Peking University, Jan 13, 2026: A research team led by Professor Chen Peng from the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at Peking University has developed a novel cancer immunotherapy strategy that forces tumors to expose themselves to the immune system. The team reports the creation of a degradation-based cancer vaccine, termed iVAC (Intratumoural Vaccination Chimera), which penetrates tumor cells, dismantles their immune defenses, and converts them into active antigen-presenting units. Published in Nature, the study offers a new solution to the long-standing challenge of immune resistance in so-called “immune-cold” tumors.

Higher intake of food preservatives, widely used in industrially processed foods and beverages to extend shelf-life, is associated with a modestly increased risk of cancer, finds a study from France published by The BMJ today.

Two new studies published in Anaesthesia (the journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) analysing pain and other factors connected with day surgery in the UK show that around 1 in 8 patients having day-case surgery end up not going home and instead are admitted to hospital for various complications. Furthermore, one in 14 go on to develop chronic pain at the operative site after the procedure.

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed and evaluated MedEduChat, an electronic health record (EHR) that works with a large language model to provide accurate, patient-specific prostate cancer education.  

In patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiotherapy, applying radiation very close to the mouth can destroy some salivary glands and compromise saliva production, which is essential for controlling bacteria and disease

BATF2 is a new type of tumor suppressor that can be epigenetically silenced by high levels of glutamine in the tumor microenvironment

Glutamine silences BATF2 and leads to a weakened immune response

Blocking glutamine reverses these effects, increasing BATF2 expression and improving overall immunity

Researchers used a panel to assess the presence of circulating tumor DNA in plasma samples and detected changes in genes related to the development of adenocarcinoma that indicated both actionability by drugs and resistance to treatment.

A class of ultrasmall fluorescent core-shell silica nanoparticles developed at Cornell is showing an unexpected ability to rally the immune system against melanoma and dramatically improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy, according to a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Engineering researchers.