Researchers from Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered potential new drugs that target mitochondria in cancer cells. Their study in the journal Leukemia describes the compounds’ potential for killing leukemia cells when administered by themselves or in combination with other chemotherapies.

Senescent cells — those that have lost the ability to divide — accumulate with age and are key drivers of age-related diseases, such as cancer, dementia and cardiovascular disease. In a new study, a team led by University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center researchers has uncovered a mechanism by which senescent, or “zombie,” cells develop.

Opioids are a cornerstone of cancer pain management, but there is a lack of consensus on how to treat pain in cancer patients who also have struggled with opioid use disorder or prescription opioid misuse. In a study published today in JAMA Oncology, researchers outline guidance for treating such patients and highlight obstacles and opportunities for better integration of addiction treatment in cancer care.

- Scientists at IRB Barcelona led by Dr. Eduard Batlle have identified a cell population responsible for the recurrence of colorectal cancer after chemotherapy. - The researchers have discovered the mechanism through which a small number of tumour cells resistant to chemotherapy adopt a state of lethargy or inactivity to then regenerate the tumour sometime later. - The identification of this cell population and the gene Mex3a—responsible for its behaviour — paves the way for the development of pharmaceuticals to neutralize these cells and by doing so improve the efficacy of chemotherapy. - The study has been published in the scientific journal Nature Cancer.

Researchers from the Melbourne medical research institute, WEHI, have discovered cancer and immune cells rely on the same energy sources from our body to thrive, which could trigger a fundamental rethink of treatment options for some lung cancer patients.

Mass-spectrometry based proteomics is the big-data science of proteins that allows the monitoring of the abundance of thousands of proteins in a sample at once. Therefore, it is a particularly well-suited readout for discovering which proteins are targeted by any small molecule. An international research team has investigated this using chemical proteomics.

Researchers have gained ground in understanding unique immune cells equipped to remember the identities of malicious invaders. The researchers developed a new atlas that describes tissue-resident memory T cells in diverse tissue settings, boosting the prospects of the development of immune defense strategies to enhance immunity at sites vulnerable to infection.