Did smokers do better than non-smokers in a clinical trial for an experimental cancer treatment? That was the intriguing question that led University of Iowa researchers and their colleagues to develop a drinkable, carbon monoxide-infused foam that boosted the effectiveness of the therapy, known as autophagy inhibition, in mice and human cells. The findings were recently published in the journal Advanced Science.

With the conventional first-line drug for early-stage bladder cancer in severe shortage, new therapies developed at Iowa are poised to lead a new wave of care.

The treatment uses 3D technology to precisely map tumor removal and develop prosthetics that are unique to each patient’s anatomy. It’s helping patients get back to their active lifestyles sooner.

University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center has received its fourth renewal as a comprehensive cancer center from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.