In people with severely compromised immune systems, the JC polyomavirus can trigger a currently untreatable, usually fatal brain disease. Now, an international research team looking at the viral capsid has identified binding sites for neutralizing antibodies; these sites could be used to halt infection with JC polyomaviruses.

Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the HI-STEM* Stem Cell Institute, and the Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) have developed “HemaGuide,” an AI assistant that supports physicians in making difficult treatment decisions. In extensive testing, the system has shown a high degree of agreement with the recommendations of experienced experts and could significantly improve access to specialized and personalized cancer care.

A novel vaccination strategy against certain malignant brain tumors could fundamentally improve treatment for patients. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center, Mannheim University Medical Center, Heidelberg University Hospital, and numerous partner institutions* have published encouraging long-term results from a clinical trial involving a vaccine that activates the immune system against a common genetic mutation in these tumors.

Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have identified a previously unknown key mechanism by which cancer cells suppress the immune system and thus evade the effects of immunotherapies. At the same time, the new study in mouse models and human tumor samples points to a promising way to prevent resistance to immunotherapy.

Primary CNS lymphomas in immunocompromised patients are among the rarest and at the same time most aggressive cancers – yet evidence-based recommendations for their diagnosis and treatment have been lacking. An international research team led by the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University and the German Cancer Research Center has now identified characteristic imaging features of these tumors and developed a prognostic model.