EurekAlert! Cancer Research - News Releases

News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-Jul-2025 06:11 ET (13-Jul-2025 10:11 GMT/UTC)

Pusan National University researchers develop self-protecting nanoparticles for effective treatment of colorectal cancer

Pusan National University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Systemic circulation of chemotherapy drugs leads to off-target side effects, premature drug loss, and limited therapeutic efficiency in colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment. Researchers have now developed a drug delivery strategy in which CRC cell-activated nanoconjugates (CTNCs) are enclosed inside a pH-sensitive alginate matrix. This matrix provides a shield against the acidic environment of the stomach and small intestine, ensuring selective drug delivery in the colorectum, thus facilitating precise local CRC therapy without off-target side effects.

Journal: Chemical Engineering Journal

Aston University collaboration to develop injectable paste which could treat bone cancer

Aston University
Grant and Award Announcement

Aston University is collaborating in research to develop an injectable paste which could treat bone cancer. The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital has secured a £110,000 grant from Orthopaedic Research UK to conduct the work. The project will see researchers at the hospital and the University use gallium-doped bioglass to produce a substance with anticancer and bone regenerative properties.

New tool reveals disruption of immune cells in blood is linked to cancer outcomes

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The immune systems of cancer patients are highly disrupted, with those who have a higher number of immune cells in their blood having a better survival rate, finds a new study that uses a pioneering technique developed by researchers at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute.

Journal: Nature Genetics
Funder: Cancer Research UK

Landmark review maps complex interactions between sex hormones and neurological health

Genomic Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a landmark review published in Brain Medicine, Professor Hyman M. Schipper maps out the complex interactions between reproductive hormones and neurological health. This comprehensive analysis examines how sex hormones influence various conditions including migraine, stroke, movement disorders, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. The review highlights emerging evidence on neurosteroid pathways and suggests potential therapeutic applications, while emphasizing the importance of considering hormonal factors in neurological care.

Journal: Brain Medicine
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research

New laparoscopic imaging technique accurately maps biological tissue for minimally invasive surgery

SPIE--International Society for Optics and Photonics
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new laparoscopic imaging system developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University combines stereo depth estimation and speckle-illumination spatial frequency domain imaging (si-SFDI) to provide accurate optical property maps of tissues during minimally invasive surgery. The compact two-camera laparoscope uses a fiber-coupled laser to generate high-contrast speckle patterns, enabling precise measurements of tissue absorption and scattering. Unlike previous methods that required multiple images, the new system achieves accurate results with just two images, enabling future real-time mapping. This breakthrough has the potential to improve surgical precision, particularly in distinguishing cancerous tissue and critical margins, offering a promising tool for enhanced surgical guidance in procedures like cancer resection.

Journal: Journal of Biomedical Optics

Pancreatic cancer: blocked nerves as a possible new treatment strategy

German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Pancreatic cancer is fueled by connections to the nervous system. This is reported by scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM)* in their current publication in Nature. The team discovered that the tumor specifically reprograms the neurons for its own benefit. In mice, blocking nerve function inhibited cancer growth and increased the sensitivity of tumor cells to certain chemotherapies and immunotherapies.

Journal: Nature

Moffitt study identifies immune response that may stop breast cancer from spreading

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new Moffitt Cancer Center study has identified a specific immune response that may prevent the spread of breast cancer cells within the body. Published in Cancer Immunology Research, the study shows that activating certain immune cells can stop dormant cancer cells from growing into new tumors.

Journal: Cancer Immunology Research
Funder: NIH/National Cancer Institute, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense

Uncovering inequalities in breast cancer immunotherapy access

University of Chicago Medical Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Chicago researchers analyzed data to identify trends that could shed light on why Black women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have worse survival rates. Since new immunotherapy treatments for metastatic and early-stage TNBC were approved in 2019 and 2021, Howard and Freeman also examined disparities in access to these new treatments. While they found that much of the inequality they observed between racial and ethnic groups could be explained by socioeconomic disparities, they also found that Black women with TNBC were less likely to receive immunotherapy treatment even when accounting for those factors.

Journal: JAMA

Tweaking cancer cell response to ultrasound treatment

Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Tweaking the spacing between binding domains on the ECM surrounding cancer cells can boost their killing via ultrasound treatment

Journal: Nano Letters

Researchers identify DNA changes, biological pathways associated with inherited cancer risk

Stanford Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Stanford Medicine researchers sifted through thousands of single nucleotide mutations in DNA to identify fewer than 400 that are functionally associated with inherited cancer risk.

Journal: Nature Genetics