A new study has illuminated an important process that occurs during cell division and is a likely source of DNA damage under some circumstances, including cancer.

New research suggests that chemotherapy could better target brain tumors in mouse models when it was administered at night instead of during the day. That’s because the blood-brain barrier was more likely to allow the chemotherapy to pass through it at night. The findings highlight the importance of this area of research in humans, and one day, they could help to improve outcomes in patients with brain tumors.

Recent discoveries by stem cell scientists may help make cancer treatment more efficient and shorten the time it takes for people to recover from radiation and chemotherapy.

Faulty versions of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are well known to increase the risk of breast cancer in men and women, and in ovarian cancer. Now BRCA1 and BRCA2 have been linked to several other cancers, including those that affect men.

Researchers discovered that the chance a pathogenic genetic variant may actually cause a disease is relatively low – about 7 percent. They also found that some variants, such as those associated with breast cancer, are linked to a wide range of risks for disease. The results could alter the way the risks associated with these variants are reported, and one day, help guide the way physicians interpret genetic testing results.

A moderate amount of a peptide-enhanced cancer drug goes a long way in treating breast cancers that metastasize to the bone.

Researchers have developed a computational approach to identify GSH sites with significantly higher potential for the safe insertion of therapeutic genes and their durable expression across many cell types. For two out of 2,000 predicted GSH sites, the team provided an in-depth validation with adoptive T cell therapies and in vivo gene therapies for skin diseases in mind. By engineering the identified GSH sites to carry a reporter gene in T cells, and a therapeutic gene in skin cells, respectively, they demonstrated safe and long-lasting expression of the newly introduced genes.

New research shows that specific enzymes can remove lactic acid marks. This finding may increase our understanding of cancer medicine and how physical exercise, among other things, can affect human epigenetics.

An investigational cancer drug that starves tumors of their energy supply also shows evidence of improving whole body metabolism, leading to improved weight control, according to a new study in mice.

A study has found that patients with cancer who receive chemotherapy — and some targeted therapies, such as CDK4/6 inhibitors and therapies targeted at B cells — may mount an inadequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination.

Faulty DNA damage repair can lead to many types of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and other serious disorders. Investigators have developed high-throughput microscopy and machine learning systems that can identify and classify DNA repair factors. The investigators have identified nine previously unknown factors involved in the process of cellular DNA repair.

Results of a large study could help guide treatment planning for patients with high-risk prostate cancer.

Immunotherapy given before surgery caused liver cancer tumors to die off in one-third of the patients enrolled in a new clinical trial.

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.

Steroid estrogens play an important role as embryos develop a sense of smell, new research shows. The study, which examined zebrafish embryos, discovered a type of astrocyte glial cell that is new to science, and have been named estrogen responsive olfactory bulb (EROB) cells.

Researchers have identified a new mechanism by which a protein known for repairing damaged DNA also protects the integrity of DNA by preserving its structural shape. The discovery, involving the protein 53BP1, offers insight into understanding how cells maintain the integrity of DNA in the nucleus, which is critical for preventing diseases like premature aging and cancer.

In a new study of the Zika virus, scientists have discovered a key mechanism used by the virus to evade the antiviral response of the cell it is attacking. This finding contributes to a better understanding of how viruses infect cells, overcome immune barriers and replicate — information that is essential for fighting them.

A new study shows that treatment with an immune-boosting protein called interleukin 7 (IL-7) in combination with radiation improves survival in mice with glioblastoma. The study in mice suggests promise for a phase 1/2 clinical trial that is investigating a long-acting type of IL-7 in patients with glioblastoma.

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.

A new study has identified a new potential pathway for developing therapeutics that target Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

Researchers report successfully removing the nucleus from a type of ubiquitous cell, then using the genetically engineered cell as a unique cargo-carrier to deliver therapeutics precisely to diseased tissues.

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.

The human immune system, that marvel of complexity, subtlety, and sophistication, includes a billion-year-old family of proteins used by bacteria to defend themselves against viruses, scientists have discovered.

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.