https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us provides the latest news from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Two new studies from researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle reveal how bacteria infiltrate tumors and could be helping tumors progress and spread. The research team also showed that the different microbial players in a tumor's microbiome could influence how a cancer responds to treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-bacteria-tumors-resist-treatment.html Wed, 16 Nov 2022 11:04:21 EST news587819044 An unexpected trick in cancer's playbook may fool an important component of our immune systems into knocking down our natural defenses against solid tumors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-solid-tumors-cell-shield-immune.html Fri, 13 May 2022 04:05:21 EDT news571633510 More and more mutations clutter up our DNA as we age. Mostly, these don't cause problems. But sometimes, a switch will flip, and a mutated cell turns cancerous. Can we see this shift in time to prevent or treat cancer before it starts? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-genetic-patients-esophageal-cancer.html Thu, 28 Apr 2022 05:00:02 EDT news570336977 Zinc's immune-boosting properties are well-established, but we're still untangling how it works. In a new study published in late March in the scientific journal Blood, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists reveal two different ways the mineral supports immunity. Using mice, the team discovered that zinc is required for development of a specialized type of immune cell and prompts a critical immune organ to regenerate after damage. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-mice-zinc-regeneration-key-immune.html Thu, 31 Mar 2022 17:06:37 EDT news567965191 Leading infectious disease researchers called for a coordinated response to HIV and COVID-19 globally, building on the successes of key donor programs such as the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM) in a new perspective piece published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-global-hiv-covid-response.html Wed, 16 Mar 2022 04:05:39 EDT news566622334 The first 12 study participants have been enrolled in a new Phase 1 clinical trial using the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine technology developed by Moderna. The study evaluates the safety of and immune responses to three different experimental vaccines against HIV. This randomized, open-label trial represents one of the first clinical studies of the use of mRNA vaccine technology against HIV. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-trial-hiv-vaccine-mrna-technology.html Mon, 14 Mar 2022 14:52:13 EDT news566488325 Immune cells have many jobs to do: Some identify infected cells and eliminate them. Others help rein in inflammation to prevent damage to healthy tissue. And many are critical components of cancer treatment. Researchers know that the specialized receptors of a type of immune cell called a T cell help regulate T cells' activity and immune roles. A new computational method called CoNGA, published today in Nature Biotechnology, could help bring into focus the hidden biological patterns that link T-cell receptor, or TCR, gene sequences and T-cell function. https://phys.org/news/2021-08-method-window-immune-cell-behavior.html Tue, 24 Aug 2021 09:24:00 EDT news549015830 In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine, the U.S. Military HIV Research Program and the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina urged increased attention to persistent COVID-19 infections in immunocompromised people. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-persistent-covid-infections-immunocompromised-people.html Thu, 05 Aug 2021 10:45:46 EDT news547379139 Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have published findings in the journal JAMA Network Open indicating that many cancer patients lack sufficient immune protection against the measles and mumps viruses. The highest risk groups within the study were young adults and bone marrow transplant recipients, providing information to clinicians that wasn't readily available before and will be useful in preventing future infection in cancer patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-cancer-patients-lack-sufficient-immunity.html Wed, 28 Jul 2021 14:32:14 EDT news546701529 The proof-of-concept AMP studies demonstrated that a broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) called VRC01 was effective at preventing the acquisition of HIV strains to the 30% of strains that were sensitive to the bnAb. This finding was seen both in Sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S. and South America. VRCO1 did not prevent the acquisition of HIV to strains that were resistant to the bNAb. As the resistant strains constituted nearly 70% of the circulating strains in these regions, there was no difference noted between the VRC01 arms and placebo arm in terms of overall prevention of HIV acquisition. The sensitivity to bNAbs was assessed by a laboratory test that measures a virus' susceptibility to neutralization by an antibody. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-03-clinical-trials-broadly-neutralizing-antibody.html Wed, 17 Mar 2021 17:00:01 EDT news535217836 A team of scientific experts from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico are advocating for increased diversity in vaccine trials after publishing a new report that highlights a decade's worth of disparities. The new study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that among U.S.-based vaccine clinical trials, people who are Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino and age 65 and older were the most underrepresented groups. Conversely, adult women were overrepresented. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-highlights-lack-diversity-inclusion-vaccine.html Fri, 19 Feb 2021 12:53:30 EST news532961604 Results from a new trial published by a team led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center suggests lower dairy intake may be beneficial for people with metabolic syndrome. In a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr. Mario Kratz, an associate professor in Fred Hutch's Public Health Sciences Division, led a team that looked at dairy's impact on regulating blood sugar levels in people with metabolic syndrome. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-trial-benefits-dairy-foods-blood.html Mon, 16 Nov 2020 10:22:39 EST news524744551 Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle have shown that a potent antibody from a COVID-19 survivor interferes with a key feature on the surface of the coronavirus's distinctive spikes and induces critical pieces of those spikes to break off in the process. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-scientists-potent-antibody-coronavirus.html Tue, 27 Oct 2020 15:17:22 EDT news523030638 A new study published in the journal Critical Care Explorations shows for the first time that part of the stress response in people and animals involves increasing the levels of a naturally circulating element in blood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-reveals-element-blood-humanand-hibernating.html Thu, 01 Oct 2020 13:47:58 EDT news520778873 Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center believe they've found a better of use of mobile technology to help adult cigarette smokers quit. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-fred-hutch-led-clinical-trial-smartphone.html Mon, 21 Sep 2020 11:00:08 EDT news519889472 Infectious disease researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have used a gene editing approach to remove latent herpes simplex virus 1, or HSV-1, also known as oral herpes. In animal models, the findings show at least a 90 percent decrease in the latent virus, enough researchers expect that it will keep the infection from coming back. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-gene-therapy-approach-latent-herpes.html Tue, 18 Aug 2020 07:57:11 EDT news516956225 Infectious disease experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and UW Medicine are advocating for earlier actions to reduce hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-experts-advocate-earlier-treatment-covid-.html Tue, 16 Jun 2020 15:57:17 EDT news511541833 Unprecedented collaboration and resources will be required to research and develop safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19 that can be manufactured and delivered in the scale of billions of doses to people globally. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-experts-outline-covid-vaccines.html Mon, 11 May 2020 10:51:55 EDT news508413111 Millions of Americans live with the pain and physical limitations of arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. Steroids and other drugs can offer relief, but they can also come with a host of serious side effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-tiny-scorpion-derived-proteins-arthritis-drugs.html Wed, 04 Mar 2020 14:00:05 EST news502534536 Stomach cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related death across the globe. One of the main risk factors for this disease is infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. About half of the world's population is chronically infected with the bacterium, which burrows its way into the mucus lining the stomach and sets up long-term inflammation that can trigger ulcers and, more rarely, cancer. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-helicobacter-helical.html Thu, 23 Jan 2020 10:48:44 EST news498998917 A bone marrow transplant can be a lifesaving treatment, but it can come with life-threatening risks. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-01-big-gains-bone-marrow-transplant.html Mon, 20 Jan 2020 17:00:02 EST news498730881 For many lung cancer patients, the best treatment options involve checkpoint inhibitors. These drugs unleash a patient's immune system against their disease and can yield dramatic results, even in advanced cancers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-scientists-link-common-immune-cell.html Fri, 20 Dec 2019 02:44:36 EST news496032266 What if a metal that's already used to repair broken bones, straighten teeth and keep arteries from clogging could also be used to stop your cancer from spreading? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-scientists-thin-metal-mesh-cells.html Mon, 09 Dec 2019 11:00:14 EST news495093303 Red blood cells give us life. They ferry oxygen throughout our bodies. Breakdowns in red blood cell development can be life-threatening, but scientists still have much to learn about the molecular processes that ensure these cells develop properly. Now, scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered a process that regulates the earliest stages of red blood cell development. The findings, published this month in the journal Nature Communications, could shed light on what goes wrong in certain blood cancers and anemias. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-scientists-red-blood-cell.html Tue, 22 Oct 2019 08:01:08 EDT news490950056 A new, multicenter study led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center determined how a single mutation in splicing factor 3b subunit 1 (SF3B1), the most frequently mutated splicing factor gene, drives the formation of many cancers. The findings are published today in the journal Nature. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-10-uncovers-common-genetic-mutation-cancer.html Wed, 09 Oct 2019 13:00:16 EDT news489825954 A team led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified several women's health benefits from a low-fat diet. The findings, published in the September issue of the Journal of Nutrition, found a low-fat diet commensurate with an increase in fruit, vegetable and grain servings reduced death following breast cancer, slowed diabetes progression and prevented coronary heart disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-09-long-term-benefits-low-fat-diet.html Wed, 04 Sep 2019 09:56:37 EDT news486809790 In a paper published in the July 31 issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit long-lived blood stem cells to reverse the clinical symptoms observed with several blood disorders, including sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-blood-stem-cell-subset-therapeutically.html Wed, 31 Jul 2019 14:00:01 EDT news483775517 A team at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified a gene that could make immunotherapy treatments, specifically checkpoint inhibitors, work for a wider variety of cancer patients. The study, published today in Developmental Cell, found that when the DUX4 gene is expressed in cancer cells, it can prevent the cancer from being recognized and destroyed by the immune system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-gene-cancer-cells-immunotherapy.html Thu, 18 Jul 2019 13:25:56 EDT news482675134 A new multicenter analysis led by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and other institutions found the inclusion of diverse, multiethnic populations in large-scale genomic studies is critical for reducing health disparities and accurately representing genetics-related disease risks in all populations. The results appear in the June 19 issue of the journal Nature. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-06-highlights-ethnic-ancestral-diversity-genomic.html Wed, 19 Jun 2019 13:00:03 EDT news480140527 The results of a study led by physicians at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed that patients living with HIV and one of a variety of potentially deadly cancers could be safely treated with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, also known by its brand name, KEYTRUDA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-06-immunotherapy-drug-safe-cancer-patients.html Mon, 03 Jun 2019 15:46:55 EDT news478795603