Breakthroughs in cancer research continue to emerge from academic medical centers, with recent studies finding new ways to target tumors, guide treatment decisions and improve immunotherapy effectiveness.
From nanoparticles to genetic discoveries, here are five recent breakthroughs from cancer researchers in the U.S.:
- Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston identified a protein domain, called SWIFT, that helps human cells switch genes on more precisely.
SWIFT-related transcription factors help keep cancer-driving genes active and support tumor cell growth. When researchers disrupted the interaction, cancer cells stopped growing — suggesting the pathway could be a promising target for future drug development.
The research was published Jan. 1 in Science.
- Biomedical engineer Daniel Heller, PhD, and his team at New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center developed a diagnostic test that may detect and classify brain tumors with 98% accuracy.
The test combines artificial intelligence and carbon nanotube sensor technology. The research was published Dec. 24 in Nature Nanotechnology.
- Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have developed an engineered protein system that helps tumor cells better display signals that alert the immune system, guiding immunotherapies to invisible tumors such as neuroblastoma.
The research was published Jan. 1 in Science Advances.
- Cleveland-based University Hospitals researchers developed a tool to predict early treatment responses for men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer undergoing receptor pathway inhibitors treatment.
“The significance lies in shifting prostate cancer care from a reactive approach — waiting to see who fails therapy to a proactive, personalized strategy,” Daniel Spratt, MD, the Vincent K. Smith Chair of Radiation Oncology at University Hospitals’ Seidman Cancer Center and associate chief scientific officer at UH Cleveland Medical Center, said in a Jan. 7 health system news release. “By identifying patients who are unlikely to achieve an early favorable PSA response, clinicians may be able to intervene sooner, consider treatment intensification, or prioritize enrollment in clinical trials.”
The research was published Dec. 17 in Nature Communications.
- Nanoparticles developed at New York City-based Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Engineering can improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy.
The particles, known as Cornell prime dots or C’dots, are ultrasmall fluorescent core-shell silica nanoparticles shown to reprogram the microenvironment of cancer tumors.
The research was published Dec. 29 in Nature Nanotechnology.
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