Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Skip Viragh Center for Pancreatic Cancer report that an experimental vaccine targeting mutant KRAS, one of the most common genetic drivers of pancreatic cancer, was safe and generated durable immune responses aimed at preventing the cancer in people at high risk.

Elaine Jaffe, Laura Tafe and Daniel Sabath to be honored for lasting contributions to the molecular diagnostics community.

About The Study: In this cross-sectional temporal analysis, the marked reductions in excess mortality indicate meaningful progress achieved for several major cancer types through population-wide cancer control efforts. Persistent or worsening disparities in breast cancer and uterine corpus cancer and substantial residual disparities in prostate cancer highlight priorities for equitable interventions. These findings may guide more targeted and efficient cancer prevention and control strategies to further accelerate progress. 

LSU Health New Orleans has received a five-year, $3.1 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to support pancreatic cancer research led by investigators in the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center.

A new Review published in the open-access journal Ferroptosis and Oxidative Stress highlights Z-nucleic acid-binding protein 1 (ZBP1) as an emerging innate immune sensor that converts genomic stress into potent antitumor immunity. The authors propose that therapeutic activation of the ZBP1 pathway may transform immunologically "cold" tumors into "hot" tumors, offering new opportunities to overcome resistance to cancer immunotherapy.

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a biological feedback loop that helps explain why certain colorectal cancers—known as microsatellite instability (MSI) and deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors—respond better to immunotherapy. Using mouse models and patient tumor data, the team found that two genes, DR5 and Lig3, drive a cycle of tumor cell death and immune activation by promoting the release of extrachromosomal circular DNA, which amplifies the immune response. Tumors with higher DR5 and Lig3 activity were more likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, suggesting a potential pathway to improve treatment and better predict which patients will benefit from immunotherapy.