Moffitt Cancer Center receives $22.4 million grant to advance research and clinical trials for leptomeningeal disease
Grant and Award Announcement
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 7-Nov-2025 14:11 ET (7-Nov-2025 19:11 GMT/UTC)
When the nerves connected to taste buds are cut, the buds usually wither and later regrow. But Korean researchers found that not all taste cells fade equally. Sweet-sensing cells, supported by the protein c-Kit, are uniquely resilient. Using mouse and organoid experiments, the team showed that blocking c-Kit with the cancer drug imatinib eliminated these survivors, preventing regeneration. The discovery reveals how specific cell types drive taste recovery.
Researchers from Haukeland University Hospital and the University of Bergen analysed PET/CT scans of 274 women with endometrial cancer, measuring glucose uptake in visceral fat as an indicator of metabolic activity. They found that women with higher metabolic activity - assessed by average glucose uptake in visceral fat tissue - were more likely to present with advanced stage disease and lymph node metastases.