Analysis identifies 50 new genomic regions associated with kidney cancer risk

 A new genomic study conducted at the National Cancer Institute has identified "50 new areas across the genome that are associated with the risk of developing kidney cancer."  Study data from this data will be used to establish a polygenic risk score, looking at known kidney cancer risk factors, including high blood pressure, smoking, and high body-mass index. 

To read more about this study, click here. 

Source mentioned: Purdue MP, Dutta D, Machiela MJ, et al. Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of kidney cancer identifies 63 susceptibility regions. Nature Genetics. April 26, 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01725-7.

AI tool developed with potential to more precisely match cancer drugs to patients

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have created an artificial intelligence (AI) tool which "uses data from individual cells inside tumors to predict whether a person's cancer will respond to a specific drug."  Single-cell RNA sequencing, providing higher resolution data at the single-cell level, is exploring transfer learning whereby AI models are being used to predict drug responses. 

To learn more about this proof-of-concept study, click here. 

Source mentioned: 

Sinha S, Vegesna R, Mukherjee S, et al. PERCEPTION predicts patient response and resistance to treatment using single-cell transcriptomics of their tumors. Nature. April 18, 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s43018-024-00756-7.

Colon cancer linked to mouth bacteria

 A new study, recently published in Nature indicates that Fusobacterium nucleatum, bacteria found in the mouth is linked to colon cancer.  Fusobacterium nucleatum, "associated with dental plaque and gingivitis."  While more evidence linking this bacterium to colon cancer is required (the Nature study was conducted on 100 colon cancer patients), the study authors "envision developing a vaccine against the Fusobacterium nucleatum", using an approach similar to the HPV vaccine. 

To read more about this study, click here. 

Neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy superior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with event-free survival benefit in patients with resectable NSCLC and tumour PD-L1 less than 1%

 A recently published meta-analysis, conducted within the Department of Surgery at McGill University, concluded that "neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy as associated with improved overall survival, event-free survival, major pathological response and pathological complete response" compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.  In particular, improvements were noted in patients diagnosed with either stage II or stage III NSCLC.   

To learn more about this study, click here. 

Sources mentioned: 

• Sorin M, Prosty C, Ghaleb L, et al. Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy for NSCLC A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Oncology; Published online 21 March 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.0057
• Rolfo C, Russo A. The Chemoimmunotherapy Revolution in Resectable NSCLC—The Times They Are A-Changin’. JAMA Oncology; Published online 21 March 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.0043

Oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy shows good tolerance in fit older compared with younger patients with stage III colon cancer

 An ACCENT/IDEA pooled analysis conducted at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre in Nicosia, Cyprus has shown that oxaliplatin-containing chemotherapy is both safe (in terms of toxicity management) and effective "in reducing recurrence rates in a large population [17,000] of older patients with stage III colon cancer."  According to the trial's authors, led by Dr. Demetris Papamichael, while the median age of colon cancer diagnosis is 70 in western countries, only 14-20% of patients more than 70 years old have participated in adjuvant trials. 

To read more about this trial, click here. 

Source mentioned: 

Gallois C, Shi Q, Pederson LD, et al. Oxaliplatin-Based Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Older Patients With Stage III Colon Cancer: An ACCENT/IDEA Pooled Analysis of 12 Trials. JCO; Published online 28 March 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.23.0132