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

• Evidence supports an association between casual alcohol consumption and seven different cancer types: oropharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon, rectum and female breast cancers. Read more on this connection in the journal Addiction.
• New research out of Sanford Health finds that the antipsychotic agent olanzapine could reduce nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
• A recent study led by scientists at the National Cancer Institute highlighted ways in which breast cancer tumors can evade chemotherapy intervention. The findings were reported in Nature.
• A mice study carried out by cancer researchers in the UK found that that the anti-malaria drug atovaquone has potential to stop tumors from having a low-oxygen environment (hypoxia) during radiotherapy. Read more on this discovery in Nature Communications.

Surfing the web, I uncovered these new items worth sharing:

• The U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), Cancer Research UK, Britain’s Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the Dutch foundation Hubrecht Organoid Technology will jointly work to develop the Human Cancer Models Initiative (HCMI). These experts from around the globe aim to construct 1,000 cancer cell models. Read more on the launch of the initiative at the National Institutes of Health website.
• The NIH recently announces $55 million in awards to launch the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program (PMI Cohort). This program is viewed as one of the most ambitious research endeavors in history.
• Additionally, the NIH recently announced the largest study ever on breast cancer genetics in black women. The Breast Cancer Genetic Study in African-Ancestry Populations initiative does not involve new patient enrollment, but will examine data from 18 previous studies, resulting in a study population of 20,000 black women with breast cancer.
• The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) released new consensus guidelines on the management of metastatic colorectal cancer. The guidelines were published in the Annals of Oncology.