Yizeng Li, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Counterintuitively, cells move faster in thicker fluids. New research on breast cancer cells explains why, and reveals the role that fluid viscosity plays in metastasis.
Gregory Allen, University of California, San Francisco
Immunotherapy has the potential to eliminate tumors, but works best for select patients. Engineering T cells to bypass cancer’s defenses could help expand treatment eligibility to more patients.
One enzyme plays a key role in how tumor cells replicate and divide indefinitely. Identifying the genes that give these cells their immortality could provide new drug targets to treat cancer.
Multicancer early detection tests are among the priorities of the Biden administration’s Cancer Moonshot. The tests show promise, but questions remain about when and how to use them.
Violet Kieu, The University of Melbourne and Kate Stern, The University of Melbourne
Both cancer and cancer treatment can impact someone’s ability to have biological children. It’s important to discuss fertility right after cancer diagnosis.
October is awash in seas of pink T-shirts, balloons and ribbons in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But this messaging fails to recognize people who are not cured of the disease.
The miracles of modern medicine can be life-saving. Yet as Tim Baker writes, cancer patients yearn for a little empathy from their doctors, as well as scripts.
Patients with blood cancer undergoing stem cell transplantation have a high risk of complications. The bacteria in their gut, however, can help their immune system recover and fight infections.
Early detection of breast cancer is critical to improving chances of survival. But racial and ethnic minority patients systematically have delayed diagnoses that reduce the benefits of screening.
Aslan Mansurov, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
One promising cancer treatment has been in the works for decades, but severe side effects have kept it out of the clinic. A reengineered version may offer a way to safely harness its potent effects.
Tumors contain thousands of genetic changes, but only a few are actually cancer-causing. A quicker way to identify these driver mutations could lead to more targeted cancer treatments.
The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines put nanomedicine in the spotlight as a potential way to treat diseases like cancer and HIV. While the field isn’t there yet, better design could help fulfill its promise.
Applying the principles of ecology and evolution could help oncologists anticipate cancer drug resistance and optimize their treatment plans for patients.
A diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer means having cancer for the rest of one’s life – a situation with very different needs and concerns compared to earlier stages of the disease.