Human and mouse oral tumors recruit nerves to produce peptides that the cancer cells need to survive—but this process can be blocked with a migraine drug.
At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the cancer biologist is combining research into the tumor microenvironment with the principles of neuroscience to tease apart how cancers grow—and how to stop them.
Because most people are vaccinated against tetanus as children, delivering benign bacteria carrying a tetanus antigen into pancreatic tumors makes them visible to memory cells in the immune system, researchers report.
From diagnosis to tracking treatment responses, bacteria and other microbes in the blood, gut, and tumors of cancer patients may provide helpful hints for improving their care.
Recent insights, such as the recognition that disseminated cancer cells can lie dormant for years before seeding secondary tumors, suggest novel strategies for fighting metastatic disease.
Following on the success of CAR T cells used to treat cancers of the blood, researchers have launched a Phase 1 clinical trial of genetically modified macrophages to target solid tumors.
Mice treated with an immunostimulant had better outcomes when researchers blocked the expression of TNFR2, a compound that helps tumors evade immune attack.