ISB News

Despite the aggressive nature of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), circulating tumor cells that lead to metastases often go undetected in the blood. ISB researchers in Dr. Wei Wei’s lab and their collaborators have developed a novel method to better detect these circulating cells.

CRI iAtlas is a comprehensive web-based resource that allows oncologists and researchers to study and analyze interactions between tumors and the immune microenvironment. The iAtlas team released immuno-oncology modules that allow investigators to access and work with genomics data from trials of treatment with immune-checkpoint inhibitors. 

In findings published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers show that cancer cells can take more than one path to reach a drug-resistant cell state. These findings could have promising implications for the future of cancer care.

ISB’s Dr. Sui Huang uses the theory of complex systems and applies it to cancer research. In this video Q&A, he discusses the cancer paradox and highlights the importance of understanding the mechanism of why cancer treatments can backfire in order to open a new avenue for therapy and treatments.

Dead cells, or cell debris, generated by treatments intended to eradicate tumor cells actually act as strong stimulators of tumor progression. The findings of ISB cancer biologist Sui Huang, his former mentee and longtime collaborator Dipak Panigrahy at Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues at Harvard Medical School were published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.