May 2024 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 9
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Study suggests tumour microenvironments could predict cancer progression
Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute and University College London have revealed that examining the immune cells in the environment surrounding a tumour could help predict cancer progression and treatment response.
The study was published in Cancer Discovery and funded by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and Bristol Myers Squibb.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer, responsible for up to 85% of all cases.
As part of the TRACERx study, samples of tumours and normal tissues from 81 NSCLC patients were investigated to establish four different types of microenvironments using advanced imaging techniques.
Approximately 28% of tumours had an active environment, containing high levels of T and B cells, and macrophages in the inner and outer parts of the tumour, while 24% of tumours had a low infiltration of T cells and macrophages in the inner part of the tumour but high amounts of B and T cells in the outer part without macrophages.
Additionally, 17% of tumours had a less active immune environment with low amounts of T and B cells and macrophages, while 19% had a low infiltration of T and B cells and macrophages throughout the tumour with a large number of neutrophils.
Study reveals shorter scans for prostate cancer could improve diagnosis
A clinical trial led by researchers from University College London (UCL) and University College London Hospitals NHS Trust Foundation (UCLH) has revealed that removing a step from a three-part MRI scan could make prostate cancer diagnosis quicker, cheaper and more accessible.
The PRIME study was funded by Prostate Cancer UK and the John Black Charitable Foundation.
Currently the most common form of cancer in men, prostate cancer is responsible for around 52,000 new cases and 12,000 deaths every year in the UK.
In the UK, a three-part multiparametric MRI of the prostate is the current standard of care for patients suspected of having prostate cancer, which includes a dye injection as its third step to identify abnormalities to be seen on the MRI scan.
In the study, cancer experts from 22 hospitals from 12 different countries recruited 555 patients and performed full-three-part multiparametric scans on them.
Radiologists then assessed the two-part biparametric scan results in comparison to the results from the three-part multiparametric scan and performed a targeted prostate biopsy on all patients to confirm whether or not the diagnosis was correct.
The results demonstrated that the two-stage scan was just as accurate at diagnosing prostate cancer, with the diagnosis of important prostate cancer in 29% of patients with the two-part biparametric scan – the same result detected via the longer three-part multiparametric scan.
HOT & NOT
A research project led by the University of Liverpool has been awarded over £6m by Unitaid, a global health initiative to prevent, diagnose and treat major diseases in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to advance long-acting therapeutics to treat or prevent tuberculosis, malaria and hepatitis C.
First launched in 2020, the LONGEVITY project aims to ensure that therapeutics for these conditions are easily accessible in LMICs as part of the University of Liverpool’s Centre of Excellence for Long-acting Therapeutics.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Convergence Institute have revealed promising results of a personalised vaccine for liver cancer in a clinical trial.
Results from the study were recently presented at the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting.
Recognised as the most common type of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally.
Bio-Rad Laboratories and Oncocyte Corporation have partnered to develop and commercialise solid tissue transplant monitoring products for researchers and laboratories to “advance science and save lives”.
The collaboration will utilise Bio-Rad’s Droplet Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction (ddPCR) technology.
Solid organ transplantation is a medical procedure to treat end-stage organ failure of the kidneys, liver, pancreas, heart and lung.
Nine researchers from University College London have secured nearly £560m in funding from the European Research Council (ERC) in order to advance researchers in fields across biochemistry, nanotechnologies and regenerative medicine.
Approximately 14% of the competition-submitted proposals were selected for funding, comprising 255 researchers, and could create over 2,000 new jobs.
Set up in 2007 by the EU, the ERC has been funding research via the Advanced Grant to universities and research centres across 19 EU member states and associated countries.
Researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Bath, King’s College London and the University Medical Center Utrecht have called for a reduction in the use of repeat antibiotic prescriptions in primary care for the same respiratory tract infection (RTI) episode, based on findings from a study.
The study found high rates of repeat within-episode prescriptions for RTI in primary care in England, despite evidence of little benefit.
Researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge have revealed that a prostate-specific antigen blood test for prostate cancer has a small impact on reducing deaths and can lead to overdiagnosis and missed early detection of aggressive forms of cancer.
Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and funded by Cancer Research UK, the trial studied over 400,000 men aged 50 to 69 years from 570 GP practices in the UK.
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