In rare cases, cancer treatments can cause serious long-term effects. These include so-called secondary leukemias. This form of blood cancer can develop when chemotherapy or radiotherapy damages the genetic material of healthy cells. A research team led by a scientist from Ulm has now discovered a molecular protective mechanism against such genomic damage: a peptide that can inhibit breaks in the DNA without compromising the curative effect of the actual cancer therapy. These findings could potentially help to make cancer treatments safer. The study was published in the renowned journal Nature Communications. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Stem-cell memory T (TSCM) cells are able to self-renew, persist long term, and mount potent anti-tumor responses. These properties make them attractive for next-generation CAR T-cell therapies. However, their clinical potential has not previously been demonstrated in humans. A team of researchers co-led by Professor Luca Gattinoni from the Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) and Dr. James Kochenderfer from the National Cancer Institute has published a new study in Cell reporting, for the first time, that CAR T cells designed to acquire a TSCM phenotype demonstrate a favorable safety profile and can induce complete remissions at remarkably low doses without…