Researchers have created a new type of drug molecule that can precisely destroy TERRA, an RNA molecule that helps certain cancer cells survive. Using advanced “RIBOTAC” technology, their compound finds TERRA inside cells and breaks it down without harming healthy molecules. This discovery could pave the way for a new generation of RNA-based cancer treatments, targeting the disease at its genetic roots rather than just its symptoms.

Survival rates for children with multi-metastatic Ewing’s sarcoma — a kind of bone cancer which has spread to multiple parts of the body — are ‘dismal’, scientists say. The five-year survival rate for children with this cancer is very low — some studies suggest less than a quarter reach this milestone. But a small non-randomized retrospective study of a drug called pazopanib has shown that it increases children’s survival without major side-effects. 85% of patients taking the drug survived for two years after diagnosis, and two-thirds reached the end of the second year without their cancer progressing. Researchers urge the development of larger-scale trials to investigate further.