The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent studies in basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. This special edition features oral presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the virtual European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2021 on novel therapeutic approaches, including cell therapy for solid tumors, antibody drug conjugates targeting TROP2 and neoadjuvant pembrolizumab for advanced solid tumors with mismatch repair deficiencies.

Plants regulate their growth using hormones, including a group called strigolactones that prevent excessive budding and branching. Strigolactones also help plant roots form symbiotic relationships with microorganisms that allow the plant to absorb nutrients from the soil. These two factors have led to agricultural interest in using strigolactones to control the growth of weeds and root parasites, as well as improving nutrient uptake. These root-extruding compounds also stimulate germination of witchweeds and broomrapes, which can cause entire crops of grain to fail, making thorough research essential prior to commercial development. Now, for the first time, scientists led by UC Riverside have synthesized strigolactones from microbes.

A multi-disciplinary team from Lehigh University and the University of Lausanne discovered and characterized a new mechanism that a simple yeast cell uses to acquire its shape. They describe these results in a paper called “Cell patterning by secretion-induced plasma membrane flows” in the latest issue of Science Advances (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg6718).

PARP inhibitors are an important ovarian cancer treatment, but patients can commonly develop resistance to them. This resistance and how to overcome it are an area of research that Benjamin Bitler, PhD, CU Cancer Center member and assistant professor of reproductive sciences, has pursued with research partners across the CU Anschutz Medical Campus and the country. Now, his ongoing research is supported by a seven-year R37 MERIT Award, given by the National Institutes of Health to provide long-term support to investigators whose research competence and productivity are deemed superior.