Category Archives: SPOTLIGHT

Study could aid in development of ‘liquid biopsy’ screening, diagnostic tests for bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is the fourth most common non-skin cancer. But there is no good screening test for it, and there has been limited progress in characterizing how aggressive an individual’s bladder cancer will be. Loyola researchers studied microscopic droplets, called exosomes, that are shed by cancer cells and are found in urine. Understanding the biology of exosomes could lead to the development of a screening test, which would require a simple urine sample, said lead researcher Gopal Gupta, MD…

Scientists find estrogen promotes blood-forming stem cell function

The research, published in Nature, raises several intriguing possibilities for further investigation that might lead to improved treatments for blood cancers and increased safety and effectiveness of chemotherapy. Before the finding, blood-forming stem cells were thought to be regulated similarly in both males and females, according to the paper’s senior author, Dr. Sean Morrison, Director of CRI, Professor of Pediatrics, and the Mary McDermott Cook Chair in Pediatric Genetics at UT Southwestern Medical Center…