• Researchers from the University of Michigan found, in preclinical studies, that a low-protein diet blocked the nutrient signaling pathway that drove colon cancer growth. “A low-protein diet, and specifically a reduction in two key amino acids” starved cancer cells and helped overcome treatment resistance Results of the study were published in Gastroenterology.
• Researchers from the University of Missouri discovered that nicotinamide, or niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, might increase breast cancer and brain metastasis risk. It is contrary to the results of earlier research that showed multiple health benefits of taking the supplement. The study was published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
• New animal research on squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a skin cancer linked to RAS gene mutations, found that cancer development was driven by the interaction and mutual influence of tumor stem cells and their environment. The study further discovered a surprising for SCC connection to leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells. The findings of this study go beyond the studied cancer type and give an insight into cancer biology that may result in developing new ways of treating cancer. The study was published in Nature.
• Canadian researchers used mathematics to devise an algorithm for scheduling radiation therapy that could make it up to 22 percent more effective at killing cancer cells than existing standard radiation treatment regimens. The algorithm needs to be tested in clinical studies. The work was published in Journal of Mathematical Biology.
• Scientists from Germany discovered the reason for the previously observed phenomenon where metastatic growth only appeared after the surgical removal of the original tumor. They conducted an animal study and, in the cancer cells, identified a messenger substance (ANGPLT4) that promoted the local growth of the primary tumor. In the blood, ANGPLT4 split into two fragments, one of which suppressed metastasis. Surgical removal of the primary tumor disables the source of the metastasis-suppressing fragment, thus activating individual dormant metastatic tumor cells. While surgery remains the gold standard in treating most cancers, further study of ANGPLT4 may pave the way to developing new metastasis-suppressing drugs. The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
  

A research team from Ireland conducted a prospective multi-center study on the role of MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in breast cancer prognosis. One hundred twenty-four patients participated in the study. The authors found that miRNAs, detected in blood samples, could be used as biomarkers to predict breast cancer recurrence. Indeed, the results established that patients with a higher expression of the miRNA type 145 were unlikely to see breast cancer recurrence. This discovery could be instrumental in providing tailored surveillance to patients based on their miRNA-145 levels. The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).

A study on a Breast Cancer Vaccine was conducted by researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. The authors found that an experimental DNA vaccine generated a robust immune response to a tumor protein. The vaccine was administered to 66 women who were followed for three to thirteen years. However, because the trial was not randomized, the results could be viewed only as preliminary. Therefore, a larger trial with randomization will be conducted by the team. The study was published in JAMA Oncology.

• Two recent studies found that fungi grow inside some tumors in people with different cancer types. Each cancer type was associated with its own unique collection of fungal species; some of them harmless and some that can cause diseases. In addition to fungi, particular bacteria were present within the tumor, but possible interactions between them are not yet understood. Both studies, one published by a group of Israeli and U.S. researchers and another one by a group of U.S. researchers, were published in the same issue of Cell.
  
• Another research conducted in Israel targeted glioblastoma, the deadly brain cancer. In an animal study, they used a unique approach to eradicate the astrocytes (brain cells) around the tumor, which caused cancer to disappear. The study was published in Brain.
  
• New research undertaken at the University of California at Berkeley suggested that in people over 50 years old, genetics played a lesser role than in younger people in the development of age-related diseases such as cancer. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
  
• A team of U.K. and U.S. researchers made a surprising discovery by identifying a protein, called NALCN, that regulated not only how cancer metastasized but also normal cells travel around the body. The discovery paves the way to a potential new target for antimetastatic therapies. The study was published in Nature Genetics.