Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
Español
NIH Websites Are Changing
Per Executive Order 14434, federal agencies are now using "Super Intelligence" (SI) in place of "Artificial Intelligence" (AI). You may see both terms across NIH content during this transition.

Email

Cancer Currents: An NCI Cancer Research Blog

A blog featuring news and research updates from the National Cancer Institute.

An illustrated banner to represent NCI's Cancer Currents research news blog. The design features interconnected scenes: a patient receiving care, a researcher in a lab, a tumor model, a laptop and mobile device displaying research articles, fitness activity, a clinical setting, and a researcher giving a scientific presentation. The background showcases rolling hills and abstract buildings.
  • Illustration with T cells transferring mitochondria to cancer cells. The T cells, depicted in blue, contain mitochondria, shown as small pink shapes. A connection is shown between a T cell and a cancer cell, facilitating the transfer of mitochondria. Two cancer cells are depicted in pink, labeled as "Mitochondrial Receiver Cancer Cell" and "Cancer Cell."
    • By Sharon Reynolds

    A new study shows that, in some tumors, a subset of cancer cells can drain mitochondria, the tiny structures within cells that produce energy, from T cells and use them for their own energy needs.

  • A conceptual imaging scan of a chest with the esophagus and stomach highlighted in red
    • By Carmen Phillips

    FDA has changed its 2021 approval of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) along with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and chemotherapy for treating HER2-positive stomach or GEJ cancer. The agency also announced a new approval of pembrolizumab for HER2-negative forms of these same cancers.

  • An illustration showing selpercatinib, cabozantinib, and vandetinib blocking surface proteins.
    • By Edward Winstead

    For people with lung cancer and medullary thyroid cancer whose tumors have changes in the RET gene, selpercatinib improved progression-free survival compared with other common treatments, according to new clinical trial results.

  • A tumor with multicolored cells on the left surrounded by gray immune cells. On the right, a tumor with nearly all yellow cells, surrounded by green immune cells.
    • By Nadia Jaber

    A new study, conducted largely in mice, may help explain why a currently used molecular marker—called mismatch repair deficiency—doesn’t always work to predict which patients will respond to immunotherapies called immune checkpoint inhibitors.

  • Test tubes with shiny stretches of DNA inside
    • By Edward Winstead

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time has granted marketing authorization for a blood test, the Invitae Common Hereditary Cancers Panel. The test detects inherited genetic changes that increase the risk of developing certain cancers.

  • A daughter sits next to her mother, who's in a wheelchair
    • By Sharon Reynolds

    In a survey of more than 100 US community cancer clinics, only 16% routinely screened informal caregivers of their patients for distress. In contrast, more than 90% regularly screened patients for distress and provided referrals to supportive care services.

  • An illustration showing multiple radiation beams targeting a tumor in a kidney.
    • By Carmen Phillips

    Stereotactic body radiotherapy was effective in people with localized kidney cancer who weren’t able to have surgery to remove their tumor, a clinical trial has shown. No patients had their cancer start growing or died from cancer over the next 5 years.

  • A CT scan showing a metastatic tumor embedded in a spinal vertabrae
    • By Linda Wang

    Treatment with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) shrank tumors in about 40% of people with alveolar soft part sarcoma, including one complete response, new clinical trial findings show. Some people were later able to stop treatment without the cancer returning.

  • A picture of Adan Reinosa in his garage with a piece of a car engine.
    • By Edward Winstead

    The ENLACE study is the first to use cutting-edge technologies to describe the molecular features of colorectal tumors in Hispanic and Latino people. The study’s goals are to improve treatments and increase Hispanic/Latino engagement in cancer research.

  • Illustration depicting the interaction between a modified oncolytic virus, tumor cells, and cancer-fighting T cells. The virus causes tumor cell rupture and releases TGFβ blockers, which inhibit Treg cells, thereby enhancing the efficacy of T cells in fighting cancer.
    • By Shana Spindler

    A cancer-infecting virus engineered to tamp down a tumor’s ability to suppress the immune system shrank tumors in mice, a new study shows. The modified oncolytic virus worked even better when used along with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

< Older Posts Newer Posts >
Email