Cancer News and Discussions

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Cellular Identity Discovery has Potential to Impact Cancer Treatments
April 7, 2023

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) A team of scientists led by those in Trinity College Dublin has discovered new mechanisms involved in establishing cellular identity, a process that ensures the billions of different cells in our bodies do the correct job. This new discovery in stem cells – a result so surprising that the team initially believed it to be an error in the lab – has potential translational impacts in cancer biology and associated targeted treatments.

The research focuses on the workings of Polycomb protein complexes, PRC1 and PRC2, which are studied by Professor Adrian Bracken and his team, based in Trinity’s School of Genetics and Microbiology. PhD student, Ellen Tuck, describes these proteins as “strict librarians” inside cells. “PRC1 and PRC2 block access to certain areas of the genetic library, such that a neuron cell won’t have access to muscle genes, and it doesn’t get confused in its cellular identity.”

A puzzle regarding PRC2 has intrigued the Bracken lab and other scientists in the field for years: two forms (PRC2.1 and PRC2.2) exist in the cell but the Bracken lab previously showed that the two forms of PRC2 target the same regions of DNA and do the same job. So why do we need two versions?
The new discovery from the lab takes an exciting step towards answering this conundrum, as the team found that PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 recruit different forms of the PRC1 complex to DNA, thereby finally explaining why two versions are needed.

“This took us by complete surprise. We initially thought there must have been a technical issue with the experiment, but multiple replications confirmed that we had in fact stumbled upon a fascinating new process that reshapes our understanding of the hierarchical workflow of Polycomb complexes. We were dancing around the lab,” said Dr Eleanor Glancy, recalling the evening the team finally realised what the data were telling them.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/985159

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Glioblastoma’s Kryptonite? Compounds Identified for Inhibiting Growth of Brain Tumor Cells

https://scitechdaily.com/glioblastomas- ... mor-cells/
By São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) April 10, 2023
Brain Cancer Treatment Illustration

In vitro tests have shown that two substances, A5 and C1, derived from the total synthesis of apomorphine hydrochloride, inhibit glioblastoma cell proliferation, suppress tumor stem cell formation, and boost temozolomide’s effectiveness. Further research and in vivo studies are needed to confirm their potential as novel glioblastoma treatments.

In vitro tests were performed with cultured cells of glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer with few treatment options. The next step is to test the effects of the substances in normal nerve cells and animals.

Glioblastoma is a malignant tumor of the central nervous system (brain or spinal cord) and one of the deadliest types of cancer. Few drugs have proved effective at combating this uncontrolled growth of glial cells, which anyway constitute a large proportion of the brain tissue in mammals. The standard treatment is surgical removal of the tumor, followed by chemotherapy with temozolomide, radiation therapy, and then nitrosoureas (such as lomustine). Patient survival has improved moderately over the years, but the prognosis remains poor. These tumors are typically resistant to existing drugs and often grow back after surgery.

Promising results have now been reported in a study involving two substances found to inhibit proliferation of glioblastoma cells. An article on the study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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New nuclear medicine therapy cures human non-hodgkin lymphoma in preclinical model
12 Apr 2023
https://ecancer.org/en/news/22932-new-n ... ical-model

A new nuclear medicine therapy can cure human non-Hodgkin lymphoma in an animal model, according to research published in the April issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

A single dose of the radioimmunotherapy, [177Lu]Lu-ofatumumab, was found to quickly eliminate tumour cells and extend the life of mice injected with cancerous cells for more than 221 days (the trial endpoint), compared to fewer than 60 days for other treatments and just 19 days in untreated control mice.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a common blood malignancy.

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 80,500 new cases and 20,100 deaths will occur in the United States in 2023.

The standard of care for many non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients involves chemotherapy and immunotherapy targeting the CD20 protein, which is highly expressed on most non-Hodgkin lymphoma cells.

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From Tragedy to Triumph: A Promising New Treatment for Pediatric Brain Cancer

https://scitechdaily.com/from-tragedy-t ... in-cancer/
By Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory April 12, 2023
Glioma Stains

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Adrian Krainer developed several antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) molecules for a new potential cancer treatment, but the most potent was ASO5. When mice were treated with ASO5, their tumor cells (stained red) grew slower and began differentiating into healthy cells (stained green). Credit: Krainer lab/Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Researchers develop a potential therapeutic for lethal pediatric brain cancer, DIPG, using ASO technology. The treatment slows tumor growth and increases survival rates in mice.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Adrian Krainer, known for his groundbreaking research on antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and the development of Spinraza® for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), has created a potential therapeutic for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). DIPG is a lethal pediatric brain cancer with limited treatment options. Krainer and his team developed an ASO drug that shuts down the mutated protein H3.3K27M, which slows tumor growth, reverses some cancer cell changes, and increases survival rates in mice. The treatment would likely need to be combined with radiation or immunotherapy before clinical trials can begin. The team is exploring ways to enhance the therapy’s effectiveness.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a lethal pediatric brain cancer that often kills within a year of diagnosis. Surgery is almost impossible because of the tumors’ location. Chemotherapy has debilitating side effects. New treatment options are desperately needed.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Adrian Krainer is best known for his groundbreaking research on antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs)—molecules that can control protein levels in cells. His efforts led to Spinraza®, the first FDA-approved treatment for a deadly neurodegenerative disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

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AI tool predicts colon cancer survival, treatment response
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04- ... vival.html
by Ekaterina Pesheva, Harvard Medical School

A new artificial intelligence model designed by researchers at Harvard Medical School and National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan could bring much-needed clarity to doctors delivering prognoses and deciding on treatments for patients with colorectal cancer, the second deadliest cancer worldwide.

Solely by looking at images of tumor samples—microscopic depictions of cancer cells—the new tool accurately predicts how aggressive a colorectal tumor is, how likely the patient is to survive with and without disease recurrence, and what the optimal therapy might be for them.

A report on the team's work is published in Nature Communications.

Having a tool that answers such questions could help clinicians and patients navigate this wily disease, which often behaves differently even among people with similar disease profiles who receive the same treatment—and could ultimately spare some of the 1 million lives that colorectal cancer claims every year.

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How a Virus Causes Chromosomal Breakage, Leading to Cancer
April 13, 2023

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is easily spread through bodily fluids, primarily saliva, such as kissing, shared drinks or using the same eating utensils. Not surprisingly then, EBV is also among the most ubiquitous of viruses: More than 90% of the world’s population has been infected, usually during childhood.

EBV causes infectious mononucleosis and similar ailments, though often there are no symptoms. Most infections are mild and pass, but the virus persists in the body, becoming latent or inactive, sometimes reactivating. Long-term latent infections are associated with several chronic inflammatory conditions and multiple cancers.

In a new paper, published April 12, 2023 in the journal Nature, researchers at University of California San Diego, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and Ludwig Cancer Research at UC San Diego, describe for the first time how the virus exploits genomic weaknesses to cause cancer while reducing the body’s ability to suppress it.

These findings show “how a virus can induce cleavage of human chromosome 11, initiating a cascade of genomic instability that can potentially activate a leukemia-causing oncogene and inactivate a major tumor suppressor,” said senior study author Don Cleveland, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Neurosciences and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

“It’s the first demonstration of how cleavage of a ‘fragile DNA’ site can be selectively induced.”

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/986075

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New method of analyzing tumor samples may make pathologists obsolete
By Paul McClure
April 16, 2023

Determining changes in the physical properties of cells is crucial to diagnosing and treating some diseases, such as cancer. But a diagnosis requires the expertise of a pathologist. A team of scientists has developed a quick and simple method of analyzing tissue biopsies for cancer that might make pathologists a thing of the past.

When a cancer tumor has been biopsied, a specialist pathologist is required to analyze the sample and provide an assessment of the tissue’s health. It’s a process that needs to be fast and accurate as it usually happens while the patient is on the operating table.

Taking a biopsy of a solid tumor is the most common way of assessing cancer malignancy and guides surgeons in managing patients both during and after surgery. But what sounds like a simple process isn’t. A pathologist must slice and stain a sample and inspect it microscopically before providing their expert opinion; it’s very labor- and resource-intensive.

Waiting for a pathologist’s report may soon be a thing of the past, though, with a team of researchers developing a method of accurately analyzing solid cancer tumors in about 30 minutes without consulting a pathologist. They tested their method using mice tissue.

https://newatlas.com/medical/new-method ... -obsolete/

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University of Rochester Researchers Discover How to Steer Army of Immune Cells Toward Cancer
April 17 , 2023

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) Immunotherapy, particularly CAR T-Cell treatment for cancer, is extending the lives of many patients. But sometimes the therapy randomly migrates to places it shouldn’t go, tucking into the lungs or other noncancerous tissue and causing toxic side effects. A University of Rochester/Wilmot Cancer Institute team discovered the molecule responsible for guiding T cells toward tumors, setting the stage for scientists to improve upon the groundbreaking treatment.

The next step is to find a drug that can manipulate the key T-cell protein, ST3GAL1, said Minsoo Kim, Ph.D., corresponding author of an article in Nature Immunology that describes the research. If the investigation evolves as planned, such a drug could be added to the CAR T-cell regimen to ensure that T cells hit their targets, Kim said.

His lab is collaborating with other Wilmot investigators to screen for drugs that will accomplish that feat, while also minimizing the risk of life-threatening side effects.

“You can create very powerful treatments,” said Kim, co-leader of Wilmot’s Cancer Microenvironment research program at the UR, “but if they can’t get to their targets or they go to the wrong place, it does not provide the outcome you intended.”

Enlisting a patient’s own immune system to wipe out cancer has emerged as one of the most promising advances in cancer care.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/986161

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Smaller Than a Grain of Rice – Scientists Use Tiny Implantable Device To Tame Pancreatic Cancer

https://scitechdaily.com/smaller-than-a ... ic-cancer/
By Houston Methodist April 17, 2023
Nanofluidic Drug Eluting Seed

Scientists use intratumoral immunotherapy to tame pancreatic cancer.

Houston Methodist nanomedicine researchers have discovered a method to control pancreatic cancer, a highly aggressive and challenging form of the disease, by administering immunotherapy directly to the tumor using a device smaller than a grain of rice.

A recent study published in the journal Advanced Science details the work of researchers from the Houston Methodist Research Institute who utilized an implantable nanofluidic device of their own creation to deliver CD40 monoclonal antibodies (mAb), a highly promising immunotherapeutic agent, in a sustained low dose via the nanofluidic drug-eluting seed (NDES). The results, as observed in mice models, showed a significant reduction in tumor size at a four times lower dosage compared to conventional systemic immunotherapy treatments.

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Researchers develop new test for detecting cancer biomarkers
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-cancer-biomarkers.html
by Bill Wellock, Florida State University

When doctors are examining suspected cancer cases, they turn to biomarker tests to help make a diagnosis.

With a testing system and patient samples, physicians can investigate potential leads, narrowing down their list of culprits to provide precise, effective treatment for patients.

A team led by Florida State University chemists has developed a new test for detecting biological markers related to several types of cancer. Their research was recently published in Journal of the American Chemical Society.

"Better tools for detecting cancer mean more effective treatment for patients," said study co-author Hedi Mattoussi, a professor in the FSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Our goal in this research was to build a biosensor that would light up in the presence of cancer markers, offering another tool for the ongoing problem of detecting this disease."

The sensing platform is made of a gold nanoparticle and molecules called peptides that are labeled with a dye. The components are connected by chemical bonds, and the gold nanoparticle keeps the dye from glowing in the presence of UV light.

When a patient sample containing the enzyme MMP-14—a biomarker for various types of cancers, but most commonly for breast cancer—is added, it breaks bonds in the peptides, separating a fragment with the dye from the gold. Without the gold to absorb the energy from the dye, the sample begins to glow.

"You start with a system that is dark, which we can think of as 'off,' like we would with a light switch," Mattoussi said. "When you bring in the enzyme, the system turns 'on' and emits light. It is like a beacon."

The light glowing from the sample depends on the concentration of the enzyme and interaction time. By measuring that light, researchers can generate data that inform them if a cancer marker is present in a sample and in what levels.

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New Vaccine Helps Decrease the Likelihood of Skin Cancer Recurrence and Death
TOPICS:CancerImmunotherapyMelanomaNew York UniversityVaccine
https://scitechdaily.com/new-vaccine-he ... and-death/
By NYU Langone Health / NYU Grossman School of Medicine April 19, 2023
Human Cancer Cell Illustration

An experimental mRNA vaccine, mRNA-4157/V940, combined with immunotherapy pembrolizumab, decreased the likelihood of melanoma recurrence or death by 44% compared to immunotherapy alone in a phase 2b trial. The personalized vaccine, which took 6-8 weeks to develop for each patient, targeted specific abnormal proteins called neoantigens produced by cancer cells, teaching the immune system to recognize cancer cells as distinct from normal cells.

A recent clinical trial reveals that the combination of an experimental mRNA vaccine with an immunotherapy led to a 44% decrease in the risk of melanoma recurrence or death compared to the use of immunotherapy alone.

The randomized phase 2b trial, which was headed by researchers at NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center, included both men and women who underwent surgery for the removal of melanoma from their lymph nodes or other organs and were at a heightened risk of the disease reappearing at distant sites from the original cancer.

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Medication delivered in a gel stops brain tumors in mice. Could it offer hope for humans?
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04- ... -mice.html
by Johns Hopkins University

Medication delivered by a novel gel cured 100% of mice with an aggressive brain cancer, a striking result that offers new hope for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest and most common brain tumors in humans.

"Despite recent technological advancements, there is a dire need for new treatment strategies," said Honggang Cui, a Johns Hopkins University chemical and biomolecular engineer who led the research. "We think this hydrogel will be the future and will supplement current treatments for brain cancer."

Cui's team combined an anticancer drug and an antibody in a solution that self-assembles into a gel to fill the tiny grooves left after a brain tumor is surgically removed. The gel can reach areas that surgery might miss and current drugs struggle to reach to kill lingering cancer cells and suppress tumor growth. The results are published today (April 24) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers ID novel treatment pathway for deadly pancreatic cancers
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04- ... eatic.html
by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center identified a novel cell signaling pathway that potentially could be targeted in therapy for patients with aggressive pancreatic cancers.

In laboratory studies with human pancreatic cancer cell lines and genetically engineered mouse models of pancreatic cancer, the investigators discovered that the High Mobility Group A1 (HMGA1) protein functions as a "molecular switch" that "flips on" genes required by tumor cells to grow in an uncontrolled fashion and form invasive tumors.

One of these genes activated by HMGA1 leads to the production of fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19), which is secreted by tumor cells. FGF19 not only provides signals that coax tumor cells to grow rapidly and invade surrounding tissues, but both HMGA1 and FGF19 cooperate to "build" a dense, fibrous, scar-like wall around the tumor cells, which is known as the stroma. Pancreatic tumors are among a few tumors that form a dense stroma, and the stroma is thought to create a barrier preventing therapy from reaching the tumor cells.

When the scientists silenced HMGA1 or disrupted FGF19 signals in mouse models of pancreatic cancer, tumor cells had markedly decreased growth and less stroma formation, suggesting that drugs to block FGF19 signals already available for use by patients with other diseases could be repurposed to treat pancreatic tumors that have high levels of FGF19. Studies of cancer genomes indicate that up to a quarter of human pancreatic cancers have high levels of HMGA1 and FGF19.

A description of the work was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

New tool charts differentiation landscape of acute myeloid leukemia
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04- ... eloid.html
by Center for Genomic Regulation

Researchers have developed a new method to distinguish between cancerous and healthy stem cells and progenitor cells from samples of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a disease driven by malignant blood stem cells that have historically been difficult to identify. The findings, published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, pave the way for the development of new techniques to predict whether patients will respond to chemotherapy.

AML is a type of cancer characterized by the rapid growth and accumulation of abnormal white blood cells. It is thought to develop when blood progenitor cells, which normally turn into all other types of blood cells, fail to mature properly and become abnormal. In this process, blood stem cells carry a special importance because they give rise to progenitor cells and are thought to be the cell type in which leukemic mutations occur.

Leukemic stem cells are thought to survive chemotherapy and cause relapse. High relapse rates are a major clinical problem in AML and a frequent cause of patient death.

Understanding how blood stem cells give rise to blood progenitor cells in the context of AML is crucial for improving our understanding of the disease, developing better diagnostic and prognostic tools, and identifying new therapeutic targets and treatments. However, this has been historically difficult because of the high degree of variability between patients and the similarity between healthy and malignant stem cells.

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Scientists create potent 'degrader' of cancer-driving protein
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-scientist ... otein.html
by Institute of Cancer Research

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, have created a compound that destroys a protein involved in driving cancers, including B-cell lymphoma.

The 'molecular glue'-type degrader could ultimately, with further research, be developed into a cancer drug, and will also be a powerful tool to study cancer biology.

It's an example of an innovative approach to drug discovery known as protein degradation, that aims to target cancer by taking advantage of the cell's natural disposal system to remove proteins that can cause disease.

In a new study, the research team describes how the degrader selectively sticks to the BCL6 protein—a protein which B-cell lymphoma cells need to survive—and tags it to be destroyed.

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Pilot study for T-cell lymphoma finds adding epigenetic drug to standard chemotherapy is effective
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05- ... -drug.html
by Weill Cornell Medical College

Nearly 90% of patients with an aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma had their cancer go into remission in a small phase 2 clinical trial testing a treatment aimed at making chemotherapy more effective, according to Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.

The clinical trial, whose results were published May 4 in Blood, included 17 patients with a type of blood cancer called peripheral T-cell lymphoma with T-follicular helper phenotype (PTCL-TFH), also known as angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. Fifteen of them (88.2%) had complete responses after a several-month course of treatment, which combined a standard four-drug chemotherapy regimen known as CHOP with another drug called azaciditine. Patients with PTCL-TFH have tumors that typically bear excessive clusters of gene-silencing marks called methylations on their DNA—marks that azacitidine removes.

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Giving exhausted T cells a second wind boosts cancer treatment
By Paul McClure
May 04, 2023
https://newatlas.com/medical/revive-t-c ... treatment/

Constantly fighting cancer or other diseases can exhaust our immune system’s T cells, impeding their ability to kill invaders. A new study has identified a way of reviving exhausted T cells so they’re ready to fight again, improving the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy.

A type of white blood cell, T cells play an important role in protecting the body from foreign invaders such as cancer. But they can only fight for so long before they become exhausted. When this happens, T cells don’t produce as many immune-response-stimulating proteins and are less effective at killing cancer tumor cells.

Immunotherapy is the umbrella term for a range of biologically based cancer treatments that uses T cells to fight cancer by boosting the immune system’s ability to stop or slow cancer cell growth or help it recognize and destroy cancer cells. For immunotherapy to be effective requires T cells to be in peak – non-exhausted – condition.

Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys in California studied T cell exhaustion in the setting of melanoma and discovered that a protein called P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), found on the surface of T cells, is key to T cell exhaustion.

“Slowing or reversing T cell exhaustion is a huge focus in cancer research, and many researchers are working on different ways to accomplish this,” said Jennifer Hope, lead author of the study. “This new approach could be a viable treatment on its own, but it also has tremendous potential to work synergistically with existing therapies.”

The approach is unique because it tackles the problem of T cell exhaustion from multiple angle

s.

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Study identifies new treatment target for metastatic cancer
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05- ... ancer.html
by Elizabeth Chapin, University of Kentucky

A new University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center study reveals more about changes that happen to cancer cells when they metastasize and identifies a promising target for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

Metastasis is when cancer cells spread from the primary tumor to surrounding tissues and distant organs in the body and is the primary cause for breast cancer mortality. Cancer cells' plasticity, or their ability to change and adapt, is critical for progression to metastatic cancer.

The research, published in PNAS on May 8, shows a metabolite called succinate plays a role in enhancing cancer cell plasticity and identifies an enzyme called PLOD2 as a regulator of succinate during breast cancer progression.

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AI-Powered Diagnostic Tool Predicts Pancreatic Cancer Up to 3 Years in Advance
https://www.extremetech.com/science/ai- ... 3-years-in
Given how difficult pancreatic cancer can be to diagnose, the tool could be life-saving.
By Adrianna Nine May 10, 2023

Pancreatic cancer might be relatively rare, but it’s one of the world’s leading causes of cancer-related death. Thanks to the organ’s placement deep within the abdomen, tumors on the pancreas can be difficult to detect, forcing doctors to rely on expensive and invasive imaging or blood tests instead. If these strategies are implemented too late, a patient’s odds of successfully completing treatment are slim.

A new tool powered by artificial intelligence might make early detection easier and more accessible. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of Copenhagen partnered with the VA Boston Healthcare System and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to build a screening program that scans people’s medical records to determine their likelihood of developing pancreatic cancer. According to a paper published Tuesday in Nature Medicine, the tool can predict future pancreatic cancer diagnosis up to three years ahead with 88% accuracy.

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Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise in Small Trial
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/heal ... -mrna.html

No paywall
https://archive.is/4q0NN

Five years ago, a small group of cancer scientists meeting at a restaurant in a deconsecrated church hospital in Mainz, Germany, drew up an audacious plan: They would test their novel cancer vaccine against one of the most virulent forms of the disease, a cancer notorious for roaring back even in patients whose tumors had been removed.

The vaccine might not stop those relapses, some of the scientists figured. But patients were desperate. And the speed with which the disease, pancreatic cancer, often recurred could work to the scientists’ advantage: For better or worse, they would find out soon whether the vaccine helped.

On Wednesday, the scientists will report results that defied the long odds. The vaccine provoked an immune response in half of the patients treated, and those people showed no relapse of their cancer during the course of the study, a finding that outside experts described as extremely promising.

The study, which will be published in Nature, was a landmark in the yearslong movement to make cancer vaccines tailored to the tumors of individual patients.

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Targeting uncontrolled inflammation may hold the key to treating therapy-resistant cancers
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05- ... ncers.html
by Van Andel Research Institute

Van Andel Institute scientists have pinpointed how a specific gene mutation triggers an inflammatory cascade that may drive development of treatment-resistant cancers.

The new findings, published today in Molecular Cell, reveal for the first time the molecular circuitry by which mutations in the gene STK11 cause inflammation to spiral out of control. The resulting chemical firestorm damages healthy cells and can enable cancer development. Tumors that lose the STK11 gene are tough to treat because they resist traditional chemotherapy and many of the latest immunotherapies.

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New therapy helps immune system eradicate brain tumors

by Swedish Research Council
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05- ... umors.html

Researchers from Uppsala University have developed a method that helps immune cells exit from blood vessels into a tumor to kill cancer cells. The goal is to improve treatment of aggressive brain tumors. The study has been published in the journal Cancer Cell.

Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that lacks efficient treatment. This is in part due to the ability of the tumor to suppress or evade the body's natural anti-cancer immune response. Immunotherapy, using checkpoint inhibitors, can reactivate the immune system against cancer. However, for this type of treatment to be effective, specific immune cells known as killer T cells must be present within the tumor.

Unfortunately, blood vessels in brain cancer are dysfunctional and act as a barrier, preventing killer T cells from reaching the tumor. As a result, this form of immunotherapy, which is effective against many forms of cancer, is ineffective against brain cancers.