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.

An environmental bacterium could protect against the effects of stress right through to the next generation. Evidence of this emerged in a study using a mouse model carried out by researchers from Ulm and Frankfurt, the results of which were published in the journal `Molecular Psychiatry´. According to the study, the offspring of treated mothers were better protected against the effects of stress in adulthood than control animals.

The European Union is funding the PALACROS project with nearly €10 million under its “Horizon Europe” research programme. Researchers from Heidelberg University Hospital and Heidelberg University are helping shape the European PALACROS consortium, developing new standards for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer.