Hormone patches are as good at controlling locally advanced prostate cancer as the injections typically used to deliver hormone therapy, according to the results of a large clinical trial led by UCL (University College London) researchers.

Chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, neurocognitive disorders and infertility are rising globally, with health-harming products such as fossil fuels, tobacco, ultra‑processed foods, toxic chemicals, plastics and alcohol being major contributors, say the authors of a new paper published in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The authors include proposed solutions, including policy safeguards and a stronger research focus on the risks to health connected with corporate activity.

Researchers at Dartmouth Cancer Center, led by Tyler J. Curiel, MD, MPH, FACP, found that the common blood pressure medication telmisartan can significantly boost the effectiveness of the cancer drug olaparib, potentially expanding the therapy’s benefits to more patients and helping overcome treatment resistance.

A multidisciplinary study at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory reveals that the same natural immune response to cancer can cause autoimmune disorders, including the brain disease anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. The discovery may empower scientists to develop new antibody-based drugs that fight cancer and prevent brain damage.

In a Nature study, researchers explore how inflammation raises risk for cancer, potentially opening the door to new diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities. They show that chronic inflammation leaves lasting epigenetic marks on intestinal cells in mice that persist through generations of cell division, even after the tissue appears fully healed. The epigenetic memory is part of a “one-two punch” that, along with a cancer-promoting mutation, can accelerate tumor growth.

A team of researchers reveals a novel mechanism that drives the development of pediatric supratentorial ependymoma (EPN), the third most common pediatric brain tumor. The findings suggest potential new approaches to treat these aggressive and chemo-resistant tumors.

New study in pet dogs found immune signatures that could inform more targeted treatments for an aggressive blood cancer