News
LBI-CR integrated into partner universities
After 14 years of successful research the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research will come to it's scheduled end. Over more than a decade the institute developed an ambitious and internationally visible research portfolio developing and analysing genetically modified mouse models of disease under the guidance of a scientific advisory board and with substantial support from five partners.
LBG Health Sciences Meeting great success
The LBG Meeting for Health Sciences provides an important meeting point for the LBG Life Sciences community and provides young scientists an excellent opportunity to present their work. This conference focuses on the translation of research results from theory into practice. Therefore, abstracts on preclinical, clinical or implementation research were welcome in four thematic sessions:
European consortia are stepping up the development of state-of-the-art treatment for aggressive blood cancer with € 3 million in funding
New cancer therapies are now being developed specifically against oncogenic cell signals. But for rare diseases, these new drugs are often not approved. Two EU-consortia with Austrian participation have now received funding from the ERA-NET TRANSCAN-2 to develop modern treatments for rare but very aggressive peripheral T-cell lymphomas and leukemias.
Survival signalling mediated by Tyk2 is the Achilles’ heel of Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphomas
Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphomas (ALCL) are rare tumors of white blood cells, which fall into at least four categories. New research by the international ERIA consortium led by scientists in Vienna have now identified that all types of ALCL rely on the same signaling pathway for survival. TYK2 prevents apoptotic cell death by increasing the expression of the BCL2 family member Mcl1. Therefore TYK2 represents an attractive drug target due to its unique enzymatic domain, and TYK2-specific inhibitors show promise as novel targeted inhibitors for ALCL.
LBG MEETING FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2018
The LBG Meeting for Health Sciences encourages and supports young scientists by offering them an opportunity to present their work. Moreover, it is a chance for early career researchers to establish themselves within the scientific setting. The conference focuses on the translation of research results from theory into practice. Therefore, abstracts on preclinical, clinical or implementation research are welcome. The thematic sessions will include key-note lectures by international experts and oral presentations of the best submitted abstracts.
+++ Call for abstracts now open! +++
STAT3 isoforms: Alternative fates in cancer?
Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 is an important mediator of cytokine signaling and transcriptional regulator of cell proliferation, maturation and survival. It has been described as a key player in cancer development and progression. However, under certain circumstances, STAT3 is also considered a potent tumor suppressor. This contradiction is partially explained by its expression as different isoforms. Alternative splicing gives rise to two STAT3 isoforms, STAT3α and its truncated version STAT3β.
Cross-Talk of Hedgehog and Interleukin-6 Signaling in Cancer
Persistent activation of Hedgehog (HH)/GLI signaling accounts for the development of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a very frequent non-melanoma skin cancer with rising incidence. Targeting HH/GLI signaling by approved pathway inhibitors can provide significant therapeutic benefit to BCC patients. However, limited response rates, development of drug resistance and severe side effects of HH pathway inhibitors call for improved treatment strategies such as rational combination therapies simultaneously inhibiting HH/GLI and cooperative signals promoting the oncogenic activity of HH/GLI.
Afatinib might be rational treatment for many lung cancer patients
Lung cancer remains a serious health threat with less than one in five patients still alive 5 years after diagnosis. This is mainly due to the lack of modern treatment options for the majority of patients, which still receive classical chemotherapy. However, Emilio Casanova and Herwig Moll from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Cancer Research (LBI-CR) and Medical University of Vienna (MUV) now describe in the journal Science Translational Medicine that the established drug Afatinib may prove an unexpected therapeutic option for many patients.