Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a rare form of cancer with no signs or symptoms in the early stages. In the U.S., approximately 2,000 people die annually from this condition, with only 20% diagnosed at an early stage. Surgery remains the most effective treatment. Although minimally invasive approaches—laparoscopic and robotic are increasingly used in gastrointestinal oncology, their use in GBC is limited and comparing robotic surgery to laparoscopic and conventional surgery approaches remains limited and controversial.

In a new review in the journal Surgical Oncology Clinics, BU researchers show that minimally invasive surgery—especially robotic surgery—can be a safe way to treat selected patients with gallbladder cancer. In the studies reviewed, robotic approaches often had less blood loss, shorter hospital stays, and sometimes removed more lymph nodes, while long‑term cancer outcomes resembled those for open surgery in appropriately chosen patients.

Scientists have found the strongest evidence to date that a condition known as Barrett’s oesophagus is the starting point for all cases of oesophageal adenocarcinoma – the most common type of oesophageal cancer in the developed world – even when telltale signs of this pre-cancerous stage are no longer visible.

Results of a global, multicentre, phase III clinical trial indicate that datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) is effective in improving survival for untreated, advanced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)

Babies who are exclusively breastfed for at least three months carry markers in their blood that differ from babies who are not breastfed.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing a petition to revoke the approval of Roche’s top-selling drug ocrelizumab (Ocrevus) for treating primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) - a form of MS thought to affect around 15% of patients. The petition alleges that the drug was approved despite internal concerns about a lack of effectiveness in women and a potential increased risk of breast cancer. An investigation published by The BMJ today explores details of the drug’s approval and questions whether ocrelizumab could be doing more harm than good in women with this condition.