Biomarker predicts TIL therapy success against eye cancer

What matters in cancer | 

View this email in your browser Thursday 25 April 2024

Hello Nature readers, This week, we learn that an algorithm can predict the origin of mysterious cancers, hear about the anticancer effects of aspirin and discover a biomarker that can predict which people with eye cancer might benefit from cellular therapy.

Around 5% of all tumours have no known organ of origin. People with these types of cancers have poor survival rates unless the location of the primary tumour is discovered. (Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library)

AI traces mysterious cancers to their source An algorithm could take the guesswork out of treating metastatic cancers by predicting the location of primary tumours. Cancer cells are stamped with identifying features based on the organ where the cancer first emerged. Researchers trained an artificial intelligence (AI) to recognise these features using images of cancer cells extracted from the abdominal or lung fluid of people whose primary-tumour locations were known. When tested on around 27,000 images, the algorithm had an 83% chance of correctly predicting the organ where the cancer had first emerged and a 99% chance of having the right answer in its top three predictions. People who had been treated in accordance with the algorithm's predictions lived longer than those that were not (27 versus 17 months). Nature | 3 min read Reference: Nature Medicine paper (16 April)

How aspirin helps the body fight cancer Aspirin seems to protect against the spread of colorectal cancer by enhancing the anticancer immune response. In a study of 238 people with colorectal cancer, the 12% of participants who took daily, low-dose aspirin to prevent heart disease had more cancer-fighting immune cells inside their tumours, more biomarkers relating to immunosurveillance and a lower chance of the cancer spreading to their lymph nodes than those that had not taken aspirin. Taking aspirin is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer, "but it has to be balanced with the risks", which include gastrointestinal bleeding, says oncologist Jeff Meyerhardt. National Geographic | 5 min read Reference: Cancer paper (22 April)

Biomarker predicts TIL therapy success Researchers have developed a clinical tool for predicting whether people with a rare type of eye cancer called uveal melanoma will respond to tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Researchers measured gene activity in 100 tumour samples taken from 84 people with uveal melanoma and identified a biomarker that predicted whether patients would benefit from TIL therapy. More than half of the tumours examined contained TILs — however, previous research shows that only around 35% of people with this disease respond to TIL therapy. The Washington Post | 5 min read Reference: Nature Communications paper (16 April)

In the news Artificial intelligence could help diagnose pancreatic, gastric and colorectal cancers in low-resource settings by analyzing spots of dried blood, research suggests. (LiveScience | 5 min read) Reference: Nature Sustainability paper The US Food and Drug Administration has approved ImmunityBio's Anktiva for a type of bladder cancer. The immunotherapy activates natural killer cells and T cells against cancer. (Reuters | 2 min read) US oncologists prescribe around 4% more cancer drugs after a visit from a pharmaceutical sales representative, but this additional prescribing does not increase patient survival, according to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research. (NPR | 2 min read)

Must-read papers

Olaparib no good for breast-cancer subset People with breast cancer who lack common receptors and have no BRCA gene mutations do not live longer when treated with the targeted drug olaparib compared with a control group. In a clinical trial of 559 people with triple-negative breast cancer and no BRCA gene mutations, those given olaparib plus chemotherapy had the same response and survival rates as those given chemotherapy alone. This was in "marked contrast to the major benefit of olaparib" in people with BRCA gene mutations who were assessed in a separate study, write the authors. Reference: Nature paper (8 April)

Childhood cancer increases biological ageing People who survive childhood cancer age 5% faster each year than their cancer-free peers, leading to a greater risk of premature frailty and death. In a study of more than 4,700 people, child-cancer survivors had biologically aged 5-16 years more than people who never had cancer. Nature Research Highlight | 1 min read Reference: Nature Cancer paper (29 March)

Features & opinion

'You are peeing differently' Media executive Ed Manning was diagnosed with prostate cancer after his wife noticed a change in his bathroom habits. "You are peeing differently," she said. "The bathroom door isn't soundproof and it sounds like things take longer to get going. You need to tell your doctor. It could mean something." Manning now wishes his doctors had done more than simply conducting an annual prostate check. "I wish that in addition to the cursory 'looks good' I had heard over the years, they had provided salient details about my prostate, warning signs and testing options," he says. CNN | 6 min read

Infographic of the week

RAS proteins are mutated in many types of cancer, but these mutations play a particularly prominent role in pancreatic and colorectal cancers. See a larger version of this image here. (Nature Reviews Cancer | 9 min read) (Anupriya Singhal et al/Nature Medicine)

Quote of the week "As we drift across the map of our days, moving towards the darkness at the edge, it can help every now and then to look up and remind ourselves that the darkness is always there and always waiting, and we should enjoy the warm light of day while it remains ours to enjoy." After his third melanoma diagnosis in five years, author John Birmingham is sharing some hard-won life lessons. (Substack | 4 min read)

This week, I'm delighted to learn that Argentinian birds called great kiskadees sing in their dreams — and researchers can make those songs audible by tracking the birds' muscle activity as they sleep. Send dream-songs, tips and feedback to cancerbriefing@nature.com. Thanks for reading, Felicity Nelson, editor, Nature Briefing: Cancer

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