Tag Archives: nature-medicine

Leukemia: mode of action of a targeted treatment clarified

The PML/RARA protein causes the proliferation of cancer cells in patients affected by acute promyelocytic leukemia. Existing targeted treatments combining a hormone — retinoic acid — and a poison — arsenic — result in permanent recovery for the majority of patients, without us having a precise understanding of their action on cancer cells. Previous work by Prof Hugues de Thé’s team has shown that the combination of arsenic and retinoic acid causes destruction of the PML/RARA protein and the elimination of leukaemic stem cells…

New screening approach quickly identifies small proteins unique to melanoma cells

The new approach is outlined in an article published online by Nature Medicine in May. A previous phase 2 clinical trial showed substantial regression of metastatic lesions in up to 70 percent of melanoma patients who were treated with self-donated tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. "The trial, which involved the adaptive transfer of a patient’s own immune cells, showed a complete tumor regression lasting at least five years in nearly 40 percent of the patients," Teer said. …