In a discovery that could redefine the future of cancer immunotherapy, scientists from Celloram Inc., University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University have developed a novel cancer vaccine platform that transforms the impact of the largest immunological event in modern history – a synchronized mass immune memory generated through SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination – into a powerful ally against cancer.

Published today in Nature Communications, the study introduces PROTEXI, an innovative dendritic cell vaccine platform designed to harness pre-existing antiviral immune memory to amplify the body's natural ability to recognize and destroy tumors.

As cigarette smoking reaches historic lows in the United States, new research from MUSC Hollings Cancer Center shows that many younger adults are replacing cigarettes with noncombustible nicotine products, particularly e-cigarettes, rather than quitting tobacco altogether. An analysis of national survey data found that while overall tobacco use has remained relatively stable, combustible tobacco use has declined sharply, especially among adults ages 18 to 34. Researchers also developed a new population harm-reduction index suggesting this shift could substantially reduce future tobacco-related cancers if it continues. However, the study found that older adults who smoke are far less likely to switch away from combustible tobacco, highlighting an important opportunity for tobacco cessation and harm-reduction efforts.

The GOG Foundation, Inc. is proud to announce the enrollment of the first patient in GOG-3132/BEHOLD-Ovarian01 (NCT07286266), a global Phase 3 clinical trial titled A Randomized, Open-label, Multicenter, Phase 3 Study to Investigate Mocertatug Rezetecan Compared With Standard of Care in Participants with Platinum-resistant Ovarian Cancer. The study is sponsored by GSK and conducted in collaboration with The GOG Foundation, Inc.

Monica L. Baskin, Ph.D., will serve as the next director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center pending VCU Board of Visitors approval in September. She is also expected to be named the Lipman chair in oncology. Baskin is the first female director of Massey and the first Black woman to be named director of a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center. She will begin in the director’s role on August 3, 2026.

Baskin is the fifth director of Massey since its NCI designation in 1975. She oversees a comprehensive cancer center made up of 250 scientists and clinical investigators.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, welcomes Carolyn J. Anderson, an internationally recognized radiopharmaceutical researcher, as a UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair. In this role, Anderson will research the potential of ORNL-produced radioisotopes for cancer treatment and will translate new knowledge and discoveries into solutions, often in collaboration with colleagues at the UT Health Science Center.

Enrico M. Novelli, MD, MS, has been named Director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Program in Sickle Cell Disease and a Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology. An internationally recognized expert in sickle cell disease, he will treat patients at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) and serve as Chief of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) Sickle Cell Disease and Classical Hematology Network, a new initiative to expand access to care for patients with sickle cell disease across Maryland. 

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a devastating and highly malignant primary brain tumor, characterized by its aggressive growth and resistance to standard chemotherapies like temozolomide (TMZ). While combination therapies are continuously investigated, acquired chemoresistance remains a massive clinical hurdle that drives rapid tumor recurrence. Finding effective pharmacological interventions to counteract this resistance and halt tumor progression is a critical scientific focus.