EurekAlert! Cancer Research - News Releases

News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 26-Oct-2026 12:17 ET (26-Oct-2026 16:17 GMT/UTC)

Nebraska researchers link gut microbe to cancer-fighting immune response

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and partner institutions have discovered that compounds made by certain gut bacteria can help the immune system fight cancer. The study, published in Cell Reports Medicine, identified a gut bacterium called Bacteroides uniformis that appears to slow melanoma tumor growth.

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Immune ecotypes may explain multiple myeloma outcomes missed by disease staging

University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have created a comprehensive single-cell map of the tumor immune microenvironment in multiple myeloma and its precursor conditions. The study provided new insights that may explain why patients with similar diagnoses often have differences in disease progression, treatment response and outcomes.

Journal: Blood

Fred Hutch Cancer Center announces 2026 Evergreen Fund awardees

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Grant and Award Announcement

Eight researchers at Fred Hutch Cancer Center will receive a total of $975,000 for research projects as part of Fred Hutch’s Evergreen Fund, an internal grant program designed to advance translational discoveries to a commercially viable stage.

Colorectal cancer treatment delay thresholds and metastasis risk

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this cohort study, colorectal cancer treatment delays were associated with higher, pathway-specific metastasis risk. These findings support pathway-tailored benchmarks for treatment initiation and highlight the importance of integrated care in reducing delays and improving timely, equitable, cost-effective colorectal cancer care.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Virtual, sustained smoking cessation program for cancer patients doubles quitting rate, clinical trial shows

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study shows that a smoking cessation treatment program delivered at community oncology care settings can nearly double quit rates for cancer patients who currently smoke. Investigators from Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center led a randomized clinical trial for the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN), testing a treatment program that includes virtual therapy and nicotine replacement medications. Results, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, show that the intervention was well utilized and nearly doubled the quit rate at 6 months’ post-treatment.

Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology

Discovery could lead to drug therapy for hypopigmentation conditions

Weill Cornell Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An NSAID-related compound called ampyrone appears to safely boost production of the pigment melanin in human skin, according to a preclinical study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and National Eye Institute investigators. The discovery could lead to the development of an ampyrone-derived treatment for hypopigmentation disorders.

Journal: JCI Insight

Emerging roles of hepatocellular carcinoma gene signatures in prognosis and immunotherapy: challenges and opportunities

Xia & He Publishing Inc.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains highly fatal due to late diagnosis and scarce early biomarkers. Multi‑omics and liquid biopsy advances improve early detection, prognostication, and monitoring. Gene signatures derived from genomic, transcriptomic, and immune profiling predict prognosis and response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Circulating tumor DNA enables non‑invasive real‑time tracking. However, clinical validation, cross‑platform reproducibility, and ethical issues (data privacy, consent, standardization) hinder routine use. Integrating multi‑omics with liquid biopsy offers a path to personalized therapy, but success requires multidisciplinary collaboration to overcome these barriers.

Journal: Gene Expression

Simple test could help track metabolic health in cancer and chronic disease

Frontiers
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers writing in Frontiers in Science propose using simple tests to track metabolic health in non-communicable diseases, which cause three in four deaths worldwide.

Journal: Frontiers in Science

New cancer drug shows promise in mesothelioma trial

University of Vermont
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A first-in-human clinical trial of a novel drug targeting cancer cell metabolism has shown encouraging results in patients with relapsed mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer with few treatment options. The therapy works by disabling a key mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme, overwhelming tumor cells with oxidative stress while sparing healthy tissue. In the phase 1 trial, disease was controlled in 67% of patients, the drug was well tolerated, and overall survival exceeded expectations for this heavily pretreated population. The findings suggest a promising new therapeutic strategy for mesothelioma and potentially other cancers driven by the same metabolic vulnerability.

Journal: Nature Communications

A second look to aim better

Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting men worldwide. However, planning personalized radiotherapy in the advanced stages of the disease still requires more precise tools. Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have now tested a novel approach. A combination of two diagnostic imaging techniques could pave the way for personalized radiotherapy. The results of the study, funded by the Wilhelm Sander Foundation, have been published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6c00161).

Journal: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry