EurekAlert! Cancer Research - News Releases

News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Jun-2026 19:15 ET (22-Jun-2026 23:15 GMT/UTC)

Bone marrow cell atlas for improved leukemia research

Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Children's bone marrow is structured differently from that of adults, scientists have found. Previously, childhood leukemia research relied on bone marrow data from adults. Now, scientists at the Princess Máxima Center examined nearly 91,000 individual bone marrow cells from healthy children and compiled the data into an atlas, so that other researchers can also use it. Their findings show that comparing cells from sick and healthy children within the same age range is crucial to distinguish cancer‑associated changes from normal age-related differences.

Journal: Nature Immunology
Funder: Children Cancer Free Foundation (KiKa), HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council, Landsteiner Foundation for Blood Transfusion Research, European Research Council

Machine-learned biomarker identifies those at high risk for liver cancer

RIKEN
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan have developed a score that predicts the risk of liver cancer. The study establishes that the protein MYCN drives liver tumorigenesis, specifically of the type of tumors found in the deadliest subtype of liver cancer. The study characterizes the microenvironment of genes that permit overexpression of MYCN, and describes a machine-learning algorithm that uses this data to predict how likely a tumor-free liver is to develop tumors.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

JMIR Publications’ JMIR Bioinformatics and Biotechnology invites submissions on Bridging Data, AI, and Innovation to Transform Health

JMIR Publications
Business Announcement

JMIR Publications invites submissions to a new theme issue titled “Bridging Data, AI, and Innovation to Transform Health” in its open access journal JMIR Bioinformatics and Biotechnology.

Renowned developmental biologist wins March of Dimes Prize

Boston Children's Hospital
Grant and Award Announcement

Leading hematologist and stem cell scientist Dr. Leonard Zon has been awarded the 2026 March of Dimes Richard B Johnston Jr, MD Prize for his work in developmental biology. Dr. Zon's pioneering work has illuminated how blood develops in embryos, leading to a deeper understanding of rare blood diseases, including in pregnancy, and breakthrough treatments for genetic blood disorders affecting babies and children.

Existing drug unlocks immunotherapy potential against rare liver cancer

Cornell University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Immunotherapy – which activates the body’s own immune system to kill cancer cells – has not worked well against a rare and fatal liver cancer, but a new Cornell University study finds an existing FDA-approved drug may allow the immunotherapy to fight the cancer as intended, opening the door to a potential treatment.

Journal: Gastroenterology

Artificial intelligence predicts colorectal cancer risk in ulcerative colitis patients

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new AI tool developed by UC San Diego researchers uses clinical data to predict colorectal cancer risk in ulcerative colitis patients, helping clinicians make evidence‑based care decisions and preventing treatment delays.

Journal: Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Bioengineers discover new clues in early-onset colorectal cancer

University of Texas at Dallas
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study co-led by University of Texas at Dallas bioengineers identified a distinctive feature of tissues from young patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, a disease that typically affects older patients.

Researchers found that both cancerous and noncancerous colon tissue was mechanically stiffer in younger patients with respect to older patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The findings, published in the Jan. 30 print edition of Advanced Science, suggest that stiffness may create an environment that promotes the development of colorectal cancer in people under the age of 50. This work may offer new approaches for preventing and treating this disease — known as early-onset colorectal cancer — a condition that has been mysteriously rising over the past 30 years.

Journal: Advanced Science
Funder: Burroughs Wellcome Fund, American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons

New biomarker predicts chemotherapy response in triple-negative breast cancer

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

Patients with triple-negative breast cancer have different treatment responses

Computational tools that predict treatment response historically overlook gene expression changes relative to the tumor microenvironment

New computational approach outperformed current methods for predicting chemotherapy response in patients with triple-negative breast cancer

Biomarker also directs some patients to alternative therapy and highlights population-specific differences between Asian and European tumors

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Immunotherapy plus chemotherapy before surgery shows promise for pancreatic cancer

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

The findings, published in Nature Communications, show that while the combination did not produce a clear survival advantage for most patients, a notable subset experienced unusually deep and durable responses.

Journal: Nature Communications

Researchers drill down on genetic profiles to guide treatment for leukemia patients

Virginia Tech
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the most recent of a series of four studies featured in Bone Marrow Transplantation, researchers have found that a highly sensitive DNA-based test can help doctors predict which patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are most likely to relapse.

Journal: Bone Marrow Transplantation
Funder: Red Gates Foundation, Foundation of the NIH AML MRD Biomarkers Consortium