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Early Trial Responses

A small trial suggests that combining an immunotherapy and an AKT inhibitor may be a viable treatment for some people with brain cancer, the Guardian reports.

As part of the Phase 1 Ice-CAP trial, 10 people with advanced glioblastoma, seven of whom had PTEN mutations and three of whom had complete loss of PTEN expression in their tumors, were treated with a combination of atezolizumab and ipatasertib, according to the UK's Institute of Cancer Research. It adds that atezolizumab is an immunotherapy, while ipatasertib is a precision drug that blocks AKT. As the ICR-led researchers reported at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, two patients in the small, early-stage trial responded well to the treatment.

According to the Guardian, one patient, Hamish Mykura, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2018, says there are no signs of his tumor on scans.

"Patients with glioblastoma have very poor survival rates, and even fewer new treatment options coming through, so any advance in outcomes would be extremely welcome," study leader Junita Lopez from ICR says in a statement.

The Scan

International Team Proposes Checklist for Returning Genomic Research Results

Researchers in the European Journal of Human Genetics present a checklist to guide the return of genomic research results to study participants.

Study Presents New Insights Into How Cancer Cells Overcome Telomere Shortening

Researchers report in Nucleic Acids Research that ATRX-deficient cancer cells have increased activity of the alternative lengthening of telomeres pathway.

Researchers Link Telomere Length With Alzheimer's Disease

Within UK Biobank participants, longer leukocyte telomere length is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, according to a new study in PLOS One.

Nucleotide Base Detected on Near-Earth Asteroid

Among other intriguing compounds, researchers find the nucleotide uracil, a component of RNA sequences, in samples collected from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, as they report in Nature Communications.