Category: Cancer

Scientists create cancer patients’ ‘digital twins’ to predict how well treatments may work

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers have shown that they can accurately re-create clinical trials of new treatments using ‘digital twins’ of real cancer patients. The technology, called FarrSight®-Twin, which is based on algorithms used by astrophysicists to discover black holes, will be presented at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, […]

New ‘mini-protein’ carries radiation dose directly to tumours without harming healthy tissues

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers have shown for the first time that it is possible for a specially-designed ‘mini-protein’ to deliver a radiation dose directly to tumour cells expressing a protein on their cell surfaces called Nectin-4, which is often found in a number of different cancers. In a study presented at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium […]

Researchers find key genetic mutations in bowel cancer cells that lead to resistance to WRN inhibitors

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers have discovered key mutations in certain cancer cells that make them resistant to WRN inhibitors, a new class of anti-cancer drugs. The yet-to-be-published findings are presented at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, Spain. Werner helicase (WRN) inhibitors are already being evaluated in phase I […]

Patients with advanced bladder cancer with alterations in the FGFR3 gene respond well to investigational drug, TYRA-300

First results from SURF301 phase I clinical trial Barcelona, Spain: Patients with advanced bladder cancer that had spread to other parts of the body (metastasised) have responded well in a phase I clinical trial of an investigational drug, TYRA-300. The drug targets changes in the FGFR3 gene that drive tumour growth in about 10%-20% of […]

Treatments used for HER2-positive breast cancers could help patients with rare gastrointestinal cancer

— Trial of tucatinib and trastuzumab also showed benefits for HER2-mutated breast cancer — Barcelona, Spain: Drugs designed to target HER2-postive breast cancer could also benefit some patients with bile duct cancer, according to results of a patient trial presented at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, Spain. […]

New drug, WNTinib, delays tumour growth and improves survival in mouse models of children’s liver cancer

Barcelona, Spain: A new drug called WNTinib can delay the growth of tumours and improve survival in hepatoblastoma, a type of liver cancer that occurs in young children. This effect was seen in cancer cells taken from patients and implanted into mice. The researchers are now working on strategies to identify children who may benefit […]

Long-course radiotherapy is better than short-course for organ preservation in rectal cancer

But both treatments have similar survival rates The COVID-19 pandemic has enabled researchers to show that a long course of radiotherapy given before surgery may be a better treatment for avoiding surgery, preserving the rectum and anus, and preventing regrowth of the primary tumour than a short course of radiotherapy for patients with rectal cancer […]

Socioeconomic status influences genetic risk for many complex diseases

Berlin, Germany: Differences in socioeconomic status (SES) are known to be linked to differences in the risk of developing disease. While people with lower SES are more likely to develop complex diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, those with a higher SES are at increased risk of developing certain types of cancer. Using biobank […]

Molecular profiling improves diagnosis and survival for children with high-risk cancers

Berlin, Germany: Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in children in most developed countries, and at least a quarter of these patients are diagnosed with aggressive high-risk or relapsed cancers, with an expected five-year survival rate of less than 30%. Accurate diagnosis can be difficult, and survivors often suffer life-long side effects because […]

Breast cancer patients can safely avoid extensive removal of lymph nodes if they respond well to primary systemic treatment

Milan, Italy: Patients with breast cancer that has started to spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit can safely avoid extensive removal of the lymph nodes if their treatment is tailored to their response to cancer-killing therapies such as chemotherapy before surgery. In a presentation to the 14th European Breast Cancer Conference in Milan, […]