(Press-News.org) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Using a “liquid biopsy” to study genetic material from tumors shed into the bloodstream together with immune cells could help clinicians predict which patients with advanced lung cancers are responding to immunotherapies and which patients may develop immune-related side effects several months later, according to research directed by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute in Pittsburgh.
By monitoring changes in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) among 30 patients treated with immunotherapies for metastatic non-small cell lung cancers, the researchers were able to determine molecular response — the clearance of tumor genetic material in the bloodstream — which was significantly associated with progression-free and overall survival. Serial blood testing was also able to detect an expansion of T cells — immune cells that typically recognize and target foreign or non-self molecules on tumor cells — in patients with immune-related adverse events such as lung tissue inflammation as early as five months ahead of the emergence of clinical symptoms. Similar results were seen in an independent cohort of 49 patients with advanced lung cancers enrolled at the Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute.
These results were published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research on Nov. 8, 2023.
“Immunotherapy has revolutionized how we take care of patients with lung cancer, but it’s been challenging to determine how to assess response,” says lead study author Joseph Murray, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of oncology and co-director of the Lung Cancer Precision Medicine Center of Excellence at Johns Hopkins. “We don’t have reliable biomarkers, so we rely a lot on imaging and patient symptoms to see how patients are clinically responding. Now, we can potentially use noninvasive tests like this to study response and predict side effects very early on, and change therapy regimens if necessary.”
The test also was able to help understand the clinical outcomes of patients with stable disease on imaging, says senior study author Valsamo “Elsa” Anagnostou, M.D., Ph.D., associate progressor of oncology, director of the thoracic oncology biorepository at Johns Hopkins, leader of Precision Oncology Analytics, co-leader of the Johns Hopkins Molecular Tumor Board and co-director of the Lung Cancer Precision Medicine Center of Excellence at Johns Hopkins.
“All of the patients who appeared to have stable disease on imaging tests had very different DNA molecular response patterns that helped predict their overall clinical outcomes,” Anagnostou says. “This is a particular subset of patients for whom we may want to intervene, and use liquid biopsies to guide therapeutic decision-making, as ctDNA can rapidly and accurately capture the amount of cancer present.” This work ties in the ongoing efforts of the thoracic oncology group at Johns Hopkins to implement liquid biopsies in clinical decision-making, through a ctDNA-adaptive clinical trial of chemo-immunotherapy for patients with metastatic lung cancer (NCT04093167).
Murray and Anagnostou are available for media interviews.
END
Liquid biopsy predicts immunotherapy response and toxicity in patients with advanced lung cancer
2023-12-12
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Heavy metals in our food are most dangerous for kids
2023-12-12
WASHINGTON, DC, 2023, December 12, 2023 – The problem of foodborne metal contamination has taken on new urgency, thanks in part to a 2021 US Congressional Report detailing high levels of metals found in infant food pulled off grocery shelves. (More recently, high levels of lead were discovered in children’s fruit puree pouches.) Now, two new studies provide information on the correlation between exposure to heavy metals in food and the risk of cancers and other serious health risks. The findings will be presented ...
Artificial intelligence systems excel at imitation, but not innovation
2023-12-12
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are often depicted as sentient agents poised to overshadow the human mind. But AI lacks the crucial human ability of innovation, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have found.
While children and adults alike can solve problems by finding novel uses for everyday objects, AI systems often lack the ability to view tools in a new way, according to findings published according to findings published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of ...
MSK’s Omar Abdel-Wahab honored for research targeting blood cancers
2023-12-12
Physician-scientist Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD, is being honored at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting with the William Dameshek Prize, which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of hematology. The award will be presented December 12.
Dr. Abdel-Wahab, who chairs the Molecular Pharmacology Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), was selected for his “trailblazing research” characterizing the genetic mutations that drive blood ...
Black individuals more likely to experience inequities in early diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease, new research shows
2023-12-12
A new study out of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Lyme Disease Research Center has revealed disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease between Black and White patients with the condition. Researchers say the data, which draws on participants’ medical histories, whether from Johns Hopkins Medicine or other institutions, highlights issues in the nation’s medical education on Lyme disease.
In the full article, published December 12 in JAMA Network Open, researchers say that Black patients were more likely to have advanced stages of Lyme disease when clinically diagnosed and also experience a longer time before receiving antibiotic treatment for the condition.
Lyme ...
National Academy of Inventors honors SMU professor J.-C. Chiao as fellow
2023-12-12
DALLAS (SMU) J.-C. Chiao, the Mary and Richard Templeton Centennial Chair and professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in the SMU Lyle School of Engineering, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Election as an NAI fellow is the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors. The NAI Fellows Program highlights academic inventors who have demonstrated a spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.
Chiao, one of 162 inventors selected for the ...
Study paves way for development of advanced quantum networks
2023-12-12
The ability to transmit information coherently in the band of the electromagnetic spectrum from microwave to infrared is vitally important to the development of the advanced quantum networks used in computing and communications.
A study conducted by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil, in collaboration with colleagues at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and TU Delft in the Netherlands, focused on the use of nanometric optomechanical cavities for this purpose. These nanoscale resonators promote interaction between high-frequency ...
Sanford Burnham Prebys elects Lori Moore to its Board of Trustees
2023-12-12
Sanford Burnham Prebys today announced that Lori Moore will join the Institute’s Board of Trustees.
“With many years in health care, both as a provider and a leader, Lori brings a welcomed depth and breadth of experience,” says David A. Brenner, president and CEO of Sanford Burnham Prebys. “Her perspectives will be much valued as the Institute advances its message of translating science into health.”
Moore is a registered nurse, a fifth-generation San Diegan and a member of the Cushman family, whose philanthropic endeavors span decades. She serves as vice president of The Cushman Foundation, which supports a wide range of community ...
New study explores ways to reduce inflammation and preserve bone health with prunes
2023-12-12
A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition shows daily consumption of prunes may reduce inflammation markers connected to bone signaling pathways and reduce the effects of bone loss among postmenopausal women.
“Bone loss is a significant issue impacting more than 50% of women over the age of 50, and there is no cure,” said Principal Investigator Mary Jane De Souza, PhD, Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University. “While medications and hormone therapies are available, they often require lifelong management and come with risks. It’s ...
Cannabis exposure linked to 1.5 times higher risk of unhealthy pregnancy outcomes
2023-12-12
SALT LAKE CITY - In the past ten years, the percentage of Americans who use medical marijuana has more than doubled as state-level legalization becomes increasingly common. But despite its prevalence as a medication, the full health effects of cannabis remain unknown, especially for specific populations—such as pregnant people—that might be especially at risk of health complications.
Now, in a large study of more than 9,000 pregnant people from across the U.S., researchers at University of Utah Health have found that cannabis ...
Single-use e-cigarettes contain batteries that last hundreds of cycles despite being discarded
2023-12-12
While the lithium-ion batteries in disposable electronic cigarettes are discarded after a single use, they can continue to perform at high capacity for hundreds of cycles, according to a study published December 12 in the journal Joule. The analysis, conducted by scientists from University College London (UCL) and the University of Oxford and supported by The Faraday Institution, highlights a growing environmental threat from these increasingly popular vape pens, which are not designed to be recharged.
“The surprise for us were the results that pointed toward just how long these batteries could potentially cycle,” says ...