Newswise — HOUSTON 鈥� The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s 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.
Landmark study maps spatial organization of cancer-associated fibroblasts across cancers
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Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are essential components of the that influence how tumors grow, evade the immune system and respond to therapy. However, their spatial organization and functional diversity are poorly understood. In a pan-cancer spatial multi-omics study, , Yunhe Liu, Ph.D., and colleagues analyzed over 14 million cells from 10 cancer types using seven state-of-the-art spatial transcriptomic and proteomic platforms. This comprehensive analysis revealed four different spatial CAF subtypes that are conserved across cancer types and exhibit distinct spatial organizational patterns. These patterns are associated with specific tumor immune phenotypes, disease progression and clinical outcomes. The team developed a robust computational framework to identify CAF spatial subtypes based on neighboring cell compositions, enabling systematic analysis of tumor ecosystems and facilitating the study of CAFs and other cell populations in their spatial context. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the spatial organization and intercellular communication networks of different cell types to better understand their functions and to identify potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Combination therapy shows no added survival benefit in patients with cervical cancer
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Patients with intermediate-risk often receive with after , but the added benefit of this combination remains unclear. To address this, researchers including Núria Agustí, M.D., and , analyzed data from 1,116 patients with cervical cancer, examining overall survival rates among those receiving chemoradiotherapy compared to radiotherapy alone. There was no significant difference between the groups, with both achieving an 87% five-year survival rate. These findings suggest that adding chemotherapy to radiation after surgery may not improve survival in these patients, highlighting a need to de-escalate adjuvant treatment. Future studies should focus on defining more precise criteria to identify which patients truly benefit from adjuvant treatment, potentially through targeted therapies that minimize unnecessary toxicity.
Study provides genomic insights into treatment resistance in SMARCA4-mutant lung cancer
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SMARCA4 – a gene that helps in chromatin remodeling – frequently is mutated in , leading to resistance and a poor prognosis. To understand the underlying mechanisms, researchers led by , examined its role in lab models of SMARCA4-mutant lung cancer. SMARCA4 loss led to a decreased response to anti-PD1 immunotherapy and was associated with lower infiltration of CD4+ T cells and dendritic cells in the tumor microenvironment. The study showed that cancer cells with these mutations reprogram the tumor microenvironment by reducing chromatin accessibility at key enhancers of immune-related genes, such as the STING1 pathway. The researchers also found enrichment of NF-kB on these enhancers, suggesting a functional link between NF-kB and SMARCA4 in regulating immune and inflammatory gene expression. These findings suggest potential therapeutic strategies that boost dendritic cells or the STING1 pathway to overcome immunotherapy resistance in SMARCA4-mutant tumors.
BCMA-directed CAR T cell therapy is safe in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma and CNS involvement
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Due to the risk of associated neurotoxicities, some clinicians are hesitant to consider B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed for patients with relapsed or refractory and central nervous system (CNS) involvement. In a multicenter retrospective analysis led by ., and ., researchers investigated the use of two BCMA-targeting CAR T cell therapies to identify any excessive neurotoxicity. In the study, six patients received idecabtagene vicleucel and four received ciltacabtagene autoleucel. Trial participants had an overall response rate of 80% and a 100% CNS response. With a median follow-up of 381 days, patients diagnosed with CNS involvement before receiving CAR T cell therapy had a median overall survival and progression-free survival of 13.3 and 6.3 months, respectively. Four patients who responded to bridging therapy had the best outcomes, suggesting that optimizing pre-CAR T cell therapy may be crucial for improved outcomes. The researchers identified no excess toxicities and suggest further research is warranted on CAR T cell therapy in a larger population of patients with CNS multiple myeloma.
Whole-slide imaging allows real-time remote diagnosis for breast cancer
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Pathologists traditionally use light microscopy to evaluate stained frozen sections of lymph nodes obtained during surgery in patients with . To enable pathologists to support the surgeons remotely, researchers led by , evaluated the use of whole-slide imaging (WSI), a digital pathology tool that allows pathologists to remotely view the frozen sections of lymph nodes in real time at different magnifications in order to diagnose metastatic breast cancer in patients and consult easily with other experts. Retrospective analysis showed that WSI is comparable to light microscopy for diagnostic accuracy, leading the researchers to examine its real-time feasibility. The prospective study validated these findings, showing the remote approach achieved comparable diagnostic accuracy with similar times to provide a diagnosis. This resulted in the incorporation of WSI for remote diagnosis as a standard of care at MD Anderson. These findings highlight the potential of using WSI for real-time evaluation of frozen samples from patients with breast cancer as a standard of care in surgical pathology.
Awards and honors
- , clinical ethicist in the Center for Clinical Ethics in Cancer Care, was awarded the at the 2025 National Nursing Ethics Conference
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