Perivascular Fibroblasts Could Lead to Improved Glioblastoma Immunotherapy

Glioblastoma is one of the most resistant malignancies to therapy, with those diagnosed living for fewer than two years. In a new study, researchers at the University of Notre Dame discovered that an understudied cell could provide fresh insight into how aggressive primary brain cancer resists immunotherapy. “A decade ago, we didn’t even know perivascular…

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Engineered Nanoparticle Antibody Fragments Destroy Gastric Cancer

illustration of C’ dot nanoparticles adapted with HER2-targeting antibody fragments (dark blue and green) and cancer-killing drugs (teal), entering a tumor cell via HER2 receptors (orange). Credit: Ella Maru Studio

A unique cancer therapy combining antibody fragments with molecularly engineered nanoparticles permanently eradicated gastric cancer in mice, a multi-institutional team of researchers reports. “I’ve seen beautiful results before, but I’ve never seen something that eradicates a tumor like this,” said Dr. Michelle Bradbury, co-lead author and professor of radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine. The “hit…

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Chemotherapy Response in Neuroblastoma Cells Driven by Random Noise

Credit: Max Nobis / Garvan

A new study led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research reveals that cancer cells have an innate randomness in their ability to respond to chemotherapy, adding to their arsenal of evading treatment. The work shows that tumour cells from neuroblastoma, cancer that develops in the body’s “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous system, can switch…

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Medulloblastoma Model Uses Human Cerebellar Organoids

Researchers are at work to find effective treatments to help young patients with brain tumors. Hundreds of brain organoids have been developed in the laboratories of the University of Trento to understand the genetic mechanisms responsible for medulloblastoma, the most common brain cancer affecting children. “Creating brain tumor organoids is very difficult, and requires the…

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Brain Tumor Organoids Hint At How To Best Treat Glioblastoma

Lab-grown brain tumor organoids developed from a patient’s own glioblastoma, the most aggressive and common form of brain cancer, may hold the answers on how to best treat it, according to a new study. “While we’ve made important strides in glioblastoma research, preclinical and clinical challenges persist, keeping us from getting closer to more effective…

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Computer-assisted Method Helps Diagnose Glioma Tumor Growth

A computer-assisted diagnostic procedure helps physicians detect the growth of low-grade brain tumors earlier and at smaller volumes than visual comparison alone, according to a new study by Hassan Fathallah-Shaykh of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues. Additional clinical studies are needed to determine whether early therapeutic interventions enabled by early tumor growth…

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TEAD1 Identified As Regulator Of Glioblastoma Tumor Migration

A protein known as transcriptional enhancer factor TEF-1 (TEAD1) is an important regulator of tumor migration in glioblastoma, the most common brain tumor in adults, and deactivating this protein may stop tumor cells from migrating away from the main tumor mass, according to new research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The…

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Glioblastoma: Missing T Cells Sequestered In Bone Marrow

Missing T cells are found sequestered in large numbers in the bone marrow in glioblastoma patients, new research from Duke University Medical Center reveals. Glioblastoma brain tumors can have an unusual effect on the body’s immune system, often causing a dramatic drop in the number of circulating T-cells that help drive the body’s defenses. Where…

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