 | New target for small cell lung cancer Researchers in the Jacks and Vander Heiden labs identified a new therapeutic target for small cell lung cancer (SCLC), an especially aggressive form of lung cancer with limited options for treatment. In a study appearing in Science Translational Medicine and funded in part by the MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine, the team used genetic screens to search for SCLC targets that could be tested relatively quickly and easily in a clinical setting. Researchers discovered a metabolic vulnerability to the loss of DHODH, a key enzyme in the pyrimidine synthesis pathway. They also found that a DHODH inhibitor brequinar—already approved for use in patients as an immunosuppressant—slowed tumor progression and increased survival in SCLC mouse models and was effective in treating two of four patient-derived small cell lung cancer tumor models. |
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Lumicell Hits the Home Stretch KI startup Lumicell launched a pivotal trial for its Lumicell Imaging System, a final step toward FDA approval for the innovative image-guided cancer surgery technology. Supported early on by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program through the Kathy and Curt Marble Cancer Research Fund, the system was developed by KI member Linda Griffith, with MIT collaborator Moungi Bawendi and former KI administrator W. David Lee ’69. Lumicell’s system pairs an injectable contrast agent with a hand-held, single-cell resolution imager to scan surgical margins for residual cancer cells. Proprietary software produces real-time images that help surgeons take immediate action to prevent repeat surgeries, lower healthcare costs, and improve patient outcomes. |
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Going Chiral Controlling chirality—the so-called “handedness” of a molecule’s structure—improves the performance of drug-delivering nanoparticles, according to new research from the Langer Lab. The Advanced Materials study showed that when coated in the “right-handed” form of the amino acid cysteine, nanoparticles avoided destruction by enzymes and penetrated cancer cells more easily. |
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Bhatia’s Biomarkers Bring Insight to the Clinic Glympse Bio, founded by Sangeeta Bhatia, will move its early detection and monitoring strategy into patients as part of Gilead’s NASH clinical program. The Bhatia lab’s activity-based nanosensors for cancer, fibrosis, and other conditions release synthetic urinary biomarkers into the body when they encounter diseased cells. Developed in part with support from the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program, they will help determine disease stage and treatment responses in real time. NASH, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, is an advanced form of fatty liver disease linked to obesity and a major risk factor for liver cancer, for which there are few treatment options. |
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Cell-based Therapy Squeezes into Human Trials Paving the way for SQZ Biotech’s first human trial, the FDA accepted the company’s IND application for a cell-based therapeutic vaccine to treat HPV-positive tumors, including reproductive and head and neck cancers. SQZ’s therapies, based on research by the KI’s Langer and Irvine labs, with MIT collaborator Klavs Jensen, activate the immune system against cancer. SQZ’s signature CellSqueeze device opens a temporary hole in a cell membrane through which materials can pass, in this case inserting tumor-associated antigens into B-cells. Proof-of-concept studies demonstrating the potential of both the device and the B-cell strategy were supported by the Koch Institute Frontier Research Program through the Kathy and Curt Marble Cancer Research Fund. |
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Transforming Early Detection:
More Than Meets the A.I. Regina Barzilay spoke with The New York Times and PBS’s FRONTLINE about how her own breast cancer diagnosis inspired her to use machine learning tools to empower physicians and patients alike. Working with MGH physician Connie Lehman, Barzilay’s A.I. systems are improving mammography and enabling earlier detection—and prediction—of the disease. |
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