Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have identified a molecular switch that helps determine whether cancer cells remain soft and difficult to destroy or become stiff enough for the immune system to attack.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective treatment for some skin cancers, but its success is limited by how deeply both drugs and activating light can penetrate tissue. Researchers have shown that dissolving microneedles, already known for improving drug delivery through the skin, may also enhance the distribution of light during PDT. Using biodegradable, pyramid-shaped microneedle arrays, the team demonstrated that the structures scatter and redirect light, creating a more uniform illumination pattern than conventional surface exposure. Optical measurements revealed that the microneedles act as multidirectional light emitters, potentially helping light reach a larger volume of tissue. Because the devices can also deliver photosensitizing drugs directly into tumors, they offer a dual-function platform that combines drug administration and light guidance in a single minimally invasive system. The findings suggest that dissolving microneedles could help overcome two major obstacles in photodynamic therapy, improving treatment of skin cancer and other dermatological diseases.

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators have developed a new AI-based method to assess patients with a form of blood cancer called myelodysplastic neoplasms. The method, published June 30 in Leukemia, compares the physical locations and morphometric (size and shape) characteristics of every hematopoietic cell in the patient’s bone marrow sample with those in healthy bone marrow, to generate a score that reflects disease severity.

Several types of cancer are triggered by mutations in a protein called BRAF. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have resolved a previously unknown conformation adopted by this protein during cell proliferation. Their study, which has now been published in the journal Molecular Cell, opens new avenues for cancer treatment.

Significant advances have been made in the development of patient-derived tumor “organoids” for preclinical research, in two new studies led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The advances represent progress in precision medicine and point to the more routine use of tumor organoids as models for evaluating and optimizing cancer treatments.

Rather than viewing preclinical exercise research mainly as evidence supporting exercise prescriptions, this articla propose a broader framework: exercise oncology should serve as a discovery engine for identifying anti-tumor mechanisms that can be translated into therapies independent of exercise itself. By uncovering the molecular pathways activated during physical activity, researchers may be able to develop new pharmacological strategies capable of benefiting patients who cannot exercise because of frailty, cachexia, treatment-related toxicities, or other co-morbidities.