EurekAlert! Cancer Research - News Releases

News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 23-Jun-2026 15:15 ET (23-Jun-2026 19:15 GMT/UTC)

Understanding cancer through the lens of dynamic Spatial Hallmark Ecosystems

Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute propose a new view of cancer based on Spatial Hallmark Ecosystems and its evolution during cancer progression. This conceptual framework combines the latest spatial single cell technologies with classical genomics and proteomics, to move from a static cancer view towards a more complex, dynamic, phenotype-driven model able to inspire new therapeutical opportunities.

Journal: Trends in Cancer

Engineered lipid nanoparticles reprogram immune metabolism for better mRNA vaccines

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Penn Engineers have redesigned the lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) used to deliver mRNA vaccines, showing that subtle changes in lipid chemistry can influence immune cell metabolism and reduce inflammation. The findings suggest that lipid nanoparticles can actively shape how immune cells respond, opening new avenues for vaccines and immunotherapies.

Journal: Nature Materials
Funder: American Cancer Society, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania

Mitochondria identified as key player in a rare disease causing microcephaly

Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers use the Drosophila fly as a model for Mosaic Variegated Aneuploidy (MVA) syndrome.

Errors in chromosome division impair the viability of neural stem cells.

Restoring mitochondrial function makes it possible to restore brain size.

The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications

Blocking lipid production in healthy lung cells can reduce lung metastasis

Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists from the VIB–KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, in collaboration with the Francis Crick Institute, have discovered how cancer cells can exploit healthy lung cells to support metastatic tumor growth in the lungs. In two complementary studies published in Nature Cell Biology and Cancer Discovery, they show that tumors use lipids produced by lung cells as signals, and that decreasing the lipid production of lung cells can decrease metastasis. The findings point to new therapeutic strategies that target lung cell lipid production, rather than cancer cells themselves, which may also help refine patient selection for ongoing clinical trials targeting this pathway.

Journal: Cancer Discovery
Funder: World Cancer Research Fund International, Stichting tegen Kanker, Cancer Research UK, FWO, German research Foundation, EMBO, Chinese Scholarship Council

Phase 3 study: New therapy keeps gastrointestinal cancer care on course when low platelets are an obstacle

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A phase 3 trial in NEJM shows the drug romiplostim can help gastrointestinal cancer patients stay on schedule with chemotherapy despite low platelet counts. In the RECITE study, 84% of patients receiving the drug avoided dose delays or reductions, compared with 36% on placebo—suggesting a new way to prevent one of chemotherapy’s most common treatment disruptions.

Journal: New England Journal of Medicine

Universal, ready-to-use immunotherapy detects and destroys endometrial cancer

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

UCLA researchers have developed a CAR-NKT cell therapy that has shown to be more effective at fighting endometrial cancer than current immunotherapies in experimental models.

Journal: Experimental Hematology

Study reveals how a rare pediatric liver cancer emerges

Baylor College of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study reveals that a rare pediatric liver cancer arises from multiple liver cancer cells that independently undergo tumor-type transitions into other tumor types.

Journal: Journal of Hepatology

Mayo Clinic researchers use milk-derived nanoparticles to target aggressive bile duct cancer

Mayo Clinic
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a promising new way to deliver treatment directly to cholangiocarcinoma tumors, a rare and aggressive bile duct cancer with limited treatment options, using milk-derived nanoparticles that act like guided delivery vehicles. The findings, published in JHEP Reports, point to a potential targeted genetic therapy designed to attack cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.

Journal: JHEP Reports

Geographic, racial, and sex disparities in time to treatment for early-onset colorectal cancer

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This cross-sectional analysis found that delays in treatment initiation for early-onset colorectal cancer—often exceeding 90 days—were more common in all-urban populations and appeared to disproportionately affect young male, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, or Hispanic patients. Although absolute differences in average treatment timing were modest, the focus in this study on clinically relevant delay thresholds (30, 60, and 90 days) is supported by recent meta-analytic literature. The consistency of these delays across sociodemographic groups challenges assumptions of uniformly timely access in urban settings.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Impact Journals to participate at AACR Annual Meeting 2026 in San Diego

Impact Journals LLC
Meeting Announcement

BUFFALO, NY – March 16, 2025 – Impact Journals (publisher of Aging-US, Oncotarget, Oncoscience, and Genes & Cancer), is pleased to announce its participation as an exhibitor at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026. The meeting will take place April 17–22, 2026, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.