Immunotherapy News and Research

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Immunotherapy is the concept of using the immune system to treat disease, for example, developing a vaccine against cancer. Immunotherapy may also refer to the therapy of diseases caused by the immune system, allergies for example.

Researchers created ultrasound-guided microbubbles to enhance immunotherapy performance

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center scientists have created an ultrasound-guided cancer immunotherapy approach that promotes systemic antitumor immunity and increases immune checkpoint blockade therapeutic potential. Nature Nanotechnology published the results of the pioneering study.

1 Jun 2022

Scientists discover a new left-handed Z-DNA technique to kill hard-to-treat tumors

An international collaboration of scientists has discovered a new technique to kill cancers that are difficult to treat, according to an article published in Nature.

30 May 2022

Researchers devise a new treatment approach to cure aggressive brain tumors

Glioblastomas (GBMs) are cancerous tumors of the brain and spinal cord that are incredibly aggressive.

23 May 2022

Immune-boosting drugs with antibiotics may reduce the health risks of fungal infections

Patients are more susceptible to fungal infections because the immune system in the gut is disrupted when patients are given antibiotics in the hospital.

18 May 2022

Research shows how visible hotspots may be easy to target with immune-stimulating drugs

Many cancers include genetic “hotspots,” or sections of DNA that are subject to mutation. For example, a mutation in the TP53 gene is found in more than 50% of all cancers, generally within a narrow DNA range.

18 May 2022

Study shows the role of mucosal-associated invariant T cell in mucosal melanomas patients

Many cancer patients have benefited from the development of anti-cancer immunotherapy drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors, but patients with mucosal melanomas—melanomas that occur in the mucous membranes of the head, neck, eyes, respiratory system, and genitourinary region rather than on the skin—are highly resistive to immune checkpoint inhibitors for reasons researchers do not fully understand.

29 Apr 2022

CD8 + Tscm may has protective immunity to hepatitis C virus infection

The dysfunction of memory CD8 + T cell can not be reverted by successful clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) after direct-acting antivirals (DAA) therapy, increasing the risk of reinfection with HCV.

25 Apr 2022

Study provides a deeper understanding of how gene mutations contribute to breast cancer progression

A mutated gene found in more than 20% to 30% of breast cancer recurrences may help tumors become more aggressive and promote metastasis, according to a pair of new studies that uncover mechanisms behind these processes and point to new therapy targets.

From University of Pittsburgh 20 Apr 2022

Vitamin E can reinvigorate dendritic cells to enhance immunotherapy responses

Combining a retrospective analysis of clinical records with in-depth laboratory studies, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that vitamin E can enhance immunotherapy responses by stimulating the activity of dendritic cells in the tumor.

18 Apr 2022

A new rule book for the design of therapeutic cells with improved specificity and safety

Therapies based on engineered immune cells have recently emerged as a promising approach in the treatment of cancer.

18 Apr 2022

Study reveals key characteristics of immune cells in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is a difficult to diagnose malignancy that is often caught at a more advanced stage. Treatments for this cancer have changed little over the past few decades, with surgery and chemotherapy being the most common therapeutic approaches.

15 Apr 2022

Checkpoint immunotherapy acts as an interface between killer T cells and dendritic cells

Chronic viral infections and cancers can damage the immune system permanently, diminishing the ability of immune killer T cells to destroy tumor cells or virus-infected cells—a condition known as “immune exhaustion.”

5 Apr 2022

CDH17CAR T cells can eliminate solid tumors without damaging healthy tissues

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells can be remarkably effective in treating leukemias and lymphomas, but there are no successful immunotherapies for neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and gastrointestinal cancers (GICs) yet.

25 Mar 2022

Research highlights how genome editing tool CRISPR knocks off genes in cancer cells

Researchers have created a novel method that allows them to correlate particular genes to complex tumor properties at a size and resolution that has never been achievable.

21 Mar 2022

Yale researchers find a way to 'supercharge' tumor-attacking T cells

Yale scientists have identified a way to "supercharge" tumor-attacking T cells, a finding that may not only improve the effectiveness of a promising type of cell-based cancer immunotherapy but also expand the number of cancers it can treat.

11 Mar 2022

Specific gene variant linked with poor response to sublingual immunotherapy for allergies

Although sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has become an effective treatment option for many allergies, about 20-30% of patients don’t respond to SLIT for Japanese cedar pollinosis–a highly common disease.

8 Mar 2022

Study shows how the release of T-cell cytokine combined with fatty acid leads to ferroptosis

Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center found that a cytokine, a category of protein that acts as messengers in the body, and a fatty acid can work together to trigger a type of cell death previously defined by studies with synthetic molecules.

7 Mar 2022

Men and women do have immune cell differences, study says

Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology have uncovered novel genes associated with the risk of autoimmune disorders in the CD4+ “helper” T cell subset.

2 Mar 2022

Microbes hindering cancer therapy seem to play a bigger role than helpful ones

Melanoma patients receiving therapy that helps their immune system kill cancer cells respond to treatment differently depending on the types of microbes in their gut, and new research suggests the microorganisms hindering therapy have more influence than the beneficial ones.

1 Mar 2022

Newly developed radio-labeled molecule may be able to pinpoint areas of inflammation

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a new radio-labeled molecule capable of selectively reacting with certain high-energy radicals that are characteristic of innate immune activity, which may allow a non-invasive approach to monitor inflammation in real time by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.

22 Feb 2022