All articles tagged with #cancer research
A broad health-news digest surveys developments from expanded access to the obesity drug retatrutide and GLP-1 therapies, to a trial showing vitamin D3 adding no progression-free survival benefit in metastatic colorectal cancer, along with measles outbreaks and vaccine debates, drone-delivery of prescriptions, data reporting challenges, and other public-health and clinical-research stories.
A Journal of Experimental Medicine paper on breast cancer, tied to Ohio State University findings of data manipulation, was retracted after a decade of scrutiny spurred by a whistleblower who first flagged issues in 2016. The retraction cites falsified data in key figures, following earlier corrections and an expression of concern, and comes amid ongoing disputes over how the case was handled and what was actually verified. The affair involves Flavia Pichiorri and Carlo Croce, with broader questions about lab oversight and journal practices in correcting faulty literature.
A Nature study in mice found that a ketogenic diet can accelerate small-intestine tumors while suppressing colon tumors, and that these effects are driven by fatty acid oxidation and subsequent activation of PPARs—not by ketone bodies. This challenges the idea that ketones explain keto’s impact on cancer, suggesting fat metabolism is the key driver. While having implications for understanding cancer biology, the findings are preclinical and human relevance remains unclear; commercially available ketone supplements are unlikely to replicate these effects.
A large analysis of 33,159 papers across 20 high‑impact molecular-oncology journals finds papers likely produced by paper mills receive about twice as many citations as genuine papers, often citing other suspect papers and inflating journal impact factors. Using a BERT-based detector on bioscience articles, 12.3% of papers were flagged; Nature Cancer had none; patterns suggest coordinated manipulation and risks for publishers, though some false positives may exist.
At the WSJ Leadership Institute summit, Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato said the company aims to eliminate cancer within 10 years, citing breakthroughs in immunotherapy that have extended remission in multiple myeloma and improved longevity, with AI and biomarkers enabling earlier diagnosis and more personalized treatments. He suggested some cancers could be cured while others become chronic, and noted J&J's acquisitions like Firefly Bio to target difficult mutations, alongside advances such as a melanoma vaccine study by Merck and Moderna that underscores rapid progress in oncology.
A new drug called daraxonrasib nearly doubles survival for pancreatic cancer patients after initial chemotherapy, marking a significant KRAS-targeted therapy advance and offering hope that this previously “undruggable” cancer can be managed longer. But the piece stresses that decades of federally funded basic science underpinned the discovery and development, and warns that Trump-era efforts to cut or politicize science funding threaten future breakthroughs by weakening the research ecosystem—even as Congress and the courts push back against some funding cuts.
A phase 3 PROTEUS trial shows that administering two hormone therapies both before and after prostate cancer surgery improves outcomes versus a single hormone therapy in high-risk, early-stage patients, a result that some doctors see as paving the way for a potential new standard of care.
The study shows that metastasis-associated oncofetal cell states arise at the very onset of invasion in colorectal cancer and are shaped by interactions with submucosal fibroblasts. Using multiregional organoids, spatial transcriptomics, and organoid–fibroblast co-cultures, it demonstrates that trophocyte-like cancer-associated fibroblasts at the invasive front induce these fetal-like states, establishing that microenvironmental context—not just tumor genetics—dictates when and where oncofetal plasticity first appears. Although common in early cancers, additional bottlenecks such as immune evasion explain why many lesions do not metastasize.
Pi Day honors the constant pi and its pervasive role in science and engineering, from calculating trajectories for spaceflight to modeling cancer research, illustrating how a single number underpins complex work across disciplines.
A study published in APL Bioengineering tested four diets (high-insulin, high-glucose, high-ketone, and high-fat) on engineered triple-negative breast cancer tumor models and found the high-fat diet sped up tumor growth and invasion, with increased activity of the enzyme MMP1. Using a plasmalike medium to mimic the body’s nutrient environment, researchers isolated dietary effects on cancer behavior and plan to explore whether diet also influences chemotherapy response in the future; however, these results are from lab models and human relevance remains to be established.
A pilot NYU Langone Health study found microplastic particles in 9 of 10 prostate tumor samples, with cancerous tissue averaging about 40 micrograms per gram versus 16 in healthy tissue (roughly 2.5x higher). The team took rigorous contamination precautions, including using nonplastic tools, and analyzed 12 common plastic molecules. While findings raise the possibility that microplastics could influence cancer risk via inflammation, researchers caution that the small sample size requires larger studies to confirm any causal role; results will be presented at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.
South Korean researchers report that silencing NSMF, a regulator of replication stress in colorectal cancer, triggers irreversible aging in cancer cells and slows or halts tumor growth in mouse models, suggesting a potential new therapy that spares healthy tissue. Published in Nucleic Acids Research, the study highlights NSMF as a key driver of cancer cell replication under stress. With rising colorectal cancer rates in younger Americans and calls to lower screening ages, the findings underscore the push for targeted treatments and earlier detection.
A Science study analyzing nearly 500 feline tumors from five countries across 13 cancer types finds genetic similarities with human cancers, notably FBXW7 mutations in feline mammary tumors that mirror aggressive human cases; two chemotherapy drugs show promise against these tumors in cats, suggesting a potential path for new treatments in humans and enabling faster veterinary testing—highlighting cats as a valuable model for cancer biology and shared environmental factors.
Researchers report that MakA, a toxin from Vibrio cholerae, when delivered systemically, slows colorectal tumor growth in mice by increasing tumor cell death and reshaping the tumor's immune environment, with no observable harm to healthy tissue or organs, suggesting a tumor-targeted anti-cancer strategy that requires further clinical study.
More than 50 leading cancer vaccine researchers convene a two-day global think tank—organized by the Cancer Vaccine Coalition and AACR—to align priorities and accelerate development and access to therapeutic cancer vaccines through practical strategies, AI-driven antigen prediction, and coordinated funding and regulatory pathways, with trials across glioblastoma, melanoma, pancreatic, breast, ovarian and liver cancers and support from HSBC Innovation Banking, Northwest Biotherapeutics, Pfizer, and Anixa Biosciences.