HOUSTON, May 21, 2025 ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson's world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.
Sickle cell disease changes DNA structure of cells to suppress immunity
Read summary | Read in Immunity
Patients with sickle cell disease, an inherited disorder that affects red blood cells, have a higher risk of developing renal medullary carcinoma . This rare kidney cancer has a poor prognosis due to treatment resistance, but the underlying reasons for this are unknown. Therefore, researchers led by Pavlos Msaouel, M.D., Ph.D. , Liuqing Yang, Ph.D. , and Chunru Lin, Ph.D. , examined the impact of sickle cell disease on immune function, cancer progression and treatment response. The results showed that sickle cell disease was associated with fewer CD8+ T cells in the spleen and lymph nodes as well as accelerated tumor growth in lab models of melanoma , breast cancer and kidney cancer. More specifically, sickle cell disease suppressed certain genes involved in ferroptosis, an iron-dependent cell death pathway, by changing the DNA structure of CD8+ T cells, which leads to lower hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production. Releasing H2S under certain conditions improved immune function in these models, suggesting a potential strategy to improve immunotherapy responses in these patients.
Biomarker-guided combination therapy targets subtype of advanced prostate cancer
Read summary | Read in Nature Cancer
Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) remains one of the most lethal and treatment-resistant forms of prostate cancer, highlighting a need to identify reliable biomarkers to predict therapy response. Researchers led by Feiyu Chen, Ph.D., and Di Zhao, Ph.D. , used genetic models and multi-omics approaches to identify a key mechanism driving hormone therapy resistance in a specific prostate cancer subtype. They also developed a promising treatment strategy for patients whose tumors carry dual alterations in the genes CHD1 and SPOP. The study showed that loss of CHD1 rewires tumor metabolism, increasing cholesterol biosynthesis and enabling prostate cancer cells to produce androgen. This allows cancer to bypass standard anti-androgen therapy and continue growing. A combination of anti-androgen therapy with cholesterol-lowering drugs — both already approved by the Food and Drug Administration — produced strong and lasting anti-tumor effects in preclinical models. This suggests a potential new, personalized treatment approach for patients with CRPC carrying these genetic changes.
Study identifies a new driver and therapeutic vulnerability of bone metastasis
Read summary | Read in Science Translational Medicine
One of the most common sites for cancer to metastasize is the bone. Unfortunately, patients with bone metastases have a poor prognosis and most treatments are focused on palliative care, highlighting a need for better therapeutic strategies. Because metastatic cells are known to reprogram metabolic states to adapt to their new environments, Li Ma, Ph.D. , and colleagues examined the role of lipid metabolism – the breakdown and creation of fats – in lab models of bone metastasis. Using in vivo CRISPR activation screening, they identified acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) as a driver of bone metastasis due to its vital role in regulating lipid metabolism. ACBP stimulates fatty acid oxidation (FAO) while protecting against lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis – a form of iron-dependent programmed cell death. In models of cancer cells that are highly bone-metastatic, knocking out ACBP completely stopped bone metastasis, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic target. The researchers also found two therapeutic strategies – blockade of FAO or treatment with a ferroptosis inducer – that inhibit bone metastasis, meriting further investigation.
Study uncovers epigenetic driver of bone metastasis in advanced prostate cancer
Read summary | Read in Nature Communications
Nearly 80% of men with advanced prostate cancer develop bone metastases, leading to bone pain, fractures and a poor prognosis. Using laboratory models, researchers led by Chenling Meng, Ph.D., Yue Lu, Ph.D. , and Di Zhao, Ph.D. , examined the epigenetic factors involved in prostate cancer metastasizing to the bone. They found that histone methyltransferase ASH1L is genetically amplified and overexpressed in several metastatic cancer types. Additionally, ASH1L interacts with the H1F-1α protein to rewire metastasis-associated genes in prostate cancer cells, making them more aggressive and more likely to spread to the bone. There, prostate cancer cells can influence nearby immune cells, turning them into lipid-associated macrophages that facilitate a pro-tumor environment. Inhibiting this ASH1L and H1F-1α pathway reduced bone metastasis in preclinical models, highlighting ASH1L as an epigenetic driver of bone metastasis and an actionable therapeutic target for metastatic prostate cancer.
Antibody treatment is safe for elderly patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma
Read summary | Read in Blood Cancer Journal
Treatment with teclistamab, a bispecific antibody, was recently approved for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) based on the MajesTEC-1 study results. However, while multiple myeloma primarily affects the elderly, only 15% of patients in the Phase I/II trial were aged 75 or older, highlighting a need to evaluate teclistamab's safety and efficacy in older patients. Therefore, researchers led by Oren Pasvolsky, M.D. , and Hans Lee, M.D. , examined age-related outcomes in 385 patients with RRMM treated with teclistamab, including 302 (78%) patients under the age of 75 and 83 (22%) patients aged 75 and older. There were no significant differences in cytokine release syndrome, immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), survival outcomes or response rates. The overall response rate was 62% and 53% in the older and younger groups, respectively, and progression-free survival was 10.7 months and 5.2 months, respectively. These findings suggest that teclistamab has favorable safety and efficacy outcomes for elderly patients with RRMM.
Awards and honors
- James Allison, Ph.D. , chair of Immunology , and Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D. , professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology , were awarded the 2025 Ellis Island Medal of Honor by The Ellis Island Honors Society
- Ronnie Sebro, M.D., Ph.D., was awarded the 2025 Imaging Informatics Innovator Award by the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine
