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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.

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