Study discovers that tumor mutation burden predicts survival outcome
The expected course of a patient's cancer prognosis has traditionally been judged by its type, stage and microscopic aggressiveness, but patients with the same presentation can still have widely divergent outcomes. Researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have discovered that differences in tumor mutation burden are a major reason for this divergence.
Signaling pathways in liposarcomas
A broad bioinformatics approach revealed that Hedgehog signaling is upregulated in dedifferentiated liposarcoma, suggesting this pathway may be an early indicator of poor prognosis and a potential therapeutic target.
International workgroup of geneticists issues CHEK2 guidelines
International workgroup issues additional guidance on how to manage patients who carry inherited CHEK2 gene mutations that put them at a higher risk for cancer.
Vulnerability found in immunotherapy-resistant triple-negative breast cancer
Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a druggable target on natural killer cells that could potentially trigger a therapeutic response in patients with immunotherapy-resistant, triple-negative breast cancer.
VUMC researchers upend dogma about vasopressin production
Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that vasopressin, which has long been thought to be produced only in the brain, is also produced in the kidney.
New screening method could pave the way for future cancer drug discoveries
New screening method could pave the way for future cancer drug discoveries
Waddell Walker Hancock Cancer Discovery Fund names first scholars
A research endeavor that seeks to develop a new cancer immunotherapy utilizing nanobody delivery and targeted heating of tumors has received funding from the Waddell Walker Hancock Cancer Discovery Fund. John Wilson, PhD, and Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, aim to create a novel therapeutic that will reprogram regulatory T cells, which typically suppress immune responses, into killer T cells with antitumor activity.
Clamping Down the Metabolic Pipeline to B Cells
New research shows the nutritive needs of B cells are more flexible than previously thought, which could enable researchers to steer antibody production in the lymph nodes and spleen to better combat autoimmunity. Patients with high-risk diseases of the immune system, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus, could stand to benefit from the research findings. The study led by Mark Boothby, MD, and published in the Journal of Immunology, provides details regarding how murine B cells use different sugars as they mature into antibody-producing cells
