In a major stride toward tackling aggressive breast cancer, researchers from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed druglike molecules that degrade a previously “undruggable” cancer-driving protein. The target, HuR—an RNA-binding protein known for stabilizing oncogenic messages—has long eluded traditional therapies. Now, using next-generation strategies involving molecular glues and PROTACs, researchers have uncovered a promising route to disarm HuR and suppress tumor growth from the inside out.

Scientists at UC San Francisco and Gladstone Institutes have identified cancer drugs that promise to reverse the changes that occur in the brain during Alzheimer’s, potentially slowing or even reversing its symptoms. 

A new study raises concerns about a widely used shortcut in approving rectal cancer drugs, showing that the absence of detectable tumors after treatment—known as pathologic complete response (pCR)—does not reliably predict longer survival. The FDA-approved metric could be fast-tracking new rectal cancer drugs without evidence they help patients live longer. 

Cells and tissues surrounding a breast cancer tumor may hold critical information about how patients will respond to treatment. After looking for patterns in images of tissue and biopsy samples, a newly developed AI tool sorted breast cancer patients patients into seven groups. Some of the groups had better survival outcomes than others, suggesting there may be information in the microenvironments that oncologists could use for prognoses.