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Research

The induction of DNA damage has been employed as an anticancer strategy for more than 100years, first starting with the use of radiation to treat stomach cancer followed by the first uses of DNA-damaging chemotherapy to treat childhood leukemia.

Research

A higher incidence of pediatric intracranial germ cell tumors (iGCTs) in Asian countries compared with Western countries has been reported. In Malaysia, the literature regarding pediatric iGCTs have been nonexistent. The aim of this study was to review the management, survival, and long-term outcomes of pediatric iGCTs at a single tertiary center in Malaysia.

Research

Malignant central nervous system (CNS) cancers are among the most difficult to treat, with low rates of survival and a high likelihood of recurrence. This is primarily due to their location within the CNS, hindering adequate drug delivery and tumour access via surgery. Furthermore, CNS cancer cells are highly plastic, an adaptive property that enables them to bypass targeted treatment strategies and develop drug resistance.

Research

Immunotherapy has revolutionised the treatment of cancers by harnessing the power of the immune system to eradicate malignant tissue. However, it is well recognised that some cancers are highly resistant to these therapies, which is in part attributed to the immunosuppressive landscape of the tumour microenvironment (TME). The contexture of the TME is highly heterogeneous and contains a complex architecture of immune, stromal, vascular and tumour cells in addition to acellular components such as the extracellular matrix. While understanding the dynamics of the TME has been instrumental in predicting durable responses to immunotherapy and developing new treatment strategies, recent evidence challenges the fundamental paradigms of how tumours can effectively subvert immunosurveillance. Here, we discuss the various immunosuppressive features of the TME and how fine-tuning these mechanisms, rather than ablating them completely, may result in a more comprehensive and balanced anti-tumour response.

Research

Pesticide exposure is a suspected risk factor for childhood cancer. We investigated the risk of developing childhood cancer in relation to parental occupational exposure to pesticides in Switzerland for the period 1990-2015.

Research

Immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) results in durable responses in individuals with some cancers, but not all patients respond to treatment. ICT improves CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) function, but changes in tumor antigen-specific CTLs post-ICT that correlate with successful responses have not been well characterized. Here, we studied murine tumor models with dichotomous responses to ICT.

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Cancer researchers at The Kids for Child Health Research have developed a new test that can rapidly detect the loss of genes in cancer cells.

Research

Evidence suggests the involvement of the microbiota, including oral, intra-tumoral and gut, in pancreatic cancer progression and response to therapy. The gut microbiota modulates the bile acid pool and is associated with maintaining host physiology. Studies have shown that the bile acid/gut microbiota axis is dysregulated in pancreatic cancer.

Research

Mesothelioma is characterised by its aggressive invasive behaviour, affecting the surrounding tissues of the pleura or peritoneum. We compared an invasive pleural model with a non-invasive subcutaneous model of mesothelioma and performed transcriptomic analyses on the tumour samples.

Research

KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants is an aggressive disease with 3-year event-free survival below 40%. Most relapses occur during treatment, with two thirds occurring within 1 year and 90% within 2 years after diagnosis. Outcomes have not improved in recent decades despite intensification of chemotherapy.