Purdue University researchers have developed a first-in-class microRNA (miRNA) therapy that slows tumor growth by targeting multiple genes at once, giving it the potential outperform current single-gene targeted agents. The therapy, tested in mouse models, combines a folate-based delivery system that targets cancer cells with a fully modified version of…

A study that looked at data from 562,145 people found the incidence rates of early-onset cancers increased substantially from 2010 to 2019. Gastrointestinal cancers had the fastest-growing incidence rates among all early-onset cancers. But the increase in breast cancer in women under 50 was also notable. In contrast the rate…

A multisite study published today in the Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) shows that a commonly prescribed anxiety drug is linked with worse outcomes in pancreatic cancer patients and shorter progression-free survival (PFS). The drug, benzodiazepine lorazepam, sold under the trade name…

A large-scale, longitudinal, study found that less than seven percent of cancer patients received germline genetic testing, even though it is recommended by practice guidelines to support targeted treatment and inform health decisions by relatives. The authors, who included researchers from Stanford and University of Michigan, noted that genetic testing…

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, commonly referred to as CAR T therapy, is an intervention that uses a patient’s own cells to fight their cancer. The therapy first received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2017. For some patients, this meant long term remission and even cures…

Research to be presented at Digestive Disease Week 2023 indicates that people who undergo bariatric surgery have less than half the risk for developing an obesity-associated cancer than their peers who do not receive weight loss surgery. “The primary benefit people consider when they think about bariatric surgery is weight…

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that examines tumor sample images to provide doctors with prognoses and guidance on the most appropriate treatments for colorectal cancer. According to the team, the tool can discern how aggressive…

Decades ago, the oncology community took on the crucial challenge of detecting cancer at the earliest possible stage. Overall, survival rates improve dramatically for cancers detected before metastasis. For example, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that the five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients more…

As he devises a tiny plasmonic nanopore system to capture even rare antigens and their ligands from tumors, George Alexandrakis is toiling at the vanguard of cancer research. The University of Texas at Arlington bioengineering professor is developing a way of using even very small samples of tissue or blood…

New evidence finds nine germline pathogenic variants, combined with H. pylori infection, raise gastric cancer risk considerably. Several of these variants are involved in homologous-recombination. It has been estimated that germline mutations cause only one to three percent of gastric cancers. These new findings suggest hereditary risk is more important…

Mercy BioAnalytics, the developer of an early cancer detection liquid biopsy leveraging extracellular vesicles, has closed a $41 million Series A financing round that will be used to further the development of the company’s novel Mercy Halo test for high-risk lung cancer screening. The financing was led by Novalis LifeSciences,…

Key biologic features of tumor progression are influenced by the circadian rhythm, which could be used to optimize timing of drug delivery and maximize safety and efficacy, suggests a review carried out by researchers in Switzerland. “The circadian rhythm governs most of the cellular functions implicated in cancer progression, and…

A research team led by the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. has discovered that the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene DMD is expressed differently in a range of different cancers in addition to causing the inherited degenerative muscle disease. As reported in the journal Cancers, they found that many cancerous…

New evidence shows that germline-somatic associations can affect cancer development. In a large-scale analysis of data from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute across 11 cancer types, researchers found that certain variants were associated with a decreased risk of somatic mutations, while others were linked to a higher risk. This study appeared…

The search to understand and treat cancer triggers a desire to look for the cause. For decades, many clinicians and scientists suggested that genes cause cancer. Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote in The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, “Cancer, we have discovered, is stitched into our genome.” Indeed, cancer…