Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a particularly aggressive form of blood cancer that usually progresses rapidly if swift and intensive treatment is not applied. Although the disease can often be contained by chemotherapy (remission), it returns in many patients. A permanent cure is often only possible with a stem cell transplant - provided that the leukemia can be sufficiently contained beforehand. A new Germany-wide study led by the Dresden University Medicine has shown that the combination of intensive chemotherapy and the substance venetoclax can significantly improve the success rate of treatment of aggressive acute leukemia. This has been confirmed by the results of RELAX, with remission in 75% of the cases compared to the past attempts yielding an only 40 percent remission rate. The study was published in the renowned journal The Lancet Haematology.

UCLA scientists have developed a next-generation CAR-T cell therapy that can overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, a protective shield that tumors use to weaken immune cells, block their attack and fuel tumor growth. 

Cambridge scientists have shown that when tumours first emerge, interactions with healthy cells in the underlying supportive tissue determine their ability to survive, grow, and progress to advanced stages of disease. The study, carried out in mice and further validated using human tissue, may explain why some tiny, newly-formed tumours disappear, while others manage to survive and eventually grow into cancer.

In a new study published in Science Signaling, University of Michigan researchers have shown that glucose levels sustain the increased STAT3 activation in colorectal cancer cells.

Their findings suggest that targeting glucose metabolism could inhibit STAT3, leading to novel therapeutic strategies.