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MD Anderson Research Highlights for May 8, 2025

Insights into pancreatic metastases, a lung precancer target, promising strategies for blood and brain cancers, and improving pain management for breast cancer survivors

2025-05-08
(Press-News.org) HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.

Comprehensive spatial map provides insights into pancreatic cancer metastases
Read summary | Read in Nature

Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, resulting in a five-year survival rate of roughly 12%. Approximately half of patients develop metastases shortly after diagnosis, but the biological mechanisms driving spread to specific organs are not fully understood. To provide insights, Linghua Wang, M.D., Ph.D., Anirban Maitra, M.B.B.S., and colleagues generated a comprehensive spatial atlas using 55 samples of primary tumors and metastases collected from 13 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer undergoing rapid autopsy. The researchers focused on mapping clonal evolution, cancer cell states and tumor microenvironment changes, which they validated using patient-derived models. This high-resolution approach highlighted noticeable lineage shifts in cancer cells transitioning from the primary tumor site to organ-specific metastases. It also provided a visualization of the two distinct epithelial states that are characterized by unique gene expression profiles and prognostic implications. These findings emphasize the importance of considering transcriptomic diversity and changes in the tumor microenvironment when identifying potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for treatment-resistant pancreatic cancer.

Mapping changes in lung precancer reveals TIM-3 as potential intervention target
Read summary | Read in Cancer Cell

Lung cancer is often diagnosed at late stages, making treatment challenging. To understand its early development, researchers led by Bo Zhu, Ph.D., Jia Wu, Ph.D., Alexandre Reuben, Ph.D., and Jianjun Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., used imaging mass cytometry to map the spatial tumor microenvironment across 114 lung cancers and precancers. They found a gradual shift from innate to adaptive immune responses as lesions progressed to more invasive cancer. High levels of TIM-3, an immune checkpoint marker, were found in precancers but dropped off in more advanced stages. This pattern was also seen in lab models. Notably, researchers found that blocking TIM-3 at the precancer stage, but not at a later stage, helped reduce tumor growth. These results highlight TIM-3 as a promising target for early intervention strategies. Learn more in Cancer Cell. 

Novel combination provides more effective treatment option for mantle cell lymphoma
Read summary | Read in Journal of Clinical Oncology  

The latest treatment for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) – an aggressive and incurable B-cell lymphoma – includes Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors such as acalabrutinib. Acalabrutinib is a second-generation BTK inhibitor with high specificity. In the Phase III international ECHO trial, researchers led by Michael Wang, M.D., evaluated adding either acalabrutinib or placebo to the standard of care for 598 patients with MCL. At a median follow-up of 44.9 months, the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 66.4 months with acalabrutinib and 49.6 months with placebo. The combination was well tolerated and significantly improved PFS, with a trend toward improving overall survival time, highlighting the clinical benefit of acalabrutinib. The Food and Drug Administration has approved this combination for frontline treatment of patients with MCL, and it has become the new standard therapy for older patients with newly diagnosed MCL.

Activating leukemia stem cells makes chemotherapy more effective in AML
Read summary | Read in Blood Cancer Journal  

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hard-to-treat cancer in which certain leukemia stem/progenitor cells (LSPCs) hide in the bone marrow and resist treatment. Researchers led by Michael Andreeff, M.D., Ph.D., and Yuki Nishida, M.D., Ph.D., examined valemetostat, which targets EZH1 and EZH2 – proteins linked to keeping these LSPCs dormant. While valemetostat alone does not directly fight leukemia, it can wake up hidden LSPCs, making them vulnerable to chemotherapy. In lab models, researchers demonstrated that valemetostat improved the activity of cytarabine, a standard AML treatment, to kill more LSPCs and extend survival. Valemetostat did not harm normal stem cells, which shows that it specifically targets cancer. The drug did not improve responses with another therapy, venetoclax/azacitidine. Researchers discovered the same mobilizing effect on LSPCs in a clinical trial of valemetostat led by Naval Daver, M.D. These findings suggest that EZH1/2 inhibition could be a promising approach for improving AML treatment.

Study identifies potential biomarker for treatment response in glioblastoma
Read summary | Read in Nature Communications 

Glioblastoma, the most common type of central nervous system tumor, is generally resistant to immune checkpoint blockade, highlighting a need to uncover potential features that can predict treatment response. In this Phase I/II trial, researchers led by Shiao-Pei Weathers, M.D., enrolled 60 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma to evaluate the safety and efficacy of combining the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab with the chemotherapy temozolomide and radiation therapy, followed by atezolizumab and temozolomide. While the combination demonstrated comparable overall survival (OS) results relative to existing treatments, the researchers discovered distinct immune-based tumor characteristics associated with longer survival. Patients with an aggressive, mesenchymal subtype of glioblastoma were associated with higher immune activity. Additionally, specific gut bacteria were associated with better immune responses and OS, suggesting that the microbiome can influence treatment efficacy. These findings suggest that immune enrichment could serve as a predictive biomarker for treatment response in patients with glioblastoma. 

Self-advocacy may lead to less pain in older breast cancer survivors 
Read summary | Read in Oncology Nursing Forum

Many older female breast cancer survivors experience persistent pain, but they are unsure how to gauge pain intensity and often have anxiety around opioid therapies, making them unlikely to seek treatment. In a study led by Karen E. Alsbrook, Ph.D., R.N., researchers explored the relationships between self-advocacy, patient-centered communication, pain intensity and opioid stigma in this population. The researchers issued questionnaires to 73 participants, aged 65 or older, who were between one and three years post-surgery and/or adjuvant therapy. Findings revealed that higher levels of self-advocacy were associated with positive perceptions of patient-centered communication, although the impacts of pain intensity and opioid stigma were less clear. Additionally, effective communication was linked to lower pain intensity levels, suggesting that nurses can empower patients to improve outcomes with informed decision-making. Understanding these factors is crucial to improving pain management strategies in this patient population.  

Awards and honors

Six MD Anderson faculty were inducted into the Association of American Physicians (AAP): Anirban Maitra, M.B.B.S., professor of Anatomical Pathology Guillermo Garcia-Manero, M.D., professor of Leukemia Scott Kopetz, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Jennifer Wargo, M.D., professor of Surgical Oncology Giulio Draetta, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer
  Ken Chen, Ph.D., professor of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, was elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
  Gabriel Hortobagyi, M.D., professor of Breast Medical Oncology, was awarded the 2025 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Breast Cancer Award
  Richard Gorlick, M.D., division head of Pediatrics, and Michael Andreef, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Leukemia, were inducted into the 2025 Class of the Giants of Cancer Care recognition program

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[Press-News.org] MD Anderson Research Highlights for May 8, 2025
Insights into pancreatic metastases, a lung precancer target, promising strategies for blood and brain cancers, and improving pain management for breast cancer survivors