Daraxonrasib, an oral RAS inhibitor therapy, achieved durable responses in pretreated patients with RAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a Phase 1/2 trial led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

A newly funded study at the University of Oklahoma aims to increase prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening among Black men in Oklahoma, who die from prostate cancer at rates two to four times higher than other racial groups. An interactive app called Connect2Care may hold the key to early detection, which is crucial for improving survival.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) have developed an ER-targeted gold nanorod platform that combines anticancer drug delivery with photothermal therapy. Featuring the first reported integration of gold nanorods with cisplatin and indomethacin for ER-targeted cancer treatment, the platform triggered ER stress, autophagy and apoptosis, and reduced the viability of colon, cervical and breast cancer cells while showing negligible toxicity towards tested non-cancerous cells. The approach offers a promising direction for developing more precise cancer therapies, although further studies are needed for clinical translation.

KRAS inhibitors shrank existing NF1-related nerve tumors and prevented new tumors from forming in a mouse model that closely mirrors the human disease, according to new research led by experts at Cincinnati Children's.

Researchers have demonstrated a label-free imaging technique that can identify immune cell subtypes and detect early immune activation within blood samples by measuring the natural fluorescence of metabolic molecules inside cells. Using optical metabolic imaging, the team analyzed thousands of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors and showed that the method could distinguish activated from resting cells with 94% accuracy just two hours after stimulation, while also identifying monocytes and natural killer cells within mixed cell populations. The approach provides a nondestructive way to measure cellular metabolism at single-cell resolution, offering insights into immune-cell function and heterogeneity that are not captured by conventional surface-marker methods. The researchers say the technique could eventually support disease monitoring, drug development, and the production of cell therapies by providing rapid metabolic profiling of immune cells.

MUSC startup OncoBLAZE is developing a new imaging system that could help cancer researchers see experiments unfold in real time. Created by Hollings researcher Dieter Haemmerich, Ph.D., SphynxVision uses fluorescence imaging to track cancer cells, drugs and other biological processes under normal room lighting. Unlike conventional systems that require samples to be placed inside dark, closed chambers, its open design allows researchers to perform procedures while continuously capturing high-resolution images. The technology grew out of Haemmerich’s own need to track chemotherapy as it was delivered to tumors and could ultimately help scientists uncover biological changes that current imaging systems miss. OncoBLAZE is now preparing to place early versions of SphynxVision in research laboratories for testing ahead of a broader commercial launch.