Collaborators at WashU Medicine developed a tool to detect infections early among patients who have had breast reconstruction after cancer, potentially allowing for preemptive treatment that preserves implants, improves outcomes and reduces the emotional and financial burden on patients.

This novel study uncovers how a subtle chemical tweak transforms the naturally occurring phytotoxin into a powerful molecular glue, 12-deoxyfusicoccin (12-dFC), that locks 14-3-3 proteins onto the intrinsically disordered translational repressor GIGYF2 in human cells. Through integrated proteomic, biochemical, and functional analyses, the work reveals an AMPK-driven stress pathway that 12-dFC exploits to shut down protein synthesis, rewire metabolism, and halt cell proliferation, pointing to an unexpected and promising strategy for targeting cancer cells.

Renowned as first responders to threatening infections, neutrophils also happen to feature prominently in the microenvironment of tumors, where they and other immune cells play opposing and frequently mutable roles in promoting—or resisting—cancer progression.

Predicting tumour progression is one of the major challenges in oncology. Scientists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have discovered that neutrophils, a type of immune cell, undergo reprogramming when they come into contact with the tumour ecosystem and contribute to its progression. They then produce a molecule — the chemokine CCL3 — which promotes cancer growth rather than fighting it. This mechanism appears to be a major variable in tumour biology and could serve as an indicator of disease progression. These findings are published in the journal Cancer Cell.

BUFFALO, NY — February 5, 2026 — A new case report was published in Volume 12 of Oncoscience on December 23, 2025, titled “Silent toxicity: A rare case of 5-fluorouracil-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy.”

BrainIAC is an innovative AI foundation model developed by Mass General Brigham that was trained on nearly 49,000 brain MRI scans to identify key neurological health indicators, such as brain age and dementia risk, without the need for extensive labeled datasets. In a new study, it outperformed traditional task-specific models, demonstrating effectiveness in various clinical applications.

Liver cancer is one of the three deadliest cancers worldwide, and metabolic dysfunction-related cases have become increasingly common in recent years. A research team from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has identified a protein secreted by fat cells that promotes cancer growth and has successfully developed a novel antibody that neutralises this protein, marking a significant breakthrough in impeding the progression of liver cancer. The research findings have been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.