Research Advances

A recent study found that leukemia patients exposed to chemotherapy showed lower glucose metabolism in specific brain regions when examined with F-18 FDG-PET/CT imaging. PET/CT identified metabolic alterations—decreased glucose uptake—in chemotherapy-exposed individuals compared to controls, specifically in the posterior cingulate gyrus, anterior orbital gyrus, and thalami. These metabolic changes, which occur in areas governing cognition […]

Scientists have developed new compounds that block the interaction between the RAS gene and the PI3K enzyme, a key driver of cancer growth, while sparing normal cellular functions. RAS mutations keep the gene permanently active, causing uncontrolled cell proliferation, but directly targeting RAS or PI3K has been challenging due to their roles in essential processes

Scientists have shown that boosting the body’s natural immune defenses can prevent cancer recurrence and improve survival in mouse models of multiple cancers. Published in Nature Immunology, the study demonstrates how transforming “immune-cold” tumors—which typically evade immune detection—into “immune-hot” ones can make them more responsive to immune attack. The researchers achieved this transformation by inducing

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment but remains less effective against liver cancer, whose incidence has nearly tripled in recent years. Scientists discovered that certain bile acids produced by the liver can suppress cancer-fighting T cells. Harmful bile acids such as LCA and TCDCA cause stress and oxidative damage to T cells, weakening their ability to

Researchers have identified KCTD10 as a key “traffic controller” for DNA, coordinating the essential processes of replication and transcription to maintain genomic stability. During cell division, replication machinery rapidly duplicates DNA, while transcription machinery reads it to produce RNA. Collisions between these processes can cause DNA damage, double-strand breaks, and mutations that drive cancer. KCTD10

Cancer neuroscience explores how the nervous system influences tumor development. In primary brain tumors like glioma and glioblastoma, neurons promote growth through factors such as BDNF and neuroligin-3. Glioma cells form excitatory synapses with neurons and develop neuronal-like features, including “tumor microtubes” that facilitate communication and proliferation. Outside the brain, the peripheral nervous system regulates

The FDA has granted fast track designation to WTX-124, a conditionally activated interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy, for patients with locally advanced or metastatic cutaneous melanoma after standard immunotherapy. WTX-124, designed to deliver IL-2 selectively to tumors and reduce systemic toxicity, is being studied as monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in a phase 1/1b trial for

A new Weill Cornell Medicine study suggests a promising approach to stop the spread of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), one of the most aggressive cancer forms. Researchers found that the enzyme EZH2 drives TNBC cells to divide abnormally, leading to chromosomal instability and enabling them to metastasize (spread to distant organs). The study, published in Cancer Discovery, found that drugs

A study from Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center in Nature Neuroscience reveals that glioblastoma (GBM) is not just a local brain tumor but a systemic disease affecting the skull and immune system. GBM causes skull thinning, enlarging channels between the skull marrow and brain. This remodeling shifts immune balance—doubling pro-inflammatory neutrophils and nearly eliminating B cells—allowing

Sarcomas, a rare and aggressive category of over 100 connective tissue malignancies, present a significant challenge due to high metastasis rates and resistance to standard therapies like conventional chemotherapy and first-generation checkpoint inhibitors. A major breakthrough is occurring with Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT), where a patient’s immune cells are genetically engineered to target cancer. Notably, the