Breast cancer

Metastatic breast cancer is stubbornly resistant to current immunotherapies. But scientists have identified a dual-therapy attack to really fire up the immune system's cells, killing existing tumors and acting like a vaccine against future ones.

Researchers at UCLA have developed a small sponge that can be implanted next to a tumor to help the body fight it. In tests in mice, the devices induced remission, prevented growth and spread of cancers, and increased survival times.

By using machine learning and cutting-edge microscopes, scientists have uncovered what they believe to be a new form of communication between cancer cells they describe as a “type of electrical language" that could offer new ways to treat the disease.

A new paper in the journal JAMA Oncology has reported the results of a decade-long Phase 1 human trial testing an experimental breast cancer vaccine. The treatment was found to be "very safe" and a large Phase 2 trial is now underway testing efficacy.

A newly developed technology makes use of microbubbles and ultrasound to deliver immunotherapy drugs with great potency, significantly reducing primary and metastatic tumor growth in mouse models of breast cancer.

Researchers are beginning to see broad impacts of the pandemic on public health, as studies warn of increases in cancer deaths over the coming years as pandemic-related delays to diagnoses are seeing cases caught at significantly later stages.

New research from the University of Cambridge has provided strong evidence that mutations in two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, known to heighten breast cancer risk, can also be linked with increased risk of developing prostate, pancreatic and stomach cancers.

After two decades of preclinical research the first phase of human trials are set to begin testing a unique preventative breast cancer vaccine that is designed to target a protein commonly expressed by triple-negative breast cancers.

Scientists at Australia's La Trobe University have been developing a new microscope slide that presents cancer cells in color without the need for stains and dyes, and used it to detect breast cancer as part of an early trial.

New research has identified one of the ways cholesterol can enhance the ability of cancer cells to metastasize. The study focused particularly on breast cancer, shedding light on prior observational work linking statin use to higher survival rates.

A study is offering the most detailed investigation to date into the relationship between breast cancer survival and statins – common cholesterol-lowering drugs. The study saw a 58 percent greater survival rate in breast cancer patients taking statins.

Immunotherapy is a promising avenue for cancer treatment, but it has trouble against solid tumors without triggering major side effects. Now, researchers have developed a new form of the treatment that supercharges a different type of immune cell.