Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide, and the treatment process for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) carrying EGFR mutations can be particularly complex. This disease is characterized by uncontrolled growth and proliferation of cells in the lungs. The EGFR mutation is considered a significant factor in the treatment of this disease, and patients with this mutation are usually treated with EGFR-targeted therapies. Recently, a new ray of hope has emerged for the treatment of patients with EGFR-mutant NSCLC. The Phase II clinical trial, HERTHENA-Lung01 ..read more

Team identifies crucial interaction between platelets and tumors for the first time Credit: Texas A&M Engineering In the evolving field of cancer biology and treatment, innovations in organ-on-a-chip microdevices allow researchers to discover more about the disease outside the human body. These organs-on-chips serve as a model of the state an actual cancer patient is in, thus allowing an opportunity to finding the correct treatment before administering it to the patient. At Texas A&M University, researchers are pushing these devices to new levels that could change the way clinicians ..read more

Intranasal vaccination is needle-free and elicits immunity at the site of infection, the respiratory tract Credit: UAB BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – There are many reasons that an intranasal vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus would be helpful in the fight against COVID-19 infections, University of Alabama at Birmingham immunologists Fran Lund, Ph.D., and Troy Randall, Ph.D., write in a viewpoint article in the journal Science. That route of vaccination gives two additional layers of protection over intramuscular shots because it produces: 1) immunoglobulin A and resident memory B and T cells in the r ..read more

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center part of promising clinical trial for aggressive lymphoma Credit: MUSC Hollings Emma C. Vought MUSC Hollings Cancer Center was one of 28 clinical sites around the world that participated in the LOTIS-2 trial to test the efficacy of Loncastuximab tesirine, a promising new treatment for aggressive B-cell lymphoma. The results of the single-arm, phase 2 trial were published online in May 2021 in Lancet Oncology. Brian Hess, M.D., a Hollings researcher and lymphoma specialist at MUSC Health, was instrumental in bringing the phase 2 trial to Hollings. The manufacturer o ..read more

Credit: Trinity College Dublin. Geneticists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered how a specific genetic mutation called H3K27M causes a devastating, incurable childhood cancer, known as diffuse midline glioma (DMG), and – in lab studies working with model cell types – successfully reverse its effects to slow cancer cell growth with a targeted drug. Their landmark work – just published in leading international journal, Nature Genetics and supported by Worldwide Cancer Research and The Brain Tumour Charity – translates crucial new understanding of the genetics of DMG progression into a ..read more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers New Rochelle, NY, July 21, 2021– Evaluating the efficacy of novel therapies requires the ability to monitor wound progression accurately and reproducibly over time. Researchers have proposed a new scoring system for wound healing in mice based on parameters in each phase of healing, as described in an article in the peer-reviewed journal Stem Cells and Development. Click here to read the article for free through August 21, 2021. The parameters include re-epithelization, epithelial thickness index, keratinization, granulation tissue thickness, remode ..read more

Researchers first to model COVID-19 completion vs. cessation study using machine learning Credit: Florida Atlantic University/College of Engineering and Computer Science In order to win the battle against COVID-19, studies to develop vaccines, drugs, devices and re-purposed drugs are urgently needed. Randomized clinical trials are used to provide evidence of safety and efficacy as well as to better understand this novel and evolving virus. As of July 15, more than 6,180 COVID-19 clinical trials have been registered through ClinicalTrials.gov, the national registry and database for privately ..read more

FDA approval based on positive results of international, multi-center ProDERM study Credit: Octapharma PARAMUS, N.J. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval to Octapharma USA for Octagam® 10% [Immune Globulin Intravenous (Human)], the first and only intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) to be indicated for the treatment of adult dermatomyositis, a rare immune-mediated inflammatory disease. The FDA approval is based on the results of ProDERM (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02728752), a pivotal randomized clinical trial and the first study to evaluate the long term ef ..read more

Researchers find clues about how molecule improves appearance of scars Credit: (Gourdie Lab /Virginia Tech) Surgical scars treated with a molecule called alphaCT1 showed a long-term improvement in appearance when compared to control scars, according to multicenter, controlled Phase II clinical trials – a finding that could help surgeons improve patient outcomes. Now, a public-private research team led by Rob Gourdie, professor and director of the Center for Vascular and Heart Research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has revealed clues about why and how it improves the app ..read more

These findings suggest that for therapies to be effective, they must be targeted at both gene products Credit: CNIO KRAS was one of the first oncogenes to be identified, a few decades ago. It is among the most common drivers of cancer and its mutations can be detected in around 25 per cent of human tumours. The development of KRAS inhibitors is, thus, an extremely active line of research. Effective results have been elusive so far, though – no KRAS inhibitor had been available until a month ago, when the FDA granted approval to Sotorasib. KRAS encodes two gene products, KRAS4A and KRAS4B, wh ..read more