PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Potential marker for success of immunotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer

2021-07-08
(Press-News.org) Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers, and treatment options are extremely limited, especially for patients with oncogenic mutations in the KRAS gene. A great deal of hope was invested in the licensing of immune checkpoint inhibitors, but the reality is that some patients respond very well to this treatment while it is completely ineffective in others. In a paper just published in Science Translational Medicine, a MedUni Vienna research group led by Herwig Moll (Center for Physiology and Pharmacology) identified a potential marker for the success of immunotherapy in lung cancer patients and explained the underlying molecular processes.

K-Ras it is a monomeric G protein that plays a key role in the growth of malignant tumours. KRAS-mutated lung carcinomas frequently occur in chronically inflamed lungs, particularly in heavy smokers. The inflammatory processes promote the growth of cancer cells. The research group has now shown that the expression of the highly anti-inflammatory protein A20, formed in the body itself, is often very low in these malignant cells and that there is a direct correlation between a patient's life expectancy and the expression of this protein. Moll explains: "Both in humans and in the animal model, the loss of A20 leads to downgraded immune surveillance of cancer cells. Cancer cells with low levels of A20 are able to escape detection by the immune system." This results in significantly faster tumour growth.

During the course of this study, which was co-funded by MedUni Vienna's Cancer Research Initiative and associated with the Comprehensive Cancer Center Vienna, the research team discovered that it is primarily an enhanced sensitivity of the cancer cells to the immunomodulatory cytokine interferon gamma that is responsible for this. Moreover, tumour cells with downregulated A20 responded particularly well to immune checkpoint inhibitors, in the same way as patients suffering from melanoma (skin cancer) with a similar gene expression structure.

"In A20 we have discovered a previously unknown tumour suppressor in lung cancer, the loss of which as an immune checkpoint contributes to the development of this malignant disease," explains co-author Emilio Casanova from the Institute of Pharmacology. Since patients with low A20 expression have few tumour-fighting immune cells and so, in the advanced stage, express little of the important immune checkpoint molecule PD-L1, these patients could be excluded from immunotherapies directed against PD-L1. Indeed, the strength of expression of this molecule is currently regarded as an aid for deciding whether or not they should be treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. "Based on our results and the data available from melanoma patients, we are convinced that we have identified a group of lung cancer patients who would really benefit from this immunotherapy. Exclusion from such treatment would significantly reduce the survival rate of such patients."

In a further study, the researchers want to find out whether it is possible to manipulate the expression of A20 in the cancer cells, in order to intensify the effect of immunotherapies. "However, smoking is still the most easily avoided risk factor for lung cancer. We must therefore support laws to protect the general public from inhaling harmful smoke, while at the same time appealing to people's personal responsibility to refrain from smoking altogether," says Moll. According to the MedUni Vienna experts, it is nevertheless important to continue to investigate new therapeutic approaches to improve the quality-of-life and chances of survival of those affected.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers use JUWELS for record-breaking simulations of turbulence's smallest structures

Researchers use JUWELS for record-breaking simulations of turbulences smallest structures
2021-07-08
When you pour cream into a cup of coffee, the viscous liquid seems to lazily disperse throughout the cup. Take a mixing spoon or straw to the cup, though, and the cream and coffee seem to quickly and seamlessly combine into a lighter color and, at least for some, a more enjoyable beverage. The science behind this relatively simple anecdote actually speaks to a larger truth about complex fluid dynamics and underpins many of the advancements made in transportation, power generation, and other technologies since the industrial era--the seemingly random chaotic motions known as turbulence play a vital role in chemical and industrial ...

2D:4D ratio is not related to sex-determined finger size differences in men and women

2021-07-08
The ratios between the lengths of the second and fourth fingers, known as the 2D:4D ratio, are different in males and females, which is often explained by levels of androgens and oestrogens. However, an alternative theory states that men have bigger body parts, including fingers, which impacts the 2D:4D ratio. A research team including HSE University scholars refuted this hypothesis by collecting data on finger length from 7,500 people. The results of the study were published in Scientific Reports. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-87394-6 The ...

Buried treasure: New study spotlights bias in leadership assessments of women

Buried treasure: New study spotlights bias in leadership assessments of women
2021-07-08
A new study conducted before COVID-19 busted open the leaky pipeline for women in leadership underscores the bias that men are naturally presumed to have leadership potential and women are not and highlights the increased efforts needed by organizations to address the incorrect stereotype post-pandemic. The research published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology highlights the continuing bias in leadership assessments of women, explores the contradictions between the perception and the reality of women's leadership, and shows why the slow rate of career advancement for women will likely continue at a snail's pace. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's career progression will likely be felt for years to come as ...

Protein crop's potential unlocked by deciphering anti-nutrient biosynthesis

Protein crops potential unlocked by deciphering anti-nutrient biosynthesis
2021-07-08
Faba beans are an excellent source of food protein, but about 4% of the world's population are afflicted by favism, which renders them sensitive to the faba bean anti-nutrients vicine and convicine. Now, an international research team has identified the VC1 gene as responsible for the production of these compounds. Faba beans have actually been a source of food protein since pre-historic times, but a fraction of the population, mostly from warm southern regions, cannot tolerate them. Pythagoras and his followers avoided them, and Roman priests of Jupiter ...

Do I buy or not?

Do I buy or not?
2021-07-08
You have probably often said to yourself: "This time, I will only buy what I need!" But then you still ended up coming home with things that were not on your shopping list. How can you prevent such impulse buying? A team from the Chair of Psychology II at Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, looked at this question. The answer is not that simple, says psychologist Dr Anand Krishna. It depends on what type of person you are: a pleasure-seeker or a person who focuses on security. Anand Krishna and his JMU colleagues Sophia Ried and Marie Meixner have published ...

Hybrid enzyme catalysts synthesized by a de novo approach for expanding biocatalysis

Hybrid enzyme catalysts synthesized by a de novo approach for expanding biocatalysis
2021-07-08
The two major challenges in industrial enzymatic catalysis are the limited number of chemical reaction types that are catalyzed by enzymes and the instability of enzymes under harsh conditions in industrial catalysis. Expanding enzyme catalysis to a larger substrate scope and greater variety of chemical reactions and tuning the microenvironment surrounding enzyme molecules to achieve high enzyme performance are urgently needed. Recently, a research team led by Prof. Jun Ge from Tsinghua University, China reviewed their efforts using the de novo approach to synthesize hybrid enzyme catalysts that can address these two challenges and the structure-function relationship is discussed to reveal ...

Machine learning models based on thermal data predict solar radiation

2021-07-08
A research team at the University of Córdoba has developed and evaluated models for the prediction of solar radiation in nine locations in southern Spain and North Carolina (USA). Measuring solar radiation is costly, as are all the tasks related to the maintenance and calibration of the most commonly used sensors: pyranometers and radiometers. The result is a paucity of reliable data. Hence, a research group from the University of Córdoba has developed and evaluated several Machine Learning models to predict solar radiation in nine locations (southern Spain and North Carolina, USA) spanning a range of different geo-climatic conditions ...

Study finds toddlers with ASD do not differ in progress made in comparison of two treatment types

2021-07-08
Washington, DC, July 8, 2021 - A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP), published by Elsevier, reports that the type of one-on-one treatment plans delivered to toddlers, aged 12-30 months, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) did not lead to any significantly different outcomes. Neither the type of evidence-based intervention provided, nor the number of hours of therapy were shown to have an impact. The treatments, or intervention methods, delivered by specialized staff to the very young, during the study were either the Early ...

Highly fit teenagers coped better with COVID-19 later in life

2021-07-08
Of the Swedish men in their late teens who performed well in the physical fitness tests for military conscription, a relatively high proportion were able to avoid hospital care when they became infected with COVID-19 during the pandemic up to 50 years later. This has been shown by University of Gothenburg researchers in a register study, with results now published in the BMJ Open. The study is based on the Swedish Conscription Register, which contains particulars of over 1.5 million young Swedish men who began their military service in the years 1969-2005. Almost all of these men then underwent both a bicycle test and a strength test. Some 2,500 of the men included in the Conscription Register were later, in spring 2020, hospitalized with COVID-19. For their study, the scientists ...

People with ADHD and multiple psychiatric diagnoses stop their ADHD treatment more often

2021-07-08
A research study from the The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research iPSYCH shows that people with ADHD, who also have another psychiatric diagnosis, are more likely to stop taking their ADHD medicine. ADHD is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood and is commonly treated with medication. ADHD medicine can be divided into two groups: medicine that has a stimulating effect - also known as stimulants - and non-stimulants, which are often used if a person does not respond well to the other form of medicine. The medication can be an effective way of reducing symptoms, by ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

Healthy nutrition and physical lifestyle choices lower cancer mortality risk for survivors, new ACS study finds

[Press-News.org] Potential marker for success of immunotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer