Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in partnership with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and in collaboration with leading institutions across the country, have helped generate the largest single-cell immune cell atlas of the bone marrow in patients with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that, while treatable, remains incurable. The findings, published in Nature Cancer, provide unprecedented insight on immune dysfunction in myeloma and could lead to improved tools for predicting which patients are at higher risk of relapse after treatment.

Breastfeeding may lower mothers’ later life risks of depression and anxiety for up to 10 years after pregnancy, suggest the findings of a small observational study, published in the open access journal BMJ Open.

IDH-mutant glioma, caused by abnormalities in a specific gene (IDH), is the most common malignant brain tumor among young adults under the age of 50. It is a refractory brain cancer that is difficult to treat due to its high recurrence rate. Until now, treatment has focused primarily on removing the visible tumor mass. However, a Korean research team has discovered for the first time that normal brain cells acquire the initial IDH mutation and spread out through the cortex long before a visible tumor mass harboring additional cancer mutations forms, opening a new path for early diagnosis and treatment to suppress recurrence.

One of the first validated tools to predict before treatment if a patient will have a favorable biochemical response in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.

By identifying patients who are unlikely to achieve an early favorable prostate specific antigen (PSA) response, clinicians may be able to intervene sooner, consider treatment intensification, or prioritize enrollment in clinical trials.

Results published in Nature Communications.