Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a biological feedback loop that helps explain why certain colorectal cancers—known as microsatellite instability (MSI) and deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors—respond better to immunotherapy. Using mouse models and patient tumor data, the team found that two genes, DR5 and Lig3, drive a cycle of tumor cell death and immune activation by promoting the release of extrachromosomal circular DNA, which amplifies the immune response. Tumors with higher DR5 and Lig3 activity were more likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, suggesting a potential pathway to improve treatment and better predict which patients will benefit from immunotherapy.

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals," during pregnancy and early life is associated with increased intestinal inflammation during childhood.

Public investment in liver transplants not only saves lives and substantially improves patients’ survival and quality of life, but also generates a positive long-term social and economic return. So demonstrates a pioneering study led by researchers from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the National Transplant Organization (ONT), and Vall d’Hebron University Hospital. More than four decades after the first liver transplant in Spain in 1984, this is the first study to perform a global assessment of the impact of these interventions, not only from the perspective of patients’ health, but also from the economic and social perspectives.

Being overweight and obesity may contribute to significantly more cancer cases than previously thought. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). Their analysis shows that when more accurate measures of body fat and methodological biases are considered, more than 10 percent of all cancer cases can be attributed to increased body weight—nearly twice as many as previous estimates suggested.

The sharp fall in EU nurses joining the NHS after the Brexit referendum may have contributed to more than 1,200 additional patient deaths each year in England, according to new research led by the University of Surrey in partnership with the University of Aberdeen, Harvard Business School and Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU).