Immunotherapy News and Research

Latest Immunotherapy News and Research

Peanut allergy tolerance treatment may increase the risk of anaphylaxis

Treating children who have a peanut allergy by gradually exposing them to increasing levels of peanut extract may actually increase their risk of allergic attacks, warn researchers.

26 Apr 2019

Three studies show how tumors hijack the immune system to develop radiotherapy resistance

More than a decade ago, radiation oncologists noticed a nifty phenomenon: Sometimes radiation used locally against a tumor could excite the immune system to attack cancer systemically throughout the body.

17 Apr 2019

Researchers complete large analysis of new gene fusion responsible for development of cancers

A consortium of researchers led by Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators have completed the largest analysis of a new gene fusion they believe is responsible for development of a wide spectrum of cancer types.

16 Apr 2019

Cancer cells use tactics to avoid being recognised by immunotherapy agents

Researchers have found that bowel cancer cells have a mechanism by which they can switch off some key molecules on their surfaces and thus escape being recognised and killed by the immunotherapy agents.

15 Apr 2019

Combined inhibition of EGFR and c-RAF kinase shows regression of most aggressive pancreatic cancer

Researchers from the Experimental Oncology Group, led by Mariano Barbacid at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, have published in Cancer Cell the results of a study that shows full regression of advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma upon combined inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor and c-RAF kinase.

12 Apr 2019

Study describes vulnerability shared by large subset of cancer cell lines

Cancer cells adapt to potentially fatal mutations and other molecular malfunctions by adjusting one or more other genes' activity, in the process becoming dependent on those genes for their survival and growth.

12 Apr 2019

Single-cell sequencing sheds light on landscape of myeloid cells in lung tumors

The recent emergence of immunotherapy has marked a sea change in research and care for many forms of cancer, bringing new hope to patients and families around the world. For those who respond to treatment, the results can be dramatic.

10 Apr 2019

Cancer vaccine injected into tumour could kill all cancer cells

Researchers have developed an experimental cancer vaccine that when injected into a single tumour can help trigger the immune system to kill the cancer cells circulating within the body. The results of the study titled, “Systemic clinical tumor regressions and potentiation of PD1 blockade with in situ vaccination,” were published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Medicine, this week, Monday.

9 Apr 2019

Scientists visualize immune cells fighting blood cancer for the first time

When cancer escapes the immune system, our defenses are rendered powerless and are unable to fight against the disease.

8 Apr 2019

New clinical trials to investigate combination immunotherapy for treating advanced cancers

City of Hope physician-scientists recently opened two clinical trials to investigate a combination of cytokines and immunotherapy that may be able to transform nearly-impossible-to-treat cancer into a disease that can be corralled into remission.

8 Apr 2019

Synthetic antibody rapidly prevents Zika infection in mice and non-human primates

A DNA-encoded monoclonal antibody prevents Zika infection in mice and non-human primates, researchers report April 5 in the journal Molecular Therapy.

8 Apr 2019

New HIV drug that is like a "Swiss Army knife of immunotherapies"

HIV is a tricky virus that causes a unique phenomenon where the virus hides within the immune cells of patients when they are on treatment with the antiretroviral therapy (ART) drugs. When they are off the drugs, the virus comes back.

7 Apr 2019

Patients on immunotherapies should consume more fiber, fewer probiotics

A new study has found that taking probiotics could drastically reduce the response of cancer patients to immunotherapy. Patients on a fiber-rich diet showed a five-fold increase in response.

5 Apr 2019

New all-in-one immunotherapy approach kicks out hiding HIV and also kills it

In a first on the quest to cure HIV, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health scientists report today in EBioMedicine that they've developed an all-in-one immunotherapy approach that not only kicks HIV out of hiding in the immune system, but also kills it.

4 Apr 2019

Study identifies possible way to predict which melanomas are hot and cold

Melanomas tend to be "hot" or "cold" - if they're hot, immunotherapy lights melanoma tumors like beacons for elimination by the immune system; but 40-50 percent of melanomas are cold, making them invisible to the immune system, and patients with cold tumors tend to show little benefit from immunotherapies.

4 Apr 2019

Salk researchers reveal new role for a driver of metastatic cancers

Metastatic ovarian, prostate and breast cancers are notoriously difficult to treat and often deadly. Now, Salk Institute researchers have revealed a new role for the CDK12 protein. The findings were published in the print version of Genes & Development on April 1, 2019.

3 Apr 2019

Scientists identify biomarkers to predict risk of atrial fibrillation

Scientists at the University of Navarra (Spain), in collaboration with clinicians from the University Hospital of Donostia, have identified two biomarkers associated with the risk of suffering atrial fibrillation, a cardiac ailment that affects more than 33.5 million people in the world.

2 Apr 2019