Precise methods for shredding or repairing and replacing specific cancer-causing proteins in a malignant cell, developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, could have applications beyond cancer to a wide range of immunological diseases, members of the interdisciplinary research team say. The work was published recently in the Journal of the American Cancer Society.

A national clinical trial led by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology has found that abemaciclib, an oral cancer drug, may slow tumor growth in patients with aggressive meningiomas that have specific genetic mutations. This primary analysis of Alliance A071401 is published in Nature Medicine.

Research by veterinarian Cynthia M. Otto, Clara Wilson, and colleagues at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center shows that trained dogs can identify the odor of hemangiosarcoma, a devastating canine cancer, offering the hope of a better screening tool and more effective treatments. “If we can detect it early, maybe we could prevent it from spreading, because it’s the spread that’s really devastating,” says Otto.

New research from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) sheds new light on how the gut protects itself by sensing gut bacteria; finds a subtype of glioma-associated macrophages that appear to play a pivotal role in progression; and demonstrates that reduced surgery is an option for some thyroid cancer patients.

Researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) were recently awarded a $1.8 million, 3-year grant from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to study the implications of using a modified enhanced therapeutic version of melanoma differentiation associated gene-7/Interleukin-24, IL-24 ‘Superkine’ (IL-24S) delivered by immune (natural killer) cells to fight advanced prostate cancer.

This DoD Grant will allow the investigative teams of Drs. Paul B. Fisher and Swadesh K. Das to take the next step in IL-24S research, which has already shown remarkable efficacy when delivered by a therapeutic adenovirus against brain (glioblastoma) cancers, by delivery through enhanced engineered natural killer (NK) cells. IL-24S is a genetically engineered version of IL-24 that targets and kills cancer cells while sparing normal ones.

A new study led by MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researchers Aaron Hobbs, Ph.D., and Rachel Burge, Ph.D., sheds light on why pancreatic tumors with the KRAS G12R mutation behave less aggressively than those with more common KRAS mutations. Unlike typical KRAS-driven tumors, those fueled by G12R fail to activate key growth pathways in the same way and send weaker signals to the cell nucleus, slowing tumor growth. These tumors also create a gentler microenvironment, with less collagen and reduced cell movement, making them more responsive to treatment and less likely to spread. The findings reveal biological reasons why pancreatic cancer patients with G12R often have better outcomes and point to opportunities for more personalized treatment approaches.