Oncology & Cancer

Accurate removal of tumors is the most critical aspect of cancer surgery, yet it remains a significant challenge in clinical practice. In breast cancer, for example, the positive margin rate—where cancer cells remain at the surgical boundary—can reach up to 35%, often requiring reoperation and increasing the risk of recurrence.

As far back as the 4th Century B.C., Aristotle marveled at the nimble gecko’s ability to “run up and down a tree in any way, even with the head downwards.”

Tracking race-specific rates of cancer incidence and mortality is important for identifying racial differences in these outcomes and for monitoring efforts aimed at achieving the highest level of health for all.

Modern methods of radiotherapy would fight cancer more effectively and safely if treatments could be planned, taking into account the radiation quality of the therapeutic proton beams. An achievement by physicists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow brings us closer to this goal. The research is published in the journal Physics in Medicine & Biology.

Stevia may provide more benefits than as a zero-calorie sugar substitute. When fermented with bacteria isolated from banana leaves, stevia extract kills off pancreatic cancer cells but doesn’t harm healthy kidney cells, according to a research team at Hiroshima University.

A group led by the Department of Neurosurgery at the Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, has successfully treated a patient with a brainstem glioma harboring a rare IDH2 mutation. The case report was published online in the journal Frontiers in Oncology.

Cells and tissues surrounding a breast cancer tumor may hold critical information about how patients will respond to treatment, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins University.

Researchers from Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich have developed a novel method to track cancer treatment responses in individual cells—without the need for dyes or labels.

The Trump administration’s broadsides against scientific research have caused unprecedented upheaval at the National Cancer Institute, the storied federal government research hub that has spearheaded advances against the disease for decades.

Researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have identified a signaling loop involved in the growth and persistence of leukemia cells—and developed a novel immunotherapy that can disrupt that loop to boost immune function and improve survival. The findings, published in Nature Communications, offer new hope for treating and preventing cancer.