line of defense that prevents toxins and pathogens from entering the brain, and allows chemotherapy drugs to reach the neurological tissues where the cancer can grow.

The technique was tested in a phase 1 in-human clinical trial with 17 patients who underwent surgery to remove their tumors and had an ultrasound device implanted. The device, a novel skull-implantable grid of nine ultrasound emitters made by French biotech company Carthera, repeatedly uses sound waves to permeate the barrier and reach the brain tumor. The chemotherapy drugs paclitaxel and carboplatin, which are typically unable to cross the blood-brain barrier, were then able to reach the brain.

Continue reading… “Revolutionary Brain Cancer Therapy Promises a Ray of Hope for Desperate Patients”

Researchers have found that a single enzyme called PI5P4Kα can be targeted to kill prostate cancer. The discovery is the first of its kind and could help tackle treatment resistance in prostate cancer. Additionally, it could lead to better treatment options for other types of cancer, including those affecting the breast, skin, and pancreas.

A new study has identified a potential breakthrough in prostate cancer treatment. Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered a way to kill resistant cancer cells by targeting a key enzyme. The enzyme, called DCTPP1, is crucial for the survival of cancer cells that have become resistant to chemotherapy and other treatments.

The team discovered that cancer cells with high levels of DCTPP1 were more resistant to chemotherapy and radiation. They then used a molecule called DT-010 to target and inhibit the enzyme. The molecule was effective at killing cancer cells, even those that were resistant to other treatments.

Continue reading… “Revolutionary Prostate Cancer Treatment Kills Resistant Cells by Targeting Key Enzyme”

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory apply CRISPR to the discovery of new cancer targets to develop medicine to fight the deadly disease.

Scientists are harnessing the power of CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology to fight cancer by modifying cells to target and destroy cancerous cells within the body. According to Dr. Michel Sadelain, Director of the Center for Cell Engineering at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, “CRISPR is the ultimate tool for manipulating life and health.”

The technique involves modifying the genes of a patient’s own T-cells, a type of white blood cell that plays a key role in the immune response, to express certain proteins that can recognize and attack cancer cells. The modified T-cells are then reintroduced into the patient’s bloodstream, where they can seek out and destroy cancerous cells.

While this approach has shown promise in early clinical trials, there are still many challenges to overcome. For instance, there is a risk of off-target effects where the modified cells may also attack healthy cells, and researchers are working to minimize this risk through careful design and testing.

Continue reading… “CRISPR technology modifies cells to fight cancer: ‘Ultimate tool for manipulating life’”

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have used artificial DNA to target and kill cancer cells in a completely new way.

The method was effective in lab tests against human cervical cancer- and breast cancer-derived cells, and against malignant melanoma cells from mice.

The team created a pair of chemically synthesized, hairpin-shaped, cancer-killing DNA. When the DNA pairs were injected into cancer cells, they connected to microRNA (miRNA) molecules that are overproduced in certain cancers. Once connected to the miRNA, they unraveled and joined together, forming longer chains of DNA which triggered an immune response. This response not only killed the cancer cells but prevented further growth of cancerous tissue. This method is different from conventional anticancer drug treatments and is hoped to bring about a new era of drug development. 

The paper is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. This research still has many steps to go before a treatment can be made available, but the team is confident in the benefits of nucleic acids for new drug discovery. 

Continue reading… “Using artificial DNA to kill cancer”

The study has two innovative aspects: the discovery of a new therapeutic target and the development of an effective nanocarrier for the selective delivery of immunotherapy and chemotherapy drugs.

Researchers have developed cancer-fighting nanoparticles that can deliver innovative chemoimmunotherapy.

According to a new study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed cancer-fighting nanoparticles that simultaneously deliver chemotherapy and a novel immunotherapy.

The new immunotherapy, which silences a gene involved in immunosuppression, has been shown to be effective in shrinking tumors in mouse models of colon and pancreatic cancer when combined with chemotherapy and packaged into nanoparticles.

“There are two innovative aspects of our study: the discovery of a new therapeutic target and a new nanocarrier that is very effective in selective delivery of immunotherapy and chemotherapeutic drugs,” said senior author Song Li, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the Pitt School of Pharmacy and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center investigator. “I’m excited about this research because it’s highly translational. We don’t know yet whether our approach works in patients, but our findings suggest that there is a lot of potential.”

Continue reading… “Cancer-Fighting Nanoparticles: A New Weapon in the Fight Against Disease”

Scanning electron micrograph of a human T lymphocyte (also called a T cell) from the immune system of a healthy donor.

Using new machine learning techniques, researchers at UC San Francisco (UCSF), in collaboration with a team at IBM Research, have developed a virtual molecular library of thousands of “command sentences” for cells, based on combinations of “words” that guided engineered immune cells to seek out and tirelessly kill cancer cells.

The work, published online Dec. 8, 2022, in Science, represents the first time such sophisticated computational approaches have been applied to a field that until now has progressed largely through ad hoc tinkering and engineering cells with existing—rather than synthesized—molecules. 

The advance allows scientists to predict which elements—natural or synthesized—they should include in a cell to give it the precise behaviors required to respond effectively to complex diseases. 

“This is a vital shift for the field,” said Wendell Lim, Ph.D., the Byers Distinguished Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, who directs the UCSF Cell Design Institute and led the study. “Only by having that power of prediction can we get to a place where we can rapidly design new cellular therapies that carry out the desired activities.” 

Continue reading… “How AI found the words to kill cancer cells”

In a small study, researchers modified patients’ immune cells to target their particular cancer—but it only worked for a third of volunteers.

IN A NEW step for Crispr, scientists have used the gene-editing tool to make personalized modifications to cancer patients’ immune cells to supercharge them against their tumors. In a small study published today in the journal Nature, a US team showed that the approach was feasible and safe, but was successful only in a handful of patients.

Cancer arises when cells acquire genetic mutations and divide uncontrollably. Every cancer is driven by a unique set of mutations, and each person has immune cells with receptors that can recognize these mutations and differentiate cancer cells from normal ones. But patients don’t often have enough immune cells with these receptors in order to mount an effective response against their cancer. In this Phase 1 trial, researchers identified each patient’s receptors, inserted them into immune cells lacking them, and grew more of these modified cells. Then, the bolstered immune cells were unleashed into each patient’s bloodstream to attack their tumor.

“What we’re trying to do is really harness every patient’s tumor-specific mutations,” says Stefanie Mandl, chief scientific officer at Pact Pharma and an author on the study. The company worked with experts from the University of California, Los Angeles, the California Institute of Technology, and the nonprofit Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle to design the personalized therapies.

The researchers began by separating T cells from the blood of 16 patients with solid tumors, including colon, breast, or lung cancer. (T cells are the immune system component with these receptors.) For each patient, they identified dozens of receptors capable of binding to cancer cells taken from their own tumors. The team chose up to three receptors for each patient, and using Crispr, added the genes for these receptors to the person’s T cells in the lab.

Continue reading… “This Personalized Crispr Therapy Is Designed to Attack Tumors”