There has been a rapid increase in the global number of cancer cases and deaths between 1990 and 2023, despite advances in cancer treatment and efforts to tackle cancer risk factors over that same time period. Without urgent action and targeted funding, 30.5 million people are forecast to receive a new cancer diagnosis and 18.6 million are expected to die from cancer in 2050—with over half of new cases and two-thirds of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to a major new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study Cancer Collaborators, published in The Lancet. 

Women who don’t turn up for their first breast screening appointment face a 40% higher long term risk of dying from breast cancer, mainly due to delayed detection, finds a study published by The BMJ today.

Doctors should always address common cancer myths with patients because misinformation is so prevalent, new research says.

The study concludes the benefits of medical imaging outweigh the minimal risks. 

Without Antibodies and Without Amplification: Ultra-fast Identification of Whole Proteins Using a Technology Developed at the Technion

Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have developed a groundbreaking technology for the ultra-fast identification of whole proteins, enabling rapid and precise protein diagnostics without the need for antibodies or molecular amplification. The innovation, led by Prof. Amit Meller and Dr. Neeraj Soni from the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, represents a major step toward real-time proteome analysis and next-generation medical diagnostics.

Published in Nature Nanotechnology, the study introduces a nanopore-based platform that identifies proteins by reading their unique electrical “fingerprints” as they move through synthetic nanometer-scale pores. The system employs a “stick–slip” mechanism to control protein motion and uses machine learning algorithms to decode the resulting electrical signals, achieving identification speeds several orders of magnitude faster than existing methods.

The researchers demonstrated the approach using the amino acid cysteine, which is found in approximately 97% of human proteins—making the method broadly applicable across the human proteome. The technology, developed in collaboration with the University of Illinois and Rice University, holds promise for diverse clinical applications, including early cancer detection and personalized medicine through rapid blood-based protein analysis.

Supported by a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant under the Horizon 2020 program, this breakthrough provides a new foundation for developing point-of-care systems capable of near-instant protein diagnostics—advancing both biomedical research and patient care.

Researchers from Mass General Brigham and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have identified genetic modifications that can improve the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell treatment — an immunotherapy that uses modified patient T cells to target cancer. The study used CRISPR screening to pinpoint genes that influenced T cell function and survival in culture and in a preclinical model of multiple myeloma. Their results and technique, published in Nature, could lead to T cell-based immunotherapies for cancer.