Research findings from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami will be presented at ASTRO 2025 – the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s annual meeting Sept. 27 – Oct. 1 in San Francisco.

A new molecular switch, created through protein design, may be a potential way to control when drugs are active or inactive in the body. Researchers hope this approach is a starting point for further developments to reduce side effects from cancer drugs or antibody therapies. This type of designed molecular switch has already been shown to increase the speed of a COVID test. The scientists have also created a switchable version of interleukin-2 in a effort to manage the side effects of this potentially powerful cancer drug. 

A cutting-edge bronchoscope that is guided with the help of a robot can reach very small tumours growing in hard-to-reach parts of the lung, according to results of a gold-standard randomised-controlled trial that will be presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The robot-assisted bronchoscope also uses a specialised CT scanner to find tumours buried in the lungs, enabling doctors to take a biopsy and confirm whether they are cancerous. Being able to find and test these very early cancers gives patients the highest chances of being cured.

Recent advances in radiation oncology have led to shorter treatment times, increased early disease detection, and artificial intelligence applications that continue to improve cancer care. Ahead of this week's 2025 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center shared updates on expected key trends.