Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed an experimental immunotherapy that takes an unconventional approach to metastatic cancer: instead of going after cancer cells directly, it targets the cells that protect them. The study, published in the January 22 online issue of Cancer Cell, a Cell Press Journal [DOI 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.12.021], was conducted in aggressive preclinical models of metastatic ovarian and lung cancer. It points to a new strategy for treating advanced-stage solid tumors. In a strategy modeled after the famed Trojan horse, the treatment enters the tumors by targeting cells called macrophages that guard the cancer cells, disarms these protectors, and opens up the tumor’s gates for the immune system to enter and wipe out the cancer cells.

A Wits-led study published in the prestigious journal Nature has added whole-genome data from more than 1,000 people across nine African countries to global science, significantly expanding understanding of human genetic diversity. The research, led through the Assessing Genetic Diversity in Africa (AGenDA) project, is expected to uncover millions of novel genetic variants, improving how diseases such as cancer, mental illness, diabetes and heart disease are studied, predicted and treated.

By focusing on African populations historically underrepresented in genomic research, the project strengthens genome-wide association studies and provides a model for African-led data governance, ethical data sharing and community partnership. The findings will contribute to more accurate genetic research and precision medicine for African populations and beyond.