cancer treatment

A new study shows how loss of parts of the Y chromosome, a common age-related change in men's cells, can promote cancer growth. Researchers report the missing pieces help tumours evade immune defences, offering a possible explanation for why some cancers in men are more aggressive and opening paths to new treatments.

Researchers led by Dr. Jona Kayser at MPZPM report that physical processes within dense cell populations strongly influence the optimal timing of treatment cycles in cancer and antibiotic therapy. Treatment resistance is a central obstacle in both fields, and the findings suggest that scheduling therapies around these dynamics could improve outcomes. The work, associated with the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, points to a greater role for biophysics in designing treatment schedules.

Volunteers and advocates with the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network visited Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress, urging support for cancer research funding and patient-focused legislation. The advocacy day brings grassroots concerns about prevention, treatment access, and federal research investment directly to lawmakers, and is part of the organization's ongoing effort to keep cancer policy on the national legislative agenda.

Biotech company Vyriad has begun the first-in-human clinical trial of VV169, an in vivo CAR T therapy that engineers immune cells inside the patient's body rather than in a lab. The early-stage trial marks a first step in testing the safety of the experimental cancer treatment in people, an approach watched closely as it could simplify a cell therapy process that is currently complex and costly.

Researchers describe a 'proliferative pause' — a period when cancer cells spreading to the brain stop dividing before reactivating — and suggest this dormant phase could be a critical treatment window to stop brain metastases before they take hold. Targeting cells during this pause may prevent lethal secondary brain tumours in cancers prone to spreading there.

Researchers report that biological features of prostate tumours can help determine which patients are most likely to benefit from hormone therapy. By profiling tumour biology, doctors may be able to better target treatment and avoid giving hormone therapy to those unlikely to respond, a step toward more personalised prostate cancer care.