Personalised cancer medicine: New insights into the benefits and risks of therapies
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-Dec-2025 03:11 ET (12-Dec-2025 08:11 GMT/UTC)
In a translational study led by the University of Leipzig Medical Center and the Fraunhofer IZI, researchers have examined how two innovative CAR T-cell therapies targeting the B-cell maturation antigen perform in patients with hard-to-treat multiple myeloma. Their aim was to determine which molecular mechanisms influence the therapeutic success of such living, cell-based therapies in this blood cancer. The findings have been published in the renowned journal Cancer Cell. The Leipzig research team led by Professor Maximilian Merz and Dr Kristin Reiche has now secured a further two million euros in funding for a new project to advance the development of next-generation immunotherapies for multiple myeloma.
Patients with stage 1 or 2, hormone receptor (HR)-negative breast cancer had similar five-year rates of locoregional recurrence whether or not they underwent preoperative breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in addition to diagnostic mammography to determine the extent of their cancer, according to results from the phase III Alliance A011104/ACRIN 6694 clinical trial presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), held December 9-12, 2025.
Researchers from Okayama University and Tohoku University have discovered that targeting collagen signaling through the discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) enhances drug delivery and reverses therapy-induced resistance in pancreatic cancer. Their study shows that DDR1 inhibition improves macromolecular drug penetration and mitigates fibrosis triggered by MEK inhibitors, offering new hope for more effective treatment strategies.
A retrospective observational study found that valvular heart disease, detected by cardiovascular imaging, was common in patients with a previous cancer diagnosis. Interventions to treat valvular heart disease were infrequent; however, when performed, they significantly improved survival. These findings highlight the need to refer cancer patients for regular cardiovascular monitoring and also provide reassurance that interventions may be beneficial.
Daily scans taken during prostate cancer radiotherapy could be repurposed to guide changes to treatment, reducing the risk of side effects, a study suggests.
-KAIST and UNIST Researchers Develop Shape-Morphing Device to Overcome Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment Barriers
Conventional pancreatic cancer treatments face a critical hurdle due to the dense tumor microenvironment (TME). This biological barrier surrounds the tumor, severely limiting the infiltration of chemotherapy agents and immune cells. While photodynamic therapy (PDT) offers a promising alternative, existing external light sources, such as lasers, fail to penetrate deep tissues effectively and pose risks of thermal damage and inflammation to healthy organs