VA Research Wrap Up: New findings on hospice care, cancer treatment and burn pits

VA’s Office of Research and Development recently published three News Briefs highlighting research findings on improving the hospice experience, a promising new precision cancer treatment and the link between burn pits and sinus disease.

Virtual reality improves Veterans’ hospice experience

VA researchers in Bedford, Mass, found using virtual reality can improve the well-being of Veterans receiving end-of-life hospice care.

Twenty-five Veterans in hospice at a VA hospital participated in a pilot program in which they used a VR headset for self-selected entertainment programs. Travel experiences were the most popular, allowing reminiscence and touring of bucket-list destinations. Despite some setup challenges, 91% of participants said they enjoyed the experience, and 90% said they would participate again. Feedback suggested the experience improved Veterans’ anxiety, mood and boredom. One participant remarked, “I don’t get to feel this good very often.”

The findings demonstrate how VR technology can offer meaningful engagement and improve psychological well-being in Veterans receiving end-of-life care. View the full study from the “Journal of Palliative Medicine.”

New precision cancer treatment shows promise

Philadelphia VA and University of Pennsylvania researchers developed a new immunotherapy approach with potential as a treatment for a variety of cancers.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-Cell therapy uses a patient’s own genetically engineered immune cells to recognize, target and destroy cancer cells. The approach is highly effective against blood cancers, but is less effective against cancers with solid tumors because of the immunosuppressive environment inside tumors. However, the researchers engineered CAR T-cells that secrete pro-inflammatory proteins to overcome this obstacle. In mouse models of breast and prostate cancer, the engineered CAR T-cell treatment significantly delayed tumor growth and prolonged survival. The results suggest this approach could be a promising new precision cancer treatment.

View the full study from “Molecular Therapy.”

Burn pits linked to distinct sinus disease pattern

VA San Diego researchers found that Veterans with military-related toxic exposures who had chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), a persistent inflammatory condition of the nasal passages, had higher concentrations of mast cells than people with CRS but no toxic exposures. Mast cell accumulation promotes chronic inflammation and can exacerbate conditions such as asthma. Veterans who had longer deployments had more mast cells than other Veterans. Civilians exposed to combustion exhaust in work environments also demonstrated increased mast cells, but to a lesser degree than Veterans with burn pit exposure.

The researchers believe this unique biological pattern could lead to new therapies targeting the activation of mast cells as a potential treatment for toxin-related CRS, which currently has no FDA-approved treatment. View the full study from the “Journal of Clinical Investigation.”

For more Office of Research and Development updates, visit ORD online or go to https://www.research.va.gov/news_briefs/.