A new “wipe test” on firefighter gear has been likened to “turning on a blacklight in a dark room,” and may lead to important safety protocols to help firefighters reduce their risk of cancer. In the study, invisible cancer-linked PFAS chemicals were detected on every set of firefighter gear examined. The findings offer a practical tool to help firefighters reduce exposure to these “forever chemicals” which linger on gear long after a fire is out.

A new multi-state project, led in part by Marvella Ford, Ph.D., at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center and funded by Stand Up To Cancer, is testing an innovative patient-navigation model to increase lung cancer screening among Black adults in the Southeast – a group disproportionately affected by lung cancer and underrepresented in screening trials. Through partnerships with federally qualified health centers, clinic staff identify eligible patients and connect them with trained navigators who help them overcome barriers such as transportation, cost and difficulty completing electronic forms. Early results from the program, called the Southeastern Consortium for Lung Cancer Screening (SC3), show strong engagement: 170 Black adults have enrolled so far, all receiving personalized support to complete lung cancer screening. The researchers say the community-driven model could serve as a national blueprint for improving early cancer detection and reducing health disparities.

Immune cells called B cells make antibodies that fight off invading bacteria, viruses and other foreign substances. During their preparation for this battle, B cells transiently revert to a more flexible, or plastic, stem-cell-like state in the lymph nodes, according to a new preclinical study from Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The results could help explain how many lymphomas develop from mature B cells rather than from stem cells, as many other cancers do, and guide researchers in developing better treatments.

Using machine learning and a large volume of data on genes and existing drugs, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have identified a combination of statins and phenothiazines that is particularly promising in the treatment of the aggressive form of neuroblastoma. The results from experimental trials showed slowing of tumour growth and higher survival rates. 

Breast cancer relapse often begins long before it can be seen. 

Understanding how cells decide their fate is a central challenge in biology, complicated by the fact that single-cell RNA sequencing captures only static snapshots of highly complex and dynamic changes in cell state. In a recent study, researchers from Japan developed a computational method, called ddHodge, that can accurately reconstruct cell state dynamics, shedding light on how genes drive cell fate decisions. Their technique could be useful in developmental biology, regenerative medicine, and cancer research.

Dlc1 deletion affects cardiac differentiation in mouse embryonic stem cells by activating the canonical Wnt pathway

Cardiomyocyte differentiation is an important event during heart development that involves the specification of cardiac lineage cells differentiated from mesendoderm to cardiac mesoderm. This specification is spatio-temporally regulated by multiple genes and signaling pathways.

Previous studies have shown that deleted in liver cancer 1 (DLC1), a tumor-suppressor gene, is involved in embryonic development, and its knockdown leads to the malformation of multiple organs, including abnormalities in cardiovascular system development and early fatalities.