HOUSTON, AUGUST 13, 2026 ― At The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , research breakthroughs are made possible through seamless collaboration between the institution’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. The studies below showcase the latest advances in cancer care, research and prevention.
Biomarkers may help identify lung cancer patients who benefit most from perioperative immunotherapy
Read the full release | Read the study in Nature
Biomarkers including circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) clearance and molecular residual disease (MRD) status may help identify which patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) get the greatest benefit from immunotherapy given before and after surgery (perioperative). The study analyzed biomarkers and clinical outcome data from the Phase 3 CheckMate 77T trial, which previously demonstrated improved outcomes with perioperative immunotherapy. The researchers found that the best indicators of a positive outcome were ctDNA clearance before surgery and achieving a pathologic complete response, meaning no remaining cancer was detected at surgery.
“Perioperative immunotherapy has transformed care for many patients with resectable lung cancer, but we still need better markers to understand who benefits most from treatment,” said Tina Cascone, M.D., Ph.D. , associate professor of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology . “These results suggest that monitoring ctDNA before surgery may provide important insights into treatment response and long-term outcomes, bringing us closer to more personalized approaches.”
Donor cord blood composition may influence CAR NK cell therapy outcomes
Read the full release | Read the study in Cancer Cell
The composition of donor cord blood may play a critical role in the success of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cell therapies. A small population of immature NK cells present in donor cord blood can undermine the activity of CAR NK cell therapy by redirecting potent immune cells away from tumors and causing them to attack one another. The study, led by first and co-corresponding author Ye Ethan Li, M.D., Ph.D. , identifies a previously unrecognized mechanism of CAR NK cell dysfunction and offers a practical strategy to improve the potency and consistency of future off-the-shelf NK cell therapies.
“Our findings show that a relatively small population of immature NK cells can have a disproportionately harmful effect on the entire therapeutic product,” said principal investigator Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D. , vice president and head of the Institute for Cell Therapy Discovery & Innovation , and professor of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy . “Importantly, this is a problem we can potentially address with a straightforward manufacturing strategy by removing these cells before therapy production.”
Immune cell dysfunction, not absence, defines skin cancer in immunosuppressed patients
Read the full release | Read the study in Cell
Researchers discovered that immunosuppressed patients with non-melanoma skin cancer are not missing the key cancer-fighting immune cells found in immunocompetent patients, but those cells – known as macrophages – have lost the ability to communicate effectively. This new understanding may help researchers develop new treatment approaches for these aggressive skin cancers. The study was co-led by Moran Amit, M.D., Ph.D. , assistant professor of Head and Neck Surgery ; Kunal Rai, Ph.D. , professor of Genomic Medicine ; Frederico Gleber-Netto, D.D.S., Ph.D. , assistant professor of Head and Neck Surgery; Priyadharsini Nagarajan, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Anatomic Pathology ; and Michael Migden, M.D. , professor of Dermatology .
“For years, treating these patients has been very challenging, even in the era of immunotherapy. The prevailing thought has long been that these patients simply have fewer of these important immune cells, but that is not what we saw,” Amit said. “We learned that the quality of the immune cells and their interactions may be just as important as the number of cells present. This is an important finding because these patients need better treatment options.”
Reshaping the gut microbiome can boost chemotherapy delivery to tumors
Read the full release | Read the study in Nature Materials
A new study has identified a way to reshape the gut microbiome that can enhance the delivery of certain chemotherapies to tumors, offering a potential strategy to make nanoparticle-based cancer drugs more effective. In preclinical models, reshaping gut bacteria with a short course of antibiotics roughly doubled how long nanoparticle-based chemotherapy remained in circulation, increased drug accumulation in tumors and improved survival across multiple cancer types. The study was led by Betty Kim, M.D., Ph.D. , professor of Neurosurgery , Wen Jiang, M.D., Ph.D. , associate professor of Radiation Oncology , and Jennifer Wargo, M.D. , professor of Surgical Oncology and Genomic Medicine . Both Kim and Wargo are core members of the James P. Allison Institute ™, and this research was a collaborative project through the Platform for Innovative Microbiome and Translational Research (PRIME-TR) .
“For decades, scientists have tried to address how aggressively the liver filters out nanomedicine by redesigning the drugs themselves. Our research shows that the host’s biology, specifically the gut microbiome, is just as important as the particle design,” Jiang said. “This is the first study to demonstrate that the gut microbiome can directly impact chemotherapy, opening up an entirely new strategy for boosting cancer treatment.”
Targeting a signaling pathway activated by acidic tumor environment restores treatment response to PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer
Read the full release | Read the study in Cancer Research
Researchers have discovered a promising strategy to overcome PARP inhibitor resistance in ovarian cancer , one of the most common barriers to the long-term effectiveness of this widely used treatment. Targeting a signaling pathway activated by the acidic tumor microenvironment restored sensitivity to PARP inhibitors in preclinical models, suggesting a potential new therapeutic strategy for overcoming acquired resistance. The study was led by Rugang Zhang, Ph.D. , professor and chair of Experimental Therapeutics , and Kaixin Cheng, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Rugang Zhang Laboratory .
“PARP inhibitors have transformed treatment for many patients with ovarian cancer, but resistance often limits their long-term effectiveness,” Zhang said. “This study revealed that the tumor microenvironment plays a critical role in driving treatment resistance and suggests a potential strategy for restoring sensitivity to PARP inhibitors and extending their benefit for patients.”
Immune signals may help explain, predict responses to therapies for difficult-to-treat depression
Read the full release | Read the study in Molecular Psychiatry
Researchers uncovered insights that may help explain how rapid-acting antidepressants, such as ketamine and psychedelics, can reduce symptoms in difficult-to-treat depression. The findings may also help identify patients who are most likely to benefit from these treatments. The study, co-led by Gregory Jones, M.D., assistant professor of Psychiatry , showed that these therapies work by changing communication signals between the immune system and the brain, suggesting that they share certain neuroimmune pathways, even though they act on different receptors in the brain.
“Ketamine and psychedelics affect the brain in different ways subjectively, but our findings suggest that they eventually end up in some of the same neuroimmune pathways,” Jones said. “By studying blood signals and brain activity together, researchers can better understand how the body and brain may work in tandem to respond to antidepressants. We hope to be able to use these findings to better treat patients with depression, which is not uncommon in those facing a cancer diagnosis.”
Scientists uncover drivers of recurrent arthritis after immunotherapy, suggesting potential biomarkers
Read the full release | Read the study in Cancer Immunology Research
A new study has shown that inflammatory arthritis occurring as a side effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors behaves like an immune-memory disease, suggesting that certain immune cell populations could serve as potential biomarkers for targeted therapies. The study was co-led by Roza I. Nurieva, Ph.D. , professor of Immunology , Synat Keam, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Nurieva Laboratory , and Yuanteng Jeff Li, M.D. , assistant professor of General Internal Medicine , along with Sang Taek Kim, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor from Yale University. The findings showed that two specific immune cell populations were present in both initial and recurrent arthritis flares.
“Cancer immunotherapy works by creating a lasting immune response against tumors, but that same persistence may also contribute to recurring inflammatory side effects that can be debilitating for patients,” Nurieva said. “By identifying the immune cells that drive recurrent arthritis, we can inform treatment strategies that reduce the risk of future flares while preserving the therapy's effectiveness against cancer.”
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