ROCHESTER, Minn. — A single 25 mg dose of a combination of amphetamine-dextroamphetamine salts (Adderall) can have measurable cardiovascular effects in healthy young adults, a Mayo Clinic study found. Researchers, whose findings are published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, aimed to better understand how the stimulant affects those who use it without a medical prescription.

"The primary objective of our study was to investigate how a single dose of Adderall acutely affects cardiovascular hemodynamics — blood pressure and heart rate — and sympathetic activity in young adults who do not have a medical indication for the medication," says senior author Anna Svatikova, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist.

While Adderall is safe and effective when prescribed and monitored for ADHD, Dr. Svatikova says the risks of unsupervised use are often underestimated.

"We have seen an increase in nonmedical Adderall use, but many users are unaware that it can place acute stress on the cardiovascular system," Dr. Svatikova says.

"Adderall is sometimes used without a prescription outside of a medical setting, " she adds. "We found that even in individuals with no prior exposure, a 25 mg dose triggers significant increases in blood pressure, heart rate and activation of the body’s stress-response system."

Researchers also noted that even when people simply stood up after taking Adderall, their heart rates spiked much higher than usual.

"The average heart rate increase on standing was 19 beats per minute before Adderall. After taking Adderall, that response doubled to 38 beats per minute," says first author Kiran Somers, D.O., a resident family medicine physician at Mayo Clinic Health System in Northwest Wisconsin.

The findings highlight how stimulating effects can be in individuals who are not accustomed to the medication, the researchers say.

"These results demonstrate measurable, acute cardiovascular effects of Adderall used by those not regularly using Adderall prescribed for specific medical reasons," Dr. Somers says.

The researchers underscore that these findings apply to off-prescription use and do not reflect the long-term, supervised use of the medication for the treatment of ADHD. These findings should not be extrapolated to the long-term, supervised use of Adderall for the treatment of ADHD or other specific medical conditions, where the therapeutic benefits are well established and significant, Dr. Svatikova says.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Terri Malloy, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Study: 1 dose of non-prescribed Adderall raises blood pressure, heart rate in healthy young adults appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic announced today that researchers and solutions developers now have access to decades of high-level, de-identified data from Mercy through Mayo Clinic Platform's secure, privacy-preserving infrastructure. Mercy, one of the 15 largest health systems in the U.S., has 55 acute care and specialty hospitals in both urban and rural communities in the Midwest.

Through Mayo Clinic Platform, researchers, data scientists and innovators can now analyze larger, more diverse patient populations from both Mayo Clinic and Mercy to explore new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent diseases. This expanded data set enhances research by reducing demographic bias that can occur with single-institution data, and it supports more representative research studies.

With this data collaboration, Mayo Clinic Platform now provides visibility into de-identified data from more than 15.2 million patients, including:

• 12.6 billion images
• 3.2 billion lab test results
• 10.1 million pathology reports
• 1.65 billion clinical notes

"This collaboration opens the door to insights no single health system could achieve alone and reflects Mayo Clinic's commitment to transforming the future of healthcare," says John Halamka, M.D., Dwight and Dian Diercks President, Mayo Clinic Platform. "This work is designed to drive innovation in healthcare by accelerating research and enabling the creation of new solutions that transform future clinical practice."

Using Mayo Clinic Platform's secure capabilities, each organization retains full control of its own information. No data is transferred or moved.

"This joint effort will transform healthcare to predict illness earlier, improve outcomes, shorten hospital stays, and deliver more proactive, patient-centered care that ultimately saves lives," says Gavin Helton, M.D., Mercy's president of primary care.

This collaboration is part of a 10-year agreement between Mercy and Mayo Clinic to transform healthcare. By adding insights from more diverse patient populations, the two organizations have taken a significant step forward in accelerating research and supporting future advances in patient care.

Mercy is a founding member of Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect, a first-of-its-kind global health data network that links healthcare innovators and provides access to clean, curated and de-identified data sets—enabling richer insights, faster decisions and more equitable patient care.

Through Connect, Mayo Clinic is also collaborating with other leading healthcare organizations worldwide. Access to additional de-identified patient data from these healthcare organizations is expected to become available through Mayo Clinic Platform later this year.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

About Mayo Clinic Platform
Founded on Mayo Clinic's dedication to patient-centered care, Mayo Clinic Platform enables new knowledge, new solutions and new technologies through collaborations with health technology innovators to create a healthier world. To learn more, visit Mayo Clinic Platform.

About Mercy
Mercy, one of the 15 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation's largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multistate healthcare system including 55 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 1,000 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 5,000 physicians and advanced practitioners, and more than 50,000 caregivers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2025 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.

Media contacts:

• Caroline Auger, Mayo Clinic Platform Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu
• Nancy Dixon, Mercy Communications, nancy.dixon@mercy.net

The post Mayo Clinic and Mercy advance collaboration to transform patient care appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Strategic collaboration brings together Mayo Clinic's extensive clinical insights, genomic data and Platform architecture with Merck's artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) research capabilities

RAHWAY, N.J., and ROCHESTER, Minn. — Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the U.S. and Canada, and Mayo Clinic, the world's top-ranked hospital system, today announced a research and development agreement to apply artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics and multimodal clinical data to support drug discovery and development. The agreement integrates Mayo Clinic's Platform architecture as well as clinical and genomic datasets with Merck's ambition to harness AI-enabled virtual cell technologies to enhance disease understanding, improve target identification, and drive early development decisions.

By leveraging Mayo Clinic Platform, which brings together data from Mayo Clinic U.S. and its international partner network in a secure environment, Merck will integrate Mayo Clinic's clinical insights and genomic data sets, including AI and machine learning (ML)-enabled discovery spanning computational and spatial biology. The new Mayo Clinic Platform_Orchestrate program provides Merck direct access to Mayo Clinic's world-class clinical and scientific expertise, Platform data including de-identified clinical and multimodal data sets, registries and biorepositories, advanced AI tools and analytics, and the ability to scale solutions.

Under the agreement, which marks Mayo Clinic's first strategic collaboration of this scale with a global biopharmaceutical company, Merck will leverage Mayo Clinic's extensive multimodal data — including laboratory results, medical imaging, clinical notes and molecular data — to support validation of AI models and help translate research insights into discovery and development strategies.

“New cutting-edge technologies are enhancing our ability to innovate with the potential to bring important new therapies to patients faster. By working with Mayo Clinic, we aim to integrate high-quality clinical data and AI-enabled insights into discovery research to improve target identification, and ultimately, the probability of success for our programs," said Robert M. Davis, chairman and CEO, Merck.

“By combining Mayo Clinic Platform's de-identified data, clinical expertise and Platform technology with Merck's world-class research and development capabilities, we are poised to speed innovative breakthroughs to patients and redefine drug development," said Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., president and CEO, Mayo Clinic. "This collaboration represents a new present and future for healthcare — one where platform-based collaboration leads to more answers, more cures and better outcomes for patients worldwide."

The collaboration will initially focus on high-need therapeutic areas in three specialties where advanced analytics and multimodal approaches have the potential to advance progress in the development of more effective and tailored therapies:

• Gastroenterology — Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
• Dermatology — Atopic dermatitis
• Neurology — Multiple sclerosis

The collaboration builds on Merck's broader investments in AI/ML-enabled discovery, spanning computational or spatial biology, AI foundation models and real-world data, and reflects a shared focus on applying advanced technologies in ways that support disciplined, evidence-based drug development.

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About Merck
At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world — and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

About Mayo Clinic  
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. 

Forward-looking statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA (the "company") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline candidates that the candidates will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov).

Media contacts:

• Dan Pierce, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu
• Eilyn Segura, Merck, 203-940-6259
• Toneisha Friday Smith, Merck, 609-455-6000

Investor contacts:

• Peter Dannenbaum, 732-594-1579
• Steven Graziano, 732-594-1583

The post Merck and Mayo Clinic Announce New Research and Development Collaboration to Support AI-Enabled Drug Discovery and Precision Medicine appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

February is Heart Month

ROCHESTER, Minn. — As cancer therapies improve and increasingly achieve cures or recurring periods of remission, preventing and managing damage to organs from cancer treatment has become a top concern. That includes injury to the heart, says Joerg Herrmann, M.D., a cardiologist and the founder and director of the Cardio-Oncology Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

As physicians and researchers work to prevent, diagnose and treat heart damage from cancer therapies, they also have learned about connections between cancer and the heart that go beyond the cardiac effects of cancer treatments. Dr. Herrmann shares three things to know:

1. There is a "web of risk factors."

Cancer and heart disease have common risk factors, Dr. Herrmann says. Those include lifestyle habits.

"We call it the web of risk factors. Some of the very same lifestyle-related factors can set patients up for both cancer and cardiovascular disease," he explains. "Smoking is a prime example. It increases the risk of lung and other cancers and coronary artery disease, heart attacks and peripheral artery disease."

In addition to not smoking, you can reduce your risk of cancer and of heart disease by achieving a healthy weight; avoiding or moderating alcohol use; controlling cholesterol (some cancer treatments can worsen cholesterol levels); getting enough sleep; and adopting a healthy diet with fruit and vegetables, he adds.

Physical activity is another important factor. It has been shown to reduce heart damage risk during cancer treatment, help prevent cancer recurrence and improve cardiovascular outcomes, Dr. Herrmann says.

"The more elements of a healthy lifestyle you meet, the better your health projection is for the heart and cancer," he says. "You will reduce the risks of two of the leading killers and increase life expectancy."

Cancer and heart disease can actually be risk factors for each other.

"We've realized that the relationship between cancer and heart disease works in both directions," Dr. Herrmann says. "Cancer itself can impact the cardiovascular system apart from cancer therapies, and vice versa. Patients with heart failure or other cardiovascular diseases have a higher risk of cancer."

2. A variety of things may be done during cancer treatment to reduce risk to the heart.

Which treatments are given and how can affect the risk of heart damage, Dr. Herrmann says. For example, the medical team may:

• Use treatments that minimize harm to healthy tissue, such as targeted therapies or proton beam therapy.
• Stagger certain chemotherapy drugs to give the heart a chance to heal between treatments.
• Use medications that protect the heart during chemotherapy.
• Use techniques to shield healthy tissue during radiation therapy, such as body positioning and breath-holding to provide greater separation between the tumor and the heart. 

"These shielding efforts have come a long way for adults and children who have cancer," he says.

3. Artificial intelligence and wearables are promising innovations.

The goals of Dr. Herrmann's research including developing tools that predict – before treatment – who is at high risk of heart damage from certain cancer therapies. This would enable shared decision making among patients and their care teams about the approach to treatment.

He and his colleagues are also working on therapies to mend hearts broken by chemotherapy and to develop easier and more cost-effective surveillance strategies for cardiovascular side effects of cancer therapies. Early detection and intervention are likely to lead to the best outcomes, Dr. Herrmann says.

The use of wearables and artificial intelligence (AI) can help, he says. Research has found, for example, that applying AI to an electrocardiogram, a test that measures the heart's electrical activity, may help detect a decline in heart function.

"We're interested in going further with AI technologies and developing simulations to show how different therapies would affect a given patient," Dr. Herrmann says.

Some patients remain at risk of heart disease for a lifetime after cancer treatment, but it's impractical to do echocardiograms to look at the heart for the rest of their lives. Wearables to alert cancer survivors and their care teams to cardiac abnormalities are another promising area of research, he says.

"We've come a long way in cardio-oncology. We have a much better understanding of what we can do to manage heart risk from cancer therapies," Dr. Herrmann says. "Patients are in much better place now than they were even 10 years ago."

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Sharon Theimer, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post 3 things to know about cancer and your heart: Mayo Clinic expert shares tips to reduce risk appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic collaborated with New Phase Ltd. to install the first magnetic nanoparticle-mediated hyperthermia machine for cancer research in the U.S. Hyperthermia is a procedure that uses heat to damage and kill cancer cells. The investigational machine will support research evaluating the safety, feasibility and potential effectiveness of this approach in cancer treatment.

"We have known for more than a century that temperature is the Achilles' heel of cancer, but conventional hyperthermia has limitations and is not widely available," says Scott Lester, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. "The hyperthermia technology we've installed is still investigational but may enable us to harness heat in a novel way for advanced cancers, and we're grateful to be the first to use it in our research."

The investigational hyperthermia machine is an electromagnetic induction system that targets the torso. Doctors first administer iron oxide-containing magnetic nanoparticles through an IV, allowing them to collect in tumors. The care team then positions the patient in the machine, where electromagnetic waves heat the tumors to help destroy cancer cells.

"It works like an induction cooktop," Dr. Lester explains. Induction cooktops require special pans to interact with the device. Instead of pans, the tumor absorbs the nanoparticles, effectively turning it into an induction pan. When alternating magnetic fields pulse the pan, it creates heat. A special coating on the nanoparticles limits the temperature to no more than 50 degrees Celsius. The care team also places cooling blankets on patients to keep their body temperature from rising too high and monitors them closely. The hope is that this controlled heating can damage the tumor to slow or stop its growth.

New Phase Ltd. manufactures both the hyperthermia machine and the nanoparticles. Mayo Clinic installed the machine within the Radiation Oncology Department in the Jacobson Building at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. The team completed the installation in November 2025. The first U.S. patient then received hyperthermia as part of a clinical trial in December 2025.

In the clinical trial, researchers are administering the investigational therapy to metastatic solid tumors in any body area except the brain. The investigational therapy can be administered to multiple tumors simultaneously and to cancers that are deep in the body. "We are focusing on patients whose cancers are resistant to multiple lines of systemic therapies and other advanced treatments, including radiotherapy," says Sean Park, M.D., Ph.D., radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-principal investigator of the trial with Dr. Lester.

"Science has taught us that hyperthermia may be the ultimate sidekick for these treatments," Dr. Lester adds. "We aim for hyperthermia to be the fourth leg of cancer treatment, giving us a different angle to attack cancer and help patients." Researchers also plan to study hyperthermia in combination with other treatments, such as radiation. Combination therapy could allow for lower radiation doses with the same effectiveness or improve outcomes in radiation-resistant tumors.

"The research collaboration between New Phase Ltd. and Mayo Clinic aims to open new treatment possibilities for metastatic cancer patients who currently have limited options," says Ofer Shalev, CEO and co-founder of New Phase Ltd.

Twenty years ago, Mayo Clinic radiation oncologists used ultrasound to heat water-filled bags that were placed on patients' skin, often on the chest wall of women who had recurrent breast cancer after surgery and radiation. "We added the heat to enhance the effects of radiation, and there were times it was very successful," says Nadia Laack, M.D., chair of Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic. However, the water bag temperature was unreliable, and patients could experience pain, causing the technique to fall out of favor. Other studies showing the benefits of hyperthermia combined with radiation were also limited by technological constraints.

"Now, we may have a more advanced method to reintroduce hyperthermia into cancer therapy," Dr. Laack says. "If we can demonstrate its effectiveness, we can make hyperthermia more widely available to help patients with complex cancers."

Mayo Clinic has a financial interest in the technology referenced in this news release. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

About Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center
Designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center is defining the cancer center of the future, focused on delivering the world's most exceptional patient-centered cancer care for everyone. At Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, a culture of innovation and collaboration is driving research breakthroughs in cancer detection, prevention and treatment to change lives.

About New Phase Ltd.
New Phase Ltd. is a Deep Tech technology company based in Israel. Its mission is to dramatically improve cancer patients' quality of life through innovative and minimally invasive treatments. By leveraging nanotechnology and electromagnetic systems, it aims to provide a precise, groundbreaking solution to one of the world’s biggest health challenges – cancer.

Media contact:

• Julie Ferris-Tillman, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Mayo Clinic installs first magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia system for cancer research in the US appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A medication commonly used to treat overactive bladder significantly reduced hot flashes in men receiving hormone therapy for prostate cancer, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology which included several Mayo Clinic researchers.

The phase 2 study found that oxybutynin, a medication commonly prescribed to treat overactive bladder, worked better than a placebo at reducing how often hot flashes occurred and how intense they were in men receiving hormone therapy for prostate cancer. Men who took oxybutynin also reported improvements in their day-to-day functioning and overall quality of life.

Hot flashes affect an estimated 60% to 80% of men receiving androgen-deprivation therapy and can interfere with sleep, mood and overall well-being. For some patients, these symptoms are severe enough to make it difficult to continue treatment.

"Hot flashes are often underestimated in men, but they can have a real and lasting impact on quality of life during prostate cancer treatment," says Bradley Stish, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic and first author of the study. "This trial shows that oxybutynin can provide significant relief with a favorable safety profile."

The study enrolled 88 men with prostate cancer who were experiencing frequent hot flashes while receiving androgen-deprivation therapy. Participants were randomly assigned to receive oxybutynin at one of two doses or a placebo for six weeks.

Men who received the higher dose of oxybutynin experienced the greatest benefit, with an average reduction of nearly seven hot flashes per day, compared with about two fewer hot flashes per day in the placebo group. More than 75% of men receiving the higher dose achieved at least a 50% reduction in hot flash severity.

Patients taking oxybutynin also reported less disruption to sleep, work, social activities and overall quality of life. No treatment-related serious adverse events occurred during the study. The most common side effect was dry mouth, which was more frequent at higher doses.

Oxybutynin has previously been shown to reduce hot flashes in women, but evidence in men had been limited. This trial is among the first randomized, placebo-controlled study to demonstrate its effectiveness for men receiving androgen-deprivation therapy.

"These results expand the options available to clinicians and patients who are trying to manage a challenging side effect of prostate cancer treatment," says Dr. Stish. "Having additional, well-tolerated choices matters."

Researchers note that larger studies will be needed to confirm the findings and determine the optimal dose, but the results support the use of oxybutynin as a treatment option for men with bothersome hot flashes related to hormone therapy.

The study was conducted through the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, part of the National Cancer Institute's National Clinical Trial Network. It included participants from academic and community cancer centers across the U.S. Mayo Clinic has a financial interest in the technology referenced in this news release. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Julie Ferris-Tillman, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post New treatment works to improve hot flash symptoms in prostate cancer therapy appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new study published by Mayo Clinic researchers suggests that ovarian cancer cells quickly activate a survival response after PARP inhibitor treatment, and blocking this early response may make this class of drugs work better.

PARP inhibitors are a common treatment for ovarian cancer and can be especially effective in cancers with impaired DNA repair. However, many tumors eventually stop responding, even when the drugs initially show results. The new research identifies a way cancer cells may survive PARP inhibitor treatment early on, and it points to a potential strategy to block that response.

In the study, researchers found that ovarian cancer cells rapidly activate a pro-survival program after exposure to PARP inhibitors. A key driver of this response is FRA1, a transcription factor that helps turn on genes that allow cancer cells to adapt and avoid cell death.

"This work shows that drug resistance does not always emerge slowly over time — cancer cells can activate survival programs very early after treatment begins," says Arun Kanakkanthara, Ph.D., an oncology investigator at Mayo Clinic and a senior author of the study. "By targeting that early response, we may be able to improve how well existing therapies work and potentially delay or prevent resistance."

The research team tested whether brigatinib, an FDA-approved drug currently used to treat certain lung cancers, could block this survival response and enhance the effects of PARP inhibitors. Brigatinib was selected because of its ability to inhibit multiple signaling pathways involved in cancer cell survival.

The results showed that combining brigatinib with a PARP inhibitor was more effective than either treatment alone. Importantly, this effect was seen only in cancer cells, not in normal cells, suggesting the potential for a more targeted and safer treatment approach.

Surprisingly, the researchers discovered that brigatinib helps in a completely new way. Rather than acting through traditional DNA repair pathways, brigatinib shuts down two key signaling molecules, FAK and EPHA2, that aggressive ovarian cancer cells rely on to survive. Blocking both signals at once weakened the cancer cells' ability to adapt and resist treatment, leaving them far more vulnerable to PARP inhibitors.

The researchers also found a potential clue for identifying which patients might benefit most from this treatment. Tumors with higher levels of the signaling molecules FAK and EPHA2 responded better to the drug combination. Other data suggest that ovarian cancers with high levels of these molecules are often more aggressive, highlighting the promise of this approach for harder-to-treat cases.

"From a clinical perspective, resistance remains one of the biggest challenges in treating ovarian cancer," says John Weroha, M.D., Ph.D., a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic and a senior author of the study. "By combining mechanistic insights from Dr. Kanakkanthara's laboratory with my clinical experience, this preclinical work supports the strategy of targeting resistance early, before it has a chance to take hold. This strategy could improve patient outcomes."

This research sheds new light on how ovarian cancer evades treatment, and it points to a promising strategy for improving patient outcomes.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Julie Ferris-Tillman, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Lung cancer drug offers a surprising new treatment against ovarian cancer appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Siemens Healthineers and Mayo Clinic are expanding their strategic collaboration to enhance patient care for neurodegenerative disease and the management of prostate cancer and metastatic liver tumors. The two organizations have signed an agreement that will improve care for people with those diseases and expand access to new imaging and interventional technologies.

Initial areas for collaboration include:

• Neurodegenerative disease: Developing and bringing to clinical use artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled MRI protocols for improved diagnostic accuracy and patient monitoring.
• Surgical care pathway innovation: Applying digital twin technologies to re-imagine how patients experience surgery, enhancing their care and improving operational efficiency.
• Prostate cancer: Jointly investigating the role of AI in minimizing biopsies and ways to integrate minimally invasive, advanced imaging into diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
• Minimally invasive, image-guided interventional suites: Creating spaces to use the latest image-guided technologies for the precise detection and treatment of liver metastases.
• Ultra-high-field MRI innovation center: Using ultra-high-field MRI protocols, taking advantage of the technology's high resolution and enhanced contrast, for diagnostic and surgical planning in patients with complex neurological diseases.
• Whole Body PET/CT & PET/MR innovation center: Using whole-bodyPET/CT emphasizing theranostics treatment for certain cancers, with simultaneous anatomical and metabolic MR imaging, to enable precise diagnostic and therapeutic planning.

"Our goal is to make care more precise, less invasive and more responsive to each patient's needs," said Eric Williamson, M.D., professor and chair, Diagnostic Radiology, Mayo Clinic. "By expanding our collaboration, we can bring advanced imaging, artificial intelligence and innovative treatment approaches directly into everyday clinical care, potentially helping patients receive earlier diagnoses, more personalized treatment plans and better outcomes."

Added John Kowal, president and head of the Americas at Siemens Healthineers: "Improving the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative disease and cancer is core to our purpose as a company. Our collaboration with Mayo Clinic creates significant opportunities to help extend the quantity and quality of patients' lives."

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About Siemens Healthineers
Siemens Healthineers pioneers breakthroughs in healthcare. For everyone. Everywhere. Sustainably. The company is a global provider of healthcare equipment, solutions and services, with activities in more than 180 countries and direct representation in more than 70. The group comprises Siemens Healthineers AG, listed as SHL in Frankfurt, Germany, and its subsidiaries. As a leading medical technology company, Siemens Healthineers is committed to improving access to healthcare for underserved communities worldwide and is striving to overcome the most threatening diseases. The company is principally active in the areas of imaging, diagnostics, cancer care and minimally invasive therapies, augmented by digital technology and artificial intelligence. Further information is available at siemens-healthineers.com.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact: 

• Tom Millikin, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Siemens Healthineers and Mayo Clinic expand strategic collaboration to enhance patient care through advanced technology appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic announced today additional capabilities within Mayo Clinic Platform_Orchestrate that make it more efficient for researchers to access standardized, real-world cancer data from Mayo Clinic and participating Mayo Clinic Platform_Connect partners. This gives researchers the ability to generate insights that can accelerate cancer research and improve patient care.

Developing new cancer therapies is a long and complex process that typically takes many years. Orchestrate's capabilities can help shorten this timeline by giving researchers faster access to high-quality, real-world cancer data.

Orchestrate is now using an industry-leading, standardized framework to organize complex cancer information, known as Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Oncology. The new function can present de-identified data in a consistent, structured and research-ready format. This includes standardized information such as tumor characteristics, biomarkers, staging, treatments, progression and outcomes. These key oncology attributes are refined from a rich background of structured data (e.g., diagnoses, lab test results) and unstructured data (e.g., imaging, pathology and radiology reports) already integrated on Mayo Clinic Platform to enable better clinical insights and research.

The OMOP Oncology model is a product of the global Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) initiative. The model's standardized structureallows researchers to analyze complex cancer data more rapidly, accurately and on a larger scale than before.

"The integration of OMOP Oncology into Mayo Clinic Platform has the power to accelerate discovery, improve clinical trial design, unlock real-world insights and support the development of next-generation therapies for patients worldwide," said Elisabeth Heath, M.D., chair of the Department of Oncology at Mayo Clinic.

Nemesis Health, a research and technology service provider for Mayo Clinic Platform, contributed to the development of OMOP Oncology capabilities on Orchestrate.

This year, Mayo Clinic Platform will also incorporate tokenization, a technology that connects de-identified information from across a patient's care experience to provide a more complete, longitudinal view of their healthcare journey. Combined with the OMOP Oncology model, this will give researchers a more comprehensive understanding of a patient's cancer care pathway before, during and after their care at Mayo Clinic.

Launched in 2025, Orchestrate builds on Mayo Clinic Platform's trusted data ecosystem that offers a secure and reliable environment for research and innovation. With these enhanced capabilities, researchers and others seeking to solve healthcare challenges can more easily identify and analyze key groups of people who share common characteristics, understand treatment and outcome patterns, assess the feasibility of clinical trials, and generate real-world evidence to support the development of new cancer therapies.

"Orchestrate strengthens Mayo Clinic's commitment to advancing cancer care through data-driven innovation," says Maneesh Goyal, chief operating officer, Mayo Clinic Platform. "By combining trusted data, advanced artificial intelligence and Mayo Clinic’s scientific expertise, these capabilities help unlock deeper insights, accelerate research and ultimately, bring new therapies to patients faster."

To learn more, visit Mayo Clinic Platform_Orchestrate.

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About Mayo Clinic Platform
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About Mayo Clinic
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ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Mayo Clinic study is providing new insights into how treatment sequence can affect survival in patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer, suggesting that many patients may benefit from receiving chemotherapy before surgery. 

The findings, published in the JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, were based on more than 1,400 patients treated across Mayo Clinic's campuses in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida. Researchers found that when pancreatic tumors were in contact with the superior mesenteric vein — a major blood vessel by the pancreas — patients who underwent surgery first experienced reduced survival rates. In contrast, patients who received chemotherapy before surgery had similar survival outcomes to those whose tumors were not touching the vein.

"Many patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer undergo surgery first because it is historically believed to be the best chance for cure," says Zhi Ven Fong, M.D., Dr.PH., surgical oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and co-senior author of the study. "Our findings suggest that chemotherapy first, even in cases thought to be more straightforward, provides patients with the best opportunity for long-term survival."

Pancreatic cancer is notoriously aggressive, and progress over the past decade to increase patient survival has been limited. Chemotherapy before surgery, called neoadjuvant chemotherapy, aims to shrink the tumor and target cancer cells that may have spread. This approach increases the chance of complete tumor removal during an operation and improves survival outcomes.

"Our data confirms what we've seen in practice at Mayo Clinic for years," says Mark Truty, M.D., surgical oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and co-senior author. "The timing of surgery relative to chemotherapy is critically important for patient outcomes."

Rethinking pancreatic tumor classification

The study also highlights opportunities to refine how pancreatic cancer is classified. Current guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network categorize tumors by how much they touch certain critical blood vessels. Those with less than 180 degrees on the vein are considered upfront resectable, meaning surgery should be performed right away without chemotherapy first. Mayo Clinic's data suggest that these patients may do better if chemotherapy is considered before surgery.

"Our findings suggest that guidelines could be updated to reclassify tumors with any vein involvement as borderline resectable and to only include cancers with no vein involvement as upfront resectable," says Dr. Fong.

The findings reinforce Mayo Clinic's approach, which already prioritizes chemotherapy before surgery for all pancreatic cancer patients, regardless of stage. Researchers believe this evidence will encourage continued discussion within the oncology community and support thoughtful refinements to national treatment recommendations.

"Our hope is that this study empowers both patients and clinicians to think carefully about treatment sequencing," says Dr. Truty. "We want people to know they have options, and that starting with chemotherapy may be the best path forward."

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Chloe Corey, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Mayo Clinic study finds chemotherapy before surgery improves survival in early-stage pancreatic cancer appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.