POSTECH Team Led by Professor Sanguk Kim Develops AI to Predict Immunotherapy Response by Accounting for the “Senescent Tumor Microenvironment”

 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers will present findings at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Madrid, Spain. The studies, including a lung cancer clinical trial featured in the Presidential Symposium, will be presented both in-person and online from October 23 to October 27. Additional studies with compelling results span multiple cancer types, including prostate, breast, and kidney.

A UTHealth Houston-led team has identified a promising new avenue to curb the growth and spread of tumors associated with hard-to-treat lung and other cancers.  

KRAS G12C inhibitors provide an important treatment option for patients with KRAS G12C-mutant lung cancer, but some tumors respond poorly from the outset. Alterations in KEAP1, a gene involved in cellular stress responses, are associated with reduced sensitivity to these drugs.

Some KRAS G12C-mutant lung cancers are resistant to KRAS G12C inhibitors from the outset. Loss of KEAP1 increases expression of pyruvate carboxylase (PC), allowing cancer cells to maintain metabolites required for growth during treatment. Genetic deletion of PC restored sensitivity to sotorasib and enhanced tumor suppression in mouse models.

Despite advances in early-stage lung cancer treatment, a significant number of patients experience disease recurrence after surgery or initial therapy. A novel study has now demonstrated that a blood test (liquid biopsy) can reliably detect lingering lung cancer traces even in the earliest clinical stages, long before a tumor is large enough to show up on a scan. This real-time genetic monitoring detailed in an article appearing in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, published by Elsevier, accurately predicts relapse risk, opening a critical window for timely, personalized therapeutic interventions.