A select group of patients with early-stage breast cancer were able to omit surgery with no tumor progression after three years, according to results of a Phase 2 trial of ablative radiation therapy and endocrine therapy led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Analysis from one of the largest studies of its kind showed that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing provided new insights that could better guide treatment decisions compared to the current method of counting lesions for patients with early metastatic cancers, according to researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University found that the protein MYC, which is overactive in most human cancers, plays a direct role in fixing dangerous breaks in DNA. By helping cancer cells survive chemotherapy and other treatments that damage DNA, the protein may contribute to tumor resistance and poor patient outcomes.

An experimental drug developed from research at the Medical University of South Carolina is showing early promise for some patients with advanced prostate cancer whose disease no longer responds to standard hormone therapies. In a Phase 2 clinical trial, researchers tested opaganib in combination with existing treatments and found that a subset of patients experienced encouraging signs that the therapy may be slowing the disease, including drops in blood markers linked to prostate cancer and periods of disease stabilization. Researchers are now analyzing blood samples from patients in the trial to identify biomarkers that could help predict who is most likely to benefit from the treatment. The findings could help advance a more personalized approach to prostate cancer care while opening the door to future therapies targeting the same biological pathway.

A newly developed targeted radiopharmaceutical treatment can effectively slow tumor growth in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), according to new research published in the May issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. In preclinical models, the treatment achieved complete remission of the disease, highlighting its potential to transform care for this highly aggressive cancer.

Given the lack of efficient biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis, this study aimed to develop an HCC diagnostic strategy based on serum protein glycosylation signatures. We characterized differential N-glycosylation patterns of serum IgG to differentiate HCC from healthy controls and liver cirrhosis, and elucidated the molecular mechanisms driving aberrant Neu5Gc elevation in HCC to provide a theoretical basis for clinical application and differential diagnosis of HCC.

Researchers studying 5556 participants in a Chinese endoscopy-screened cohort found that genetic risk and lifestyle independently and jointly influenced upper gastrointestinal cancer risk. The study identified a potential new gastric cancer susceptibility locus at 6p12.1 from genome-wide association study and showed that adding polygenic risk scores to conventional risk models improved risk stratification. A healthy lifestyle reduced risk across genetic risk groups, with greater benefit among those at high genetic risk.