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Cancer cells penetrate deep into their environment

By Beth Miller | May 9, 2023

In the 1835 Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea,” a princess is deemed authentic because of her sensitivity to a pea placed under 20 mattresses on her bed. New research from…

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New imaging technology may reduce surgeries for rectal cancer patients

By Beth Miller | May 8, 2023

Quing Zhu, PhD, a biomedical engineer at the McKelvey School of Engineering, and Matthew Mutch, MD, a colorectal surgeon at the School of Medicine, both at Washington University in St. Louis, and their collaborators have been…

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Red flags indicate risk for early-onset colorectal cancer

By Jim Dryden | May 4, 2023
Washington University School of Medicine

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified four important signs and symptoms that signal an elevated risk of early-onset colorectal cancer. These red flags may be key to earlier detection…

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Investigational drug may improve stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma patients

By Julia Evangelou Strait | April 17, 2023
Washington University School of Medicine

The standard treatment for patients with multiple myeloma often includes stem cell transplantation in which the patient’s own stem cells are harvested and stored while the patient receives intensive chemotherapy to kill the cancer. Then,…

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Grant supports training physician-scientists in cancer research

By Jacquelyn Kauffman | April 13, 2023
Washington University School of Medicine

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support training and mentorship for early-career physician-scientists. This relatively new funding opportunity —…

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Jumping genes in cancer cells open door to new immunotherapies

By Julia Evangelou Strait | April 5, 2023
Washington University School of Medicine

Jumping genes are short sections of DNA that have been incorporated randomly into the human genome over the long course of evolution. Also called transposable elements, these pieces of DNA have been implicated in the…

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Two-pronged immunotherapy eliminates metastatic breast cancer in mice

By Julia Evangelou Strait | March 8, 2023
Washington University School of Medicine

Metastatic breast cancer has no cure and has proven stubbornly resistant to one of the most innovative and promising new cancer treatments: immunotherapy. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have…

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Possible treatment strategy identified for bone marrow failure syndrome

By Julia Evangelou Strait | March 2, 2023
Washington University School of Medicine

Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside bone responsible for making red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Bone marrow failure syndromes lead to an increased risk of developing dangerous infections, anemia and an…

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Medicaid expansion improves childhood cancer survival

By Neil Schoenherr | February 21, 2023
Washington University School of Medicine

Medicaid expansion may improve outcomes for children with cancer, finds a new analysis from the Brown School and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Researchers found there was a 1.5% increase in overall…

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Cancer patients who don’t respond to immunotherapy lack crucial immune cells

By Tamara Bhandari | February 16, 2023
Washington University School of Medicine

Immunotherapy has transformed cancer care. In advanced melanoma, for example, the most fatal form of skin cancer, the five-year survival rate has risen from less than 10% to more than 50% since immunotherapy was introduced…