Welcome to Benchmarks, your semi-weekly dose of research news and notes from the Mass General research community. With 9,500 people working across more than 30 departments, centers and institutes, there’s more research news at Mass General than we can get to each week. Here are a few highlights:

• Research in the News
• Study Sheds Light on How Breast Cancer Cells Evade Immune Surveillance and Survive in Lymph Nodes
• Cutbacks on Opioid Surgery May Do More Harm Than Good
• Innovator Spotlight: Sudeshna Das, PhD
• Tweets of the Week
• This Week in MGH History
• Mass General Doctor Devises A Better Method of Inhaling Steam
• Study of Twins Could Learn to New Insights About Heart Disease

Research in the News

Study Sheds Light on How Breast Cancer Cells Evade Immune Surveillance and Survive in Lymph Nodes

In breast cancer, nearby lymph nodes, which are part of the immune system, are usually the first site of cancer spread, and from here cancer cells can travel to other parts of the body, such as the brain, lung, liver, and bones.

New research led by investigators at Mass General reveals how cancer cells suppress anti-cancer immune responses in the lymph nodes to survive and spread, or metastasize.

The findings, which are published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, could lead to new strategies on how to prevent this suppression and unleash the immune system to fight cancer.

The study was co-led by Pin-Ji Lei, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Mass General. Timothy P. Padera, PhD, the 2021–2026 Rullo Family MGH Research Scholar and an associate professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, is co-senior author. Learn more.

Cutbacks on Opioid Surgery May Do More Harm Than Good

Because of the opioid crisis, physicians are less likely to administer opioids to help manage patients’ pain, even in the operating room.

A recent analysis in JAMA Surgery that was conducted by investigators at Mass General found that overly restricting use of opioids during surgery may be doing more harm than good.

For the study, researchers analyzed information on 61,249 adults who had surgery at MGH from 2016–2020. Patients administered more of the opioids fentanyl and hydromorphone during surgery were less likely to experience pain and used less opioids in the hospital after waking up from anesthesia.

Also, patients exposed to higher amounts of fentanyl were less likely to experience uncontrolled pain or to experience new chronic pain diagnosed within three months of surgery, were less likely to be prescribed opioids at 30, 90, and 180 days after surgery, and less likely to develop new persistent opioid use, all without an increase in adverse effects.

The study was led by co-first author Rian Lu, PhD, a research fellow in the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine. Patrick Purdon, PhD, is the senior author of the study. Learn more.

Innovator Spotlight: Sudeshna Das, PhD

As a Data Core Leader at the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (MADRC) at Mass General, Sudeshna Das, PhD, and her colleagues have demonstrated that natural language processing of clinical notes provides the most information for detecting cognitive impairment.

They are also investigating whether heart rate, activity, and sleep data from sensor streams, such as an Apple Watch or Fitbit, contain signals of cognitive decline.

Learn more in this Innovator’s Spotlight from the Center for Innovation in Digital Healthcare at Massachusetts General Hospital. Read more.

Tweets of the Week

This Week in MGH History

Mass General Doctor Devises A Better Method of Inhaling Steam

June 19, 1929 (The World’s News, Sydney, Australia)— A physician at Mass General has developed a new system for inhaling steam, which avoids steaming the face and nose and permits the application of steam directly to the throat.

The system includes a metal receptacle with two quarts or more of boiling water, a rubber tube and a towel. One tube goes in the patient’s mouth and the other is held about an inch above the water.

The patient then takes deep breaths through the tube while the opening of the vessel is closed with a towel.

Care should be taken to have the pitcher or vessel fixed in such a way so it will not fall over or spill, the paper writes.

The tube may also be clipped to the top of the vessel so it will not drop down into the water, where the patient could accidentally suck in a mouthful of boiling water.
(We here at the MGRI would definitely use that clip!)

Study of Twins Could Learn to New Insights About Heart Disease

June 24, 1955 (San Bernadino Sun)—Twins are being studied at Massachusetts General Hospital in an effort to determine whether heart disease is inherited or the result of environment.

Specialists making the study believe, that if an identical twin of a victim of heart disease shows heart involvement, it could indicate an inherited characteristic.

Thousands of cases will be studied, however, before the doctors reach any conclusions.

About the Mass General Research Institute
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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