The level of magnesium in the blood is an important factor in the immune system’s ability to tackle pathogens and cancer cells. Researchers have reported that T cells need a sufficient quantity of magnesium in order to operate efficiently. Their findings may have important implications for cancer patients.

A new data portal called Cancer-Immu established by a team of biostatisticians can help cancer clinicians and researchers predict which patients will respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors. With data from 3,652 samples for 16 cancer types, Cancer-Immu is the largest immune checkpoint blockade-related data portal for exploring immunogenomic connections.

Characterizing the way, manner or pattern of evolution in tumors may be important for clinical forecasting and optimizing cancer treatment. Researchers are systematically examining how spatial structure influences tumor evolution. To do this the group developed a computational model with the flexibility to simulate alternative spatial structures and types of cell dispersal.

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence platform to analyze potentially cancerous lesions in mammography scans to determine if a patient should receive an invasive biopsy. But unlike its many predecessors, the algorithm is interpretable, meaning it shows physicians exactly how it came to its conclusions.

Understanding how cells die is key to developing new treatments for many diseases, whether the goal is to make cancer cells die or keep healthy cells alive in the face of other illnesses, such as massive infections or strokes. Two new studies have identified a previously unrecognized pathway of cell death — named lysoptosis — and demonstrate how it could lead to new therapies for cervical cancer.

A molecular feature in prostate cancer, called endogenous retroviral (ERV) RNA, has been found to have prognostic value and also distinguish differences between men of African and European or Middle Eastern ancestry, according to a new study. The team also identified ERV expression signatures that may be useful for identifying prostate cancer patients at greatest risk of progression regardless of ancestry, which may also extend to progression in other cancers.

The discovery raises the possibility that some of the roughly two million new cases of colorectal cancer every year around the world originate from brief and seemingly mild food-poisoning events.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow, with a life expectancy of less than 5 years post-diagnosis. Proteasome inhibitors, the therapeutic backbone of current treatments, are very effective in treating newly diagnosed cancers but resistance or intolerance to these molecules inevitably develop, leading to relapses. While studying a neglected tropical disease , Buruli ulcer, researchers discovered a novel therapeutic target for multiple myeloma that could allow to bypass this resistance.

When an individual suffers from cancer, the process of programmed cell death called apoptosis does not occur normally, permitting abnormal cells to thrive.

In a new study, researchers have identified the presence of a specific connection between a protein and an lncRNA molecule in liver cancer. By increasing the presence of the lncRNA molecule, the fat depots of the tumor cell decrease, which causes the division of tumor cells to cease, and they eventually die. The study contributes to increased knowledge that can add to a better diagnosis and future cancer treatments.

Scientists have provided new insights into molecular ‚crosstalk‘ in pancreas cancer cells, identifying vulnerabilities that could provide a target for therapeutic drugs already being studied in several cancers.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of white blood cells. Researchers discovered that AML cancer cells depend on a protein called SCP4 to survive. They think the previously little-known protein is involved in a metabolic pathway the cancer cells need to survive. SCP4 provides researchers with a potential new therapeutic approach for this aggressive cancer.

Researchers have found that manipulating voltage patterns of tumor cells — using ion channel blockers already FDA-approved as treatments for other diseases — can in fact significantly reduce metastasis in animal models of breast cancer.

A new study reveals important insights into the molecular mechanisms that underpin the body’s natural defences against the development of skin cancer. The protein CSDE1 coordinates a complex chain of events that enable senescence in skin cells. The senescent cells act as a firewall against cancer, suppressing the formation of tumours. The findings are surprising because CSDE1 has been previously linked to driving the formation of cancers. The results offer new clues into the behavior of skin cancer at the cellular level, paving the way for potential new therapeutic targets to treat the disease.

A research team has successfully repurposed an approved drug ifenprodil, a vasodilator, to be used in combination with the FDA-approved first-line drug sorafenib for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. This study leveraged on their CombiGEM-CRISPR v2.0 screening platform1 to expedite the search among the many possible drug combinations to inhibit druggable targets in the genome for treating HCC.

Researchers have developed an optical biopsy system that can distinguish between cancerous and healthy liver tissue. The technology makes use of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and lifetime fluorescence measurements to evaluate makers of cellular metabolism that differ between healthy and cancerous cells. The system has higher accuracy than traditional biopsies, possibly making liver cancer diagnosis easier.

Researchers have successfully treated cancer in mice using metal catalysts that assemble anticancer drugs together inside the body. This study is the first report of therapeutic in vivo synthetic chemistry being used to make anticancer substances where they are needed simply by injecting their ingredients through a vein. Because this technique avoids indiscriminate tissue damage, it is expected to have a significant impact on cancer treatment.

To fight infections and heal injuries, immune cells need to enter tissue. They also need to invade tumors to fight them from within. Scientists have now discovered how immune cells protect their sensitive insides as they squeeze between tissue cells. The team lays the foundation for identifying new targets in cancer treatment.

A highly portable and rapid prostate cancer screening kit could provide early warning to populations with higher incidence of prostate cancer and particularly those with limited access to health care, such as African American men.

Standard chemotherapies may efficiently kill cancer cells, but they also pose significant risks to healthy cells, resulting in secondary illness and a diminished quality of life for patients. To prevent the previously unavoidable damage, researchers have developed a new class of nanomaterials engineered to capture chemotherapy drugs before they interact with healthy tissue.

A trial found that taking a much higher dose of vitamin D than recommended for five years did not affect total mortality or the incidence of cardiovascular disease or cancer in older men and women.

Aggressive and relatively common lymphomas called diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) have a critical metabolic vulnerability that can be exploited to trick these cancers into starving themselves, according to a new study.

Immunotherapies called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells use genetically engineered versions of a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer. These treatments have energized cancer care, especially for people with certain types of blood cancers. Now, scientists have developed new CAR T cells that can do something their predecessors cannot: Make drugs.

Scientists have found a way to prove that biochemical signals sent from cell to cell play an important role in determining how those cells develop, findings that can help explain how stem cells differentiate and how cancer arises and proliferates, possibly leading to new treatments.

Melanoma patients receiving therapy that makes it easier for their immune system to kill cancer cells respond to treatment better when their diet is rich in fiber, according to a large, international research collaboration.