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Medical image datasets are an important clinical resource. Effectively referencing patient images against similar related images and case histories can inform and produce better treatment outcomes. Labeling and identifying disease features and relations between images within a large image database has not been a task capable of automation. Rather, it is a task that must be performed by highly trained clinicians who can identify and label the medically meaningful image features.

Tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2 (TNFR2)-expressing regulatory T cells (Tregs), present in the tumor microenvironment, play an important role in tumor immune evasion. TNFR2 plays a crucial role in stimulating the activation and proliferation of Tregs, a major checkpoint of antitumor immune responses. In addition to its expression on Tregs, TNFR2 is also known to be overexpressed on some types of tumors and the survival and growth of these tumor cells is promoted by ligands of TNFR2.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g. CTLA-4, PD-L1) have recently shown significant promise in the treatment of cancer.  However, when used alone, these checkpoint inhibitors are limited by the absence or repression of immune cells within the targeted cancer.  For those cancers associated with these limited immune systems, there remains a need for effective therapies.  Agents capable of recruiting and activating immune cells to these types of cancers could extend the overall and complete response rates of combination therapies within the immunooncology domain. 

Englerin A, a natural product, has shown growth-inhibiting activity against renal cancer cell lines. The compound is an agonist of protein kinase C (PCK) theta, which results in cell cytotoxicity, insulin inhibition, and selective activation of viral replication in T cells.  Englerin A derivatives are promising treatment strategies for any diseases associated with PKC theta and/or ion channel proteins.

The National Cancer Institute's Molecular Targets Development Program is seeking parties interested in collaborative research to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize cancer inhibitors isolated from the African plant Phyllanthus englerii. The technology is also available for exclusive or non-exclusive licensing.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in developed countries.  Despite the availability of several synergistic, targeted therapy regiments, the 5-year survival rate for NSCLC is only 15%.  The poor prognosis of NSCLS is due in part to limitations of current treatments, which do not trigger an immune response against NSCLC, nor can they be directly delivered into the lungs.  

Tumor-specific mutated proteins can create neoepitopes, mutation-derived antigens that distinguish tumor cells from healthy cells, which are attractive targets for adoptive cell therapies. However, the process of precisely identifying the neoepitopes to target is complex and challenging. One method to identify such neoepitopes is Mass Spectrometry (MS) when used in conjunction with elution of peptides bound to a specific Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) allele.