Here are a few newsworthy items in the world of cancer research:

• Researchers at the University of Iowa are documenting in real time and in 3-D how melanoma cells form tumors. By using 3-D reconstruction software, scientists can demonstrate how breast tissue cancer cells and melanoma form tumors. Findings reported in PLOS One.
• New technology developed by MIT engineers, can detect tiny ovarian tumors. In mice studies, scientists have been able to detect tumors smaller than 2 millimeters in diameter. For more on this study, see Nature Biomedical Engineering.
• A phase one study of 11 Glioblastoma patients conducted by researchers at Duke University Medical Center shows promise of immunotherapy when combined with chemotherapy. The patients received an investigational vaccine and the drug temozolomide. Results are published in Clinical Cancer Research.
• Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center uncover critical pathway by which pancreatic cells turn off the immune system charged with attacking them. Findings appear in Nature Medicine.

In the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2014, death rates from many of the most common types of cancer decreased for both men and women.  A special section of the report also reveals significant improvement in survival rates. The report is a collaborative effort by the American Cancer Society; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), both parts of the Department of Health and Human Services; and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR).  Findings are published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Surfing the web, I uncovered these news items worth sharing

• Cancer researchers at Lund University in Sweden have teamed up with Robert Egnell at the Swedish Defence University to explore whether or not military strategy could be used as inspiration for cancer treatment.

• Results from a recent clinical trial shows that treating older patients who have malignant brain cancer with the chemotherapy drug temozolomide plus a short course of radiation therapy extended the life of patients with glioblastoma. The findings were published in the NEJM.
• A prospective clinical trial demonstrated that a that a blood test looking at specific biomarkers was able to detect recurrences of lung cancer an average of six months before conventional imaging methods found evidence of recurrence. The findings were recently presented at the 2017 Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium .  From the list of abstracts, see #3.