EurekAlert! Cancer Research

News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Jun-2026 08:16 ET (22-Jun-2026 12:16 GMT/UTC)

17-Mar-2026

MSU study demonstrates faster discovery of therapeutic drugs through AI

Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An MSU-led team found promising therapeutics for two diseases that currently lack effective treatment, demonstrating how gene-focused machine learning can accelerate drug discovery. Published in Cell, the research has broad implications for a new approach to discovering novel drugs for other diseases. The team has released the code and launched a web-based portal allowing other researchers to explore the capabilities of this approach.

Journal: Cell

17-Mar-2026

SMFM issues new clinical guidance for cancer diagnosis and treatment during pregnancy

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As the incidence of cancer among reproductive-age people continues to increase in the U.S., with approximately one out of every 1,000 pregnancies complicated by cancer, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) today issued its first evidence-based clinical guidance for diagnosing and treating cancer during pregnancy.

17-Mar-2026

New computational biology tool automates and standardizes genome sequencing analysis

Sanford Burnham Prebys
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a single experiment, scientists can decipher the entire genomes of many patient samples, animal models or cultured cells. To fully realize the potential to study biology at this unprecedented scale, researchers must be equipped to analyze the titanic troves of data generated by these new methods.

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and the University of California Los Angeles published findings March 17, 2026, in Cell Reports Methods discussing building and testing a new computational tool for tackling massive and complex sequencing datasets. The new resource, named metapipeline-DNA, may also make sequencing data analysis more standardized across different research labs.

Journal: Cell Reports Methods

17-Mar-2026

Terasaki Principal Investigator Dr. Aliesha O’Raw selected for 2026 ACS BrightEdge Entrepreneurs Program Cohort

Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation
Grant and Award Announcement

Los Angeles, CA — March 17, 2026 — The Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) is proud to announce that Principal Investigator Dr. Aliesha O’Raw, Co-Founder of OnVagus, has been selected for the 2026 American Cancer Society (ACS) BrightEdge Entrepreneurs (BEE) Program cohort. The BrightEdge Entrepreneurs Program is a competitive program for startups in the cancer diagnostic and therapeutic space, providing mentorship and entrepreneur training alongside early-stage investment support, including a $100,000 SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) backed by ACS’ BrightEdge Investment Fund.

Funder: American Cancer Society

17-Mar-2026

Researchers develop promising new therapy for most common form of bone cancer in children and young adults

Case Western Reserve University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Case Western Reserve University researchers have come up with a new approach that offers the possibility of a targeted treatment that harnesses the body's own immune system to fight osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer in children and young adults—potentially offering better outcomes with fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy.

Journal: BMC Medicine

17-Mar-2026

Understanding cancer through the lens of dynamic Spatial Hallmark Ecosystems

Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute propose a new view of cancer based on Spatial Hallmark Ecosystems and its evolution during cancer progression. This conceptual framework combines the latest spatial single cell technologies with classical genomics and proteomics, to move from a static cancer view towards a more complex, dynamic, phenotype-driven model able to inspire new therapeutical opportunities.

Journal: Trends in Cancer

17-Mar-2026

Engineered lipid nanoparticles reprogram immune metabolism for better mRNA vaccines

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Penn Engineers have redesigned the lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) used to deliver mRNA vaccines, showing that subtle changes in lipid chemistry can influence immune cell metabolism and reduce inflammation. The findings suggest that lipid nanoparticles can actively shape how immune cells respond, opening new avenues for vaccines and immunotherapies.

Journal: Nature Materials
Funder: American Cancer Society, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania

17-Mar-2026

Mitochondria identified as key player in a rare disease causing microcephaly

Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers use the Drosophila fly as a model for Mosaic Variegated Aneuploidy (MVA) syndrome.

Errors in chromosome division impair the viability of neural stem cells.

Restoring mitochondrial function makes it possible to restore brain size.

The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications

17-Mar-2026

Blocking lipid production in healthy lung cells can reduce lung metastasis

Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists from the VIB–KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, in collaboration with the Francis Crick Institute, have discovered how cancer cells can exploit healthy lung cells to support metastatic tumor growth in the lungs. In two complementary studies published in Nature Cell Biology and Cancer Discovery, they show that tumors use lipids produced by lung cells as signals, and that decreasing the lipid production of lung cells can decrease metastasis. The findings point to new therapeutic strategies that target lung cell lipid production, rather than cancer cells themselves, which may also help refine patient selection for ongoing clinical trials targeting this pathway.

Journal: Cancer Discovery
Funder: World Cancer Research Fund International, Stichting tegen Kanker, Cancer Research UK, FWO, German research Foundation, EMBO, Chinese Scholarship Council

16-Mar-2026

Phase 3 study: New therapy keeps gastrointestinal cancer care on course when low platelets are an obstacle

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A phase 3 trial in NEJM shows the drug romiplostim can help gastrointestinal cancer patients stay on schedule with chemotherapy despite low platelet counts. In the RECITE study, 84% of patients receiving the drug avoided dose delays or reductions, compared with 36% on placebo—suggesting a new way to prevent one of chemotherapy’s most common treatment disruptions.

Journal: New England Journal of Medicine