Cancer

Researchers have homed in on new compounds that are effective at killing leukemia. The drug candidates shut down faulty mitochondria in the cancerous cells, and were found to be far more effective when paired with existing chemotherapy drugs.

In a new study, researchers have accidentally discovered that an existing cancer drug shows promise in slowing the progress of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, by changing the type of muscle fibers to be more resilient.

A new report has estimated more than 10 percent of all cancer cases in Europe are likely caused by environmental and occupational exposure to pollution. The report indicates most of these cases could be prevented by improving environmental protections.

Scientists have developed a new light-activated “photoimmunotherapy” that could help treat brain cancer. The key is a compound that glows under light to guide surgeons to the tumor, while near-infrared light activates a cancer-killing mechanism.

Researchers have found that adding a booster protein can significantly improve the outcome of cancer immunotherapy. Tests in mice showed the protein produced 10,000 times more cancer-targeting immune cells, with all mice surviving the experiment.

Researchers at EPFL have found that an existing drug used to treat cancer, among other things, also seems to improve memory. Intriguingly, tests in mice show that the drug works by switching on genes associated with brain plasticity.

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.

The blood-brain barrier keeps your brain safe from toxins, but frustratingly it also keeps important drugs out. MIT researchers have now demonstrated an accurate new model of how this barrier works, which should enable new brain cancer treatments.

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have identified two new subtypes of prostate cancer. These new forms of the disease are resistant to usual treatments, but categorizing and studying them could lead to new therapies.

A 25-year search for another source of a promising anti-cancer chemical produced by a rare coral species has now started to bear fruit, with the discovery other readily available corals produce the chemical in abundance.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer thanks to its ability to rapidly spread to other organs. Brazilian researchers have now developed a peptide that seems to slow the growth and spread of melanoma, improving the survival rates of test mice.

Scientists adapting stem cell therapies for difficult-to-treat tumors have developed a highly efficient off-the-shelf approach that showed "profound efficacy" in mouse models of aggressive brain cancer, laying the groundwork for clinical trials.