Spanish National Cancer Research Centre CNIO

Researchers have shown that hypoxia, or oxygen restriction - equivalent to living at 5,000 metres above sea level - increases life expectancy by up to 50% and decreases neurological decline in laboratory mice. It has already been shown in yeast, worms and flies, but this is the first time it has been demonstrated in mammals. The results are published in the journal PLOS Biology. 

A phase 2 clinical trial has analysed the safety and efficacy of adding immunotherapy to traditional chemotherapy to treat a subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children under one year of age. This subtype of leukaemia, although rare in absolute terms, is the most common in children of this age, and its prognosis in this age group had not improved in recent years. The immunotherapy used, a bispecific antibody that binds to tumour cells on the one hand and T lymphocytes on the other, improved two-year survival from 66% to 93% in treated patients, according to The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

The former Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, announced a few days ago at a press conference the creation of new medical specialities. The first to "begin the process" will be emergency medicine, which had caused "controversy in different autonomous communities and scientific societies" and for whose implementation a consensus has been reached. It will be followed by other specialities such as Clinical Genetics and Infectious Diseases, as announced in the Senate in February.

Approved therapies to treat various tumours using CAR-T cells are based on the modification of the patient's own lymphocytes in the laboratory, which delays their administration. A phase 1 clinical trial has used ready-made donor cells to treat patients with multiple myeloma. The results are published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Two preclinical studies published in the journal Science have introduced new bioengineered modifications to CAR-T cells in an attempt to make them more potent and safer in their anti-tumour action. These variations allow their activity to be enhanced only in the vicinity of the tumour or their actions to be regulated on demand.

The US companies Moderna and Merck (MSD outside the US and Canada) have announced this week the results of their phase 2b trials of their skin cancer therapy. The results were shared in a press release stating that the risk of recurrence or death is reduced by 44%.

A ketogenic diet, high in fat and low in carbohydrates, could increase platelet production and alleviate the low platelet counts caused by chemotherapy treatments. This is the finding of a small study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. 

A study published today in Science Advances describes the case of a person who in less than 40 years of life has developed twelve tumours, five of them malignant, due to inherited mutations in a gene. The research reveals that his  immune system has naturally generated an altered inflammatory response that fights tumours. Understanding the mechanism will be useful to stimulate this type of response in other cases, according to the CNIO authors of the study.

The extraordinary plenary session of the Congress of Deputies today approved the reform of the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation. After being passed in the Lower House without any votes against it on 23 June, the bill was approved in the Senate on 20 July with an amendment referring to indefinite-term contracts, which was rejected today in Congress. 

Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of cancer that arises in the brain or spinal cord. Researchers have identified a new drug that exploits DNA repair defects to selectively target tumours that are resistant to chemotherapy treatment with temozolomide. The research is published in Science.