- A study by researchers from Rockefeller University provided a new insight into cancer biology by demonstrating that a lipid type is crucially essential for cancer immune evasion. The findings imply that existing medications for impeding lipid production can boost the immune system in fighting cancer. The study was published in Nature.
- Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital showed that lung cancer screening guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force don’t adequately serve their purpose, especially in Black patients. In place of requiring the equivalent of a pack a day for 20 years the Harvard researchers suggest switching “to a simple measure that would recommend annual screening for anyone who’s smoked for 20 years, regardless of how many cigarettes they smoke a day”. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
- Unlike other breast cancer types, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) does not respond to hormone therapy or anti-HER2 drugs. A new study from Mass General Brigham established that combining two types of therapeutic agents (AKT and EZH2 inhibitors) can selectively kill these cancer cells, establishing a foundation for a new triple-negative breast cancer treatment. The study is published in Nature.
- A study by Weill Cornell Medicine and the New York Genome Center has offered “unprecedented insights” into early bladder cancer (specifically, urothelial carcinoma) development. Researchers found that antiviral enzymes and standard chemotherapy were the main culprits for bladder cancer development as sources of mutations. The researchers also gained insights into the mechanisms of bladder cancer resistance to therapy. These findings are breakthrough contributions to the knowledge of bladder cancer biology and pave the way to new therapeutic strategies. The study was published in Nature.
- Researchers from MIT discovered that the old cancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) which has been around since the 1950s, “acts differently in different types of cancer”. While it was long established that it affects cancer by damaging building blocks of DNA, the new study found that in gastrointestinal cancers it kills cells by interfering with RNA synthesis. This new finding will have an impact on what combinations of 5-fluorouracilwith with other chemotherapy drugs are given to achieve synergistic effects in different types of cancer. The study was published in Cell Reports Medicine.