A new study finds that pancreatic cells display an adaptive response to repeated inflammation that initially protects against tissue damage but can promote tumor formation in the presence of mutant KRAS.

A new study in animal models shows that the presence of a cancer tumor alone can lead to cardiac damage, and suggests the culprits are molecules called free radicals interacting with specific cells in the heart. Adding specific types of antioxidants to food consumed by fruit flies with tumors reversed the damage to their hearts — a finding suggesting that harm caused by free radicals was the likely link between cancer and cardiac dysfunction.

Two recent studies describe the potential of liquid biopsies to identify and track tumor growth in two very different cancers: bladder cancer and peripheral nerve tumors. Despite the differences between these cancers and their associated biopsies, the studies demonstrate the possible benefits of this relatively new tool in the fight against cancer.

A Wistar study shows the tumor suppressor Parkin, whose levels are reduced in different cancer types, causes acute metabolic and oxidative stress, suppresses mitochondrial trafficking, and blocks tumor cell movement, reducing primary and metastatic tumor growth.

A new study has shown that the tumor-inhibiting gene TET2 is silenced in a large fraction of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children. The scientists show that the gene can be reactivated by treatment with an existing drug, 5-azacytidine. The results suggest that 5-azacytidine may function as targeted therapy for ALL in children.

Cancer physicians are pioneering a new PULSAR radiation-therapy strategy that improves tumor control compared with traditional daily therapy.

The 3D print of glioblastoma — the deadliest type of brain cancer — is printed from human glioblastoma tissues containing all components of the malignant tumor. Researchers say the breakthrough will enable much faster prediction of best treatments for patients, accelerate the development of new drugs and discovery of new druggable targets.

New research builds on a body of work exploring remotely controlled cell therapies, in which the researchers can precisely target tumors, wherever they are in the body, with a local deposition of heat. The latest study shows the system cured cancer in mice, and the team’s approach not only shrunk tumors but prevented relapse — critical for long-term survival. Further studies will delve into additional tailoring of T-cells, as well as how heat will be deposited at the tumor site.

PARP inhibitors, used to treat patients with cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate and pancreas, work by inducing persistent DNA gaps in tumor cells with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. The discovery offers the potential to monitor tumors for the development of resistance to PARP inhibitor therapy, and to identify drug combinations that could prevent drug resistance and improve the efficacy of cancer therapies.

A potential new treatment for mast cell cancers reduces the number of mast cells by ‚mutating‘ the messenger RNA (mRNA) before it can deliver instructions for manufacturing the gene responsible for cell proliferation. The method, known as frameshifting, changes the pre-mRNA so that the mature mRNA is degraded and any protein produced from its instructions is altered and inert. In a mouse model, frameshifting directed at the c-KIT gene reduced mast cell tumor size and prevented infiltration into other organs.

A new study has revealed changes in healthy lung tissue which indicate preparation to receive metastases. The changes were identified in the area known as ‚the micro-environment‘ of the tumor, and specifically in connective tissue known as fibroblasts.

A key element to slowing metastasis in ovarian cancer is understanding the mechanisms of how tumor cells invade tissues. Biophysics researchers explain how microscopic defects in how healthy cells line up can alter how easily ovarian cancer cells invade tissue. Using an experimental model, the group found that disruptions in the normal cellular layout, called topological defects, affect the rate of tumor cell invasion.

In an attempt to find out why the long-term outcomes are poorer for patients with lobular breast cancer — which affects some 40,000 women a year — researchers began looking at the role of the protein MDC1 in tumor cells.

New research has uncovered an essential mechanism coordinating the processes of cell division and adhesion within humans. This discovery has profound potential for advancing understanding of cell adhesion signalling in cancerous tumor progression and metastasis.

A new technology for cellular immunotherapy showed promising anti-tumor activity in the lab against hard-to-treat cancers driven by the once-considered „undruggable“ KRAS mutation, including lung, colorectal, and pancreatic.

Researchers shrunk a deadly glioblastoma tumor by more than a third using a helmet generating a noninvasive oscillating magnetic field that the patient wore on his head while administering the therapy in his own home. The 53-year-old patient died from an unrelated injury about a month into the treatment, but during that short time, 31% of the tumor mass disappeared. The autopsy of his brain confirmed the rapid response to the treatment.

An innovative testing platform that more closely mimics what cancer encounters in the body may allow for more precise, personalized therapies by enabling the rapid study of multiple therapeutic combinations against tumor cells. The platform uses a three-dimensional environment to more closely mirror a tumor microenvironment.

A preclinical study offers hope for treatment of uveal melanoma, a rare and deadly cancer of the eye. A small molecule inhibitor has been identified that dampens the potent drivers of this tumor. In mouse models, the inhibitor strongly limited primary disease in the eye and metastatic tumor dissemination to the liver, and animals survived longer, without overt side effects.

Approximately 15% of lung cancer tumors are caused by a mutation in a growth receptor called EGFR. An effective drug can kill most of the cancer cells, but the tumor eventually grows back. Researchers investigated the molecular mechanisms behind this relapse. They discovered that some of the cells were resistant to the EGFR treatment; they survived using a parallel pathway.

Combining chemotherapy with a BRAF oncogene inhibitor proves effective at treating this disease in a mouse model. This alternative paves the way toward a new approach for patients affected by this type of tumor, which has no cure in the most advanced stages or cases of relapse.

Certain metabolites of bacteria from the intestine make immune cells more aggressive as a new study conducted by scientists reveals. The findings could help improve cancer therapies.

Anti-androgen therapy is commonly used to treat patients with advanced prostate cancer at stages where the disease has spread to the bones. However, new research has found that anti-androgen treatment can actually facilitate prostate cancer cells to adapt and grow in the bone tumor microenvironment model developed by biomedical scientists.

Researchers have discovered lymph node-like structures close to the tumor in brain cancer patients, where immune cells can be activated to attack the tumor. They also found that immunotherapy enhanced the formation of these structures in a mouse model. This discovery suggests new opportunities to regulate the anti-tumor response of the immune system.

Immunotherapy has revolutionized the field of cancer treatment. However, inflammatory reactions in healthy tissues frequently trigger side effects that can be serious. Scientists have succeeded in establishing the differences between deleterious immune reactions and those targeting tumor cells that are sought after. It appears that while the immune mechanisms are similar, the cell populations involved are different. This work makes it possible to envisage targeted and less dangerous treatments for cancer patients.

The prognosis and effective therapies differ based on the type of lung cancer. While it previously took several days to precisely determine the underlying mutation, a research team has been able to reliably perform this determination in just one step using a combination of quantum cascade laser-based infrared microscopy and artificial intelligence.