School connectedness buffers against depression symptoms associated with being a victim of peer bullying in adolescence, according to a study published in BMC Public Health. School connectedness was measured by the degrees of inclusiveness, closeness, happiness and safety of adolescents within the school environment.

The American College of Cardiology has established a digital hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) registry to learn more about one of the most common genetic cardiovascular diseases and provide more equitable access to treatment and care. The CONNECT-HCM Registry is sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb and developed in collaboration with Atlantic Health, Arboretum and Yale Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation (CORE).

About The Study: In this study, cancer survivors were significantly more likely to take medications for depression and anxiety compared with noncancer survivors, underscoring the importance of mental health in cancer. However, the findings suggested disparities associated with this, with non-Hispanic Black patients exhibiting decreased use.

The most common cancer-causing strain of human papillomavirus (HPV), HPV16, undermines the body’s defenses by reprogramming immune cells surrounding the tumor, according to new USC research. In mice, blocking this process boosted the ability of experimental treatments for HPV to eliminate cancer cells. HPV16 causes more than half of cervical cancer cases and roughly 90% of HPV-linked throat cancers. It can be neutralized with the preventive vaccine Gardasil-9, but only if vaccination occurs prior to HPV exposure. Researchers are now working to develop “therapeutic vaccines,” which can be taken after HPV exposure to trigger an immune response by T-cells against infected cells, but in clinical trials, these vaccines have limited effectiveness—and the new study helps explain why. The study focuses on the signaling protein Interleukin-23 or IL-23 in the immune system which has inflammatory properties. While IL-23 was previously implicated in cervical and throat cancers, its exact role was unclear. In a series of tests in mice and cell cultures, USC researchers found that two HPV proteins, E6 and E7, prompt nearby cells to release IL-23, which in turns prevents the body’s T-cells from attacking the tumor. In mice with HPV16 tumors, IL-23 neutralizing antibodies blocked IL-23 and increased the number of T-cells around the tumor that could recognize and kill cancer. When combined with the HPV therapeutic vaccine, this approach triggered a stronger immune response and led to longer survival than either treatment on its own.