How well do the algorithms used in the AI-supported analysis of medical images perform their tasks? This depends to a large extent on the metrics used to evaluate their performance. An international consortium led by scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the National Center for Tumor Diseases has compiled the knowledge available worldwide on the specific strengths, weaknesses and limitations of the various validation metrics.

Glycolysis is an important sugar degradation pathway that cancer cells in particular depend on. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now shown that liver cancer cells in mice and humans depend on a key enzyme of glycolysis, Aldolase A. When it is switched off, glycolysis reverses from an energy-producing to an energy-consuming process.

Depending on whether the cell nucleus of an epithelial cell is located on the outer or inner side of the tissue, the genome is more or less acetylated - genes can therefore be translated easier or harder. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have demonstrated this for the first time in the development of the Drosophila wing.

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the European Bioinformatics Institute EMBL-EBI, Hinxton, UK, are using the Danish health registers to predict individual risks for 20 different types of cancer with a high degree of accuracy. The prediction model can also be transferred to other healthcare systems.

Current diagnostic methods do not always reliably distinguish between chronic inflammation of the pancreas and pancreatic cancer. About one third of all diagnoses are inconclusive. Scientists from the German Cancer Research (DKFZ) and from Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) therefore searched for molecular markers that could specify this diagnosis.

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute have developed an AI system that recognizes and characterizes white and red blood cells in microscopic images of blood samples. The algorithm can help physicians diagnose blood disorders and is available as an open source method for research purposes.

Mutations of the tumor suppressor p53 not only have a growth-promoting effect on the cancer cells themselves, but also influence the cells in the tumor's microenvironment. Scientists at the Weizmann Institute in Israel and at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now shown that p53-mutated mouse breast cancer cells reprogram fat cells.

The risk of colorectal cancer can be predicted more accurately by determining seven blood-based micro-RNAs (miRNAs) than by using traditional methods - and can be done so many years before a diagnosis is made. In a current study, researchers from the German Cancer Research Center and the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg show that miRNA profiles provide greater predictive accuracy than genetic or lifestyle-based risk…

More and more data from various European countries prove: Vaccination against human papillomavirus not only prevents precancerous lesions, but also reliably protects against cervical cancer. On the occasion of the International HPV Awareness Day on March 4, Nobel laureate Harald zur Hausen hopes that many more parents will recognize this unique opportunity to protect their children from preventable cancers by vaccinating against HPV.

Screening trials for the early detection of rare diseases often fail due to insufficient predictive power of the results. For the rare HPV-related cancer of the pharynx, scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) now relied on the combined detection of antibodies against two different viral proteins in a proof-of concept trial.

With the "Česká Hlava" awards, the Czech government has been honoring the country's most brilliant minds every year since 2002 and recognizing exceptional achievements in research, development and innovation. Martina Benešová-Schäfer of the German Cancer Research Center was among the six laureates honored in 2022 at Charles University in Prague.

Heidelberg scientists unveil genetic programmes controlling the development of cellular diversity in the cerebellum of humans and other mammals. The research results have now been published in the journal Nature.

Do BMMFs, the novel infectious agents found in dairy products and bovine sera, play a role in the development of colorectal cancer? Scientists led by Harald zur Hausen detected the pathogens in colorectal cancer patients in close proximity to tumors. The researchers show that the BMMFs trigger local chronic inflammation, which can cause mutations via activated oxygen molecules and thus promote cancer development in the long term.

In mice, inflammation in early to mid-life leads to a permanent decline in functional blood stem cells, according to a recent publication by scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Stem Cell Institute HI-STEM*. The ability of the blood stem cells to regenerate was suppressed for at least one year after challenge with inflammation.

During infections, the hematopoietic system switches from normal to emergency mode. This improves the defense against the pathogens. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now found an epigenetic switch in blood stem cells and progenitor cells of mice that can trigger the switch from one mode to the other.

Translational oncology - 26/05/2020

Translation: driver of cancer medicine

The fight against cancer is a pressing issue. Although technological advances in the treatment, prevention and early detection of cancer have improved over the past few decades, the number of people affected is increasing. Cancer medicine now wants to counteract this by joining forces with other players involved in the field.

Neurodegenerative diseases - 12/12/2022

Blood-based biomarkers allow the early prediction of Alzheimer's risks

Most dementia diseases develop insidiously and are only detected at an advanced stage. Researchers at the University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now identified the glial fibre acidic protein (GFAP) in the blood as a promising biomarker that can be used to determine an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease up to 17 years before diagnosis.

Inflammatory fatty liver disease (NASH, non alcoholic steatohepatitis ) and the resulting liver cancer are driven by autoaggressive T cells. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) now show what ist behind this destructive behavior. In both mice and humans with NASH, they found increased numbers of activated B cells in the gastrointestinal tract.

Predicting the success of cancer treatment - 20/06/2023

Focusing on gut microbiome for CAR T-cell therapy

Cancer immunotherapies use the body's own defences to fight tumour cells. An international consortium of researchers from Germany and the USA led by the DKFZ in Heidelberg has demonstrated that the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapies greatly depends on the composition of the gut microbiome. The researchers have also developed a model for predicting the long-term response to the treatment.

Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), together with doctors from the Urological Clinic of the Mannheim University Hospital, have developed and successfully tested a chatbot based on artificial intelligence. "UroBot" was able to answer questions from the urology specialist examination with a high degree of accuracy, surpassing both other language models and the accuracy of experienced urologists.

If the development of blood vessels in the placenta is impaired, fetal growth retardation may result. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Mannheim Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University discovered that the correct development of functioning blood vessels in the mouse placenta is controlled epigenetically: One of the enzymes that modify gene activity using methyl groups is responsible.

Whether we are predisposed to particular diseases depends to a large extent on the countless variants in our genome. However in the case of genetic variants the influence on the presentation of certain pathological traits has been difficult to determine. Researchers have introduced an algorithm based on deep learning that can predict the effects of rare genetic variants.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are suitable for discovering the genes that underly complex and also rare genetic diseases. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), together with international partners, have studied genotype-phenotype relationships in iPSCs using data from approximately one thousand donors.

The incidence of colorectal cancers in young adults is increasing. At the same time, the proportion of overweight and obese young people is also on the rise. Whether there is a connection between these two observations, however, was not known until now. Scientists at the DKFZ have now shown that the risk of early colorectal cancer is significantly increased in overweight young people compared to normal-weight peers.

After infections or blood loss, the body must compensate for the loss of blood cells as quickly as possible. This has long been considered the task of the hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. But scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now discovered in mice that a certain population of progenitor cells takes over this task: This accelerates the regeneration of the blood cells.