Kirsten Ward-Hartstonge co-authored a University of Otago study on bowel cancer. A University of Otago pilot study has highlighted a new and potentially better way to identify some bowel cancer patients who face greater risks of cancer recurrence. Other research has shown that New Zealand and Australia have the highest rates of bowel cancer incidence and death in the world. This approach could help target existing therapies to ''people who really need them, rather than taking a more blanket approach'', she said. Using a new tool, called Immunoscore, to measure basic immune cells that had infiltrated into tumours, and also measuring more complex immune cells, the research examined which type of immune responses were associated with patient survival.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 07, 2017 17:41 UTC