Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital in Sweden have determined how children’s immune systems react to different kinds of cancer depending on their age. The study, which is published in the journal Cell, reveals significant differences between the immune response of children and adults, and has the potential to lead to new tailored treatments for children with cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy characterized by distinct histological subtypes and a poor prognosis. Among these, the micropapillary pattern, typically observed focally, has been associated with worse outcomes in various cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of the micropapillary pattern in PDAC, focusing on its percentage within the tumor and its impact on overall survival.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and analysis of large datasets have helped University of Birmingham researchers to discover proteins that have strong predictive potential for colorectal cancer, as described in a paper published in Frontiers in Oncology 

Glycolysis is an important sugar degradation pathway that cancer cells in particular depend on. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now shown that liver cancer cells in mice and humans depend on a key enzyme of glycolysis, Aldolase A. When it is switched off, glycolysis reverses from an energy-producing to an energy-consuming process. This leads to a massive energy deficiency from which the cell cannot escape by switching to other metabolic pathways, and ultimately to slowed tumor growth in mice.

Prostate cancer is rapidly emerging as a significant health challenge in China, with the incidence rate steadily rising.

Researchers led by François Fuks - Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, ULB Faculty of Medicine, ULB-Cancer Research Center and Jules Bordet Institute, H.U.B. - have discovered a new mechanism which enables precise gene regulation by combining DNA and RNA epigenetics. Published in the journal Cell, their discovery opens up new perspectives in biology and could revolutionise future cancer treatments through personalised therapies.

Current first-line treatment for advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma includes anti-PD1 or anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy in combination with a CTLA-4 inhibitor or a VEGF tyrosine kinase inhibitor such as cabozantanib. These options have improved outcomes in patients; however not all patients respond, and some responses do not last. This study’s results suggest that further investigation of this novel combination as first-line therapy option is warranted.