Biology of Cancer - Cancer Currents Blog
Cancer biology research news, with context from experts at NCI and elsewhere. Topics include cancer metastasis, the tumor microenvironment, and new targets for cancer therapies.
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Male patients with metastatic melanoma don’t live as long as females, and their tumors are more likely to become resistant to commonly used treatments. A new study may help explain why: the androgen receptor.
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People with cancer who take immunotherapy drugs often develop skin side effects, including itching and painful rashes. New research in mice suggests these side effects may be caused by the immune system attacking new bacterial colonies on the skin.
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Two separate but complementary studies have identified a new way to classify meningioma, the most common type of brain tumor. The grouping system may help predict whether a patient’s tumor will grow back after treatment and identify new treatments.
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In a study in mice, researchers showed that BHB, a compound produced while eating a ketogenic diet, may slow or stop colorectal cancer from growing. More studies are needed, they warned, to see if BHB has similar effects in humans.
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Cancer often spreads to the lymph nodes, but it has never been clear why. A new study in mice suggests lymph node invasion helps the primary tumor spread, or metastasize, to other organs.
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Whether cells with cancer-related genetic changes will develop into tumors may partly depend on their location in the body, a new study finds. The study focused on a rare form of skin cancer, acral melanoma.
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Melanoma cells that travel to the brain produce their own amyloid beta, helping the cells survive and form metastases, a new study in mice shows. The Alzheimer’s-linked proteins appear to tamp down the brain’s immune response to the cancer cells.
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Researchers have found that mice that lack β2-spectrin protein in their livers are protected from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and the most common kind of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma.
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A specific form of the HLA gene, HLA-A*03, may make immune checkpoint inhibitors less effective for some people with cancer, according to an NCI-led study. If additional studies confirm the finding, it could help guide the use of these commonly used drugs.
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The success of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 could help accelerate research on using mRNA vaccine technology to treat cancer, including the development of personalized cancer vaccines.