They are called “mAbs,” short for monoclonal antibodies, and they are a big deal in oncology. One of the immune systems most elegant soldiers, mAbs are formed by B cells, a type of white blood cell produced in the spleen, in response to specific foreign invaders (real and perceived) known as antigens, and humans are capable of producing billions of billions of differing kinds. They are so potent in the fight against cancer that when the late Dr. César Milstein, along with Georges Köhler, created the first technique to produce mAbs in the lab, the innovation won him a Nobel Prize…
Author: Brett Johnson
Green tea has long been linked with positive health outcomes. It is full of antioxidants that have been associated with the prevention of many ailments, including cancer. Despite these associations, there have been no evidence-based suggestions on the quantity of green tea needed to prevent cancer. There are also no specific guidelines on which types of cancer may be prevented by drinking green tea. Without this information, many people are left asking ‘does green tea actually prevent cancer?’ Green tea, also known as Chinese tea, is a type of tea made from Camellia sinensis leaves. Aside from water, it is the most widely…
New research suggests that inducing a form of controlled cell death called necroptosis in or around tumor cells can help the immune system rid the body of cancer cells. Necroptosis is an explosive form of cell death during which a cell typically swells and then bursts. In the study, researchers found that injecting cells undergoing necroptosis into tumors in mice kickstarted an immune response against the tumors. In the NCI-funded study, published June 21 in Science Immunology, the researchers also used a virus to deliver genes for the proteins that drive necroptosis into tumor cells. Combining this treatment with a commonly…
Clinical recommendations on who should be screened for lung cancer are based largely on how long a person smoked and the number of cigarettes they smoked. But current recommendations may need to be reviewed when it comes to African Americans who smoke, a new study suggests. In the study, only about one-third of African American smokers diagnosed with lung cancer over a 12-year period would have met the criteria for annual lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) laid out by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). In contrast, more than half of white smokers diagnosed with lung cancer met…
Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is the deadliest and most aggressive form of brain cancer for which there is currently no cure. This often-fatal brain cancer accounts for 45% of all malignant brain tumors and 12,000 cancer diag noses per year in the United States, in addition to tens of thousands more around the globe. The average GBM patient has a survival rate of one to two years. Out of determination to improve outcomes for GBM patients, in June 2019, after years of collaboration the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR) launched GBM AGILE – a global effort to defeat GBM…
VPAC1 biomarkers are expressed on cell surfaces in high densities at the onset of oncogenesis. When VPAC1 receptors are targeted, cancer can be diagnosed early, but specifically, it allows physicians to distinguish malignant from benign lesions. NuView’s new NV-VPAC1 technology works as a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging agent for the in vivo diagnosis of breast and prostate cancer, by combining an NV-VPAC1 peptide with a medical imaging isotope, illuminating cancerous VPAC1 biomarkers for detection and removal. NV-VPAC1™ used in conjunction with a PET scan and fluorescent dye can detect and confirm the shed of cancer cells in voided urine,…
A company is changing the imaging industry with new software that far exceeds all current mammography technology. This breakthrough technology reveals the make up of the entire breast, including what dense tissue usually hides, allowing doctors to see a level of detail unparalleled to anything before. This new approach to machine learning allows both the clinician and artificial intelligence engines to see what is really there and differentiate early stage cancer and other structural abnormalities potentially smaller than 1mm. This level of detail has the potential to provide clinicians significant and critical time advantage, thereby enabling better outcomes: fewer false positives…
A new breakthrough energy-based cancer therapy has the ability to kill cancer cells with no side effects in five different cancer cell types: breast, prostate, and the pancreas. This new therapy induces rapid cell death in over 80% in just two hours. It utilizes a drug combined with a certain light wavelength to produce a chemical reaction, then injected into a cancerous tissue, which disseminates, resulting in high acidity in the cancer cells, and eventually, death. The drug mixed with their technology shows no adverse side effects and been successful at killing different types of cancer cells in their petri…