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Metabolic enzyme PHGDH found to play a surprising role in breast cancer immunity

Macrophages are immune cells with a split personality: some fight tumors, while others help them grow. In breast cancer, most macrophages fall into the latter camp—dubbed M2-like—fueling tumor progression and dampening immune responses.

7 Jul 2025

Gut microbe emerges as a promising tool in the fight against COVID-19

Researchers found that Akkermansia muciniphila boosts lung-specific antiviral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in mice by modulating the gut–lung axis. This commensal gut bacterium shows promise as a potential biomarker and biotherapeutic candidate for COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.

25 Jun 2025

Targeting IGF2BP1 offers a new approach to cancer therapy

The RNA-binding protein IGF2BP1 has emerged as a key regulator of cancer hallmarks, influencing tumor proliferation, metastasis, immune evasion, and resistance to cell death.

20 Jun 2025

FDA approval of pembrolizumab marks major shift in head and neck cancer treatment

Pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with resectable locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1 [Combined Positive Score (CPS) ≥1] as determined by an FDA-approved test.

15 Jun 2025

Navigating the dual role of B cells in tumor immunity

B lymphocytes exhibit dual roles in tumorigenesis, acting as both allies and adversaries in the tumor microenvironment (TME).

3 Jun 2025

Myeloid cells shape tumor microenvironments and influence cancer progression

Recent advances in cancer research have underscored the critical role of myeloid cells in shaping tumor microenvironments (TME), influencing tumor progression, immune evasion, and therapeutic resistance.

3 Jun 2025

Avelumab and cetuximab combination shows promise in phase II skin cancer trial

A phase II clinical trial led by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology has met its primary endpoint, demonstrating that the combination of avelumab and cetuximab improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared to avelumab alone in patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC).

1 Jun 2025

Combination treatment extends progression-free survival in advanced skin cancer

In patients with an advanced type of skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), those who received the combination of the immunotherapy drug avelumab and targeted agent cetuximab had almost four times longer median progression-free survival compared to patients who received avelumab alone, according to the results of a phase 2 trial presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting and concurrently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

1 Jun 2025

TTF1 identified as key biomarker for advanced KRAS G12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a new biomarker, TTF-1, that was predictive of survival outcomes for patients with advanced KRAS G12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), following treatment with the KRAS targeted therapy sotorasib.

30 May 2025

Immunotherapy before and after surgery boost longer event-free survival in head and neck cancer

Patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer who received the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab before, during and after standard-of-care surgery had longer event-free survival without the cancer coming back and higher rates of substantial tumor shrinkage prior to surgery, according to the first interim analysis of a randomized, open-label phase 3 clinical trial led by investigators from Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

6 May 2025

Humanized antibody dismantles metabolic barrier as a potential cancer immunotherapy

A Ludwig Cancer Research study has identified a specific mode of fat uptake by immune cells within tumors that serves as a metabolic checkpoint against anti-cancer immune responses.

28 Apr 2025

Immune evasion found in early stages of HPV-related anogenital lesions

A new research paper was published in Oncotarget, Volume 16, on April 24, 2025, titled "PD-L1 and FOXP3 expression in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions of the anogenital region."

28 Apr 2025

Pre and post-surgical immunotherapy improves survival in head and neck cancer patients

27 Apr 2025

Molecular drivers and emerging treatments in anaplastic thyroid cancer

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC), a rare yet highly aggressive malignancy, continues to represent a major clinical challenge.

20 Apr 2025

Some lung cancer patients maintain long-term control after stopping immunotherapy

A subset of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who discontinued immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy due to immune-related adverse events (irAEs) continued to experience long-term disease control.

18 Apr 2025

Understanding the role of iron-dependent ferroptosis in immune suppression

Iron-dependent ferroptosis, a non-apoptotic cell death mechanism, is gaining attention for its role in immune suppression.

24 Mar 2025

Circadian rhythms play a crucial role of in regulating tumor progression

Circadian rhythms are endogenous time-keeping mechanisms that regulate physiological processes in response to external light-dark cycles.

21 Mar 2025

Cleveland Clinic study reveals insights on immune checkpoint inhibitors for colorectal cancer

A team of researchers from Cleveland Clinic Genomic Medicine share insights from an early set of 19,000 patients to receive immune checkpoint inhibitor treatments for colorectal cancer in the U.S.

20 Mar 2025

Combination immunotherapy improves treatment response for head and neck cancer

Researchers conducting a clinical trial of immunotherapy drugs for people with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) found that patients responded better to a combination of two immunotherapies than patients who received just one immunotherapy drug.

13 Mar 2025

Researchers discover race-associated molecular differences in pancreatic tumors

Researchers have discovered race-associated molecular differences in tumors that may impact the way patients with pancreatic cancer respond to immunotherapies.

12 Mar 2025