Esteemed cancer clinician-scientist Jenny Chang, M.D., MBBChir, MHCM, has been chosen to lead the Houston Methodist Academic Institute. She will serve as executive vice president, president and CEO, and chief academic officer.

An experimental blood test for pancreatic cancer is being evaluated by a commercial laboratory, an important milestone toward making the test available for patients.

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have discovered a three-drug combination that enhances the generation of CAR-T cells, a type of cancer immunotherapy, and could improve CAR-T cell production for clinical treatments. The study emphasizes the importance of T-memory stem cells (TSCM) linked to stronger and more lasting cancer responses. The findings demonstrate the advantages of pharmacological approaches over genetic approaches to enrich TSCM-like cells as most gene-targeted therapies have not proven to be very effective in this arena.

In an effort to improve public health and reduce cancer risk in East Texas, leaders in Beaumont are working with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to launch Be Well™ Beaumont through a newly announced $10 million gift from ExxonMobil.

Lehigh University bioenginering researcher Tomas Gonzalez-Fernandez recently secured funding through the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) for his research that will explore how combining CRISPR with biomaterials can make the technology both safer and more effective for therapeutic use.  

Semliki Forest virus was originally isolated from mosquitoes in the Semliki Forest, Uganda, hence the name. Upon systemic infection from mosquito bites, Semliki Forest virus causes mild blood viremia before finding its way to the central nervous system where it can cause neurotoxicity. In a recent study, researchers from Uppsala University show that the Semliki Forest virus enters the central nervous system by first entering the cerebrospinal fluid and then binding to a specific cell type before penetrating deeper into the brain. This finding could potentially be used to develop the Semliki Forest virus as an agent for treating brain cancer. The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

“Microplastic particles are currently found almost everywhere – in water, food, fish, and even breast milk,” says Artūras Torkelis, a PhD student at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU). He emphasises that proper waste management is essential for reducing these risks.

Smokers undergoing lung cancer screening may have the best chance of quitting if they receive integrated care, which includes medication and comprehensive counseling with tobacco treatment specialists, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  

The Center for Innovation and Translation of Point of Care Technologies for Equitable Cancer Care (CITEC) has announced its inaugural group of subawardees, marking a significant milestone in its mission to develop and disseminate innovative technologies for cancer detection and treatment, particularly in low-resource settings.