https://medicalxpress.com/cancer-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Oncology A new study published in the journal npj Breast Cancer demonstrates that an artificial intelligence (AI) model offers more accurate predictions of recurrence risk in patients with early-stage breast cancer than the widely used 21-gene Recurrence Score. This research, conducted by a team from the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN) and Caris Life Sciences, specifically targets hormone receptor-positive (HR+) and HER2-negative disease, the most common subtype of breast cancer, which accounts for about half of all breast cancer cases in the United States. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-ai-powered-accurate-breast-cancer.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:20:10 EDT news708870361 A rare inherited mutation in the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) gene is associated with a 25-fold increased risk of lung cancer, according to a study by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and 23andMe Research Institute. The findings included de-identified, aggregated genetic data from more than 3.3 million 23andMe research-consented participants. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-rare-inherited-egfr-mutation-linked.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:00:29 EDT news708863161 Blood test trends alongside unexplained weight loss can improve triage for cancer testing, according to a study by Brian Nicholson and colleagues from the University of Oxford, UK, published Sept. 17 in the journal PLOS Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-blood-trends-patients-cancer.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:00:21 EDT news708797521 One of the biggest challenges in cancer immunotherapy may not be that immune cells are too weak, but that some tumors give them too little to see. New research from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists reveals how cancers carrying mutations in the p53 tumor-suppressor protein can hide those mutations from T cells and suggests a therapeutic countermeasure: Change what the cancer displays on its surface so the immune system can recognize the tumor. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-invisible-cancers-visible-route-cold.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:40:17 EDT news708870061 Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, according to a 2026 Cancer Research Institute report. Cancer biologists are keenly aware of this statistic, as it drives innovations that revolutionize cancer care—innovations like immunotherapy. Immunotherapy fights cancer using the body's own immune system, often by boosting the performance of specialized adaptive immune cells called T cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-cancer-biologists-cell-immunotherapy.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:00:01 EDT news708863641 As climate change drives more frequent and intense wildfires, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have published two large-scale studies showing that wildfire smoke may pose greater health risks than other sources of air pollution, with higher risks of hospitalization for cardiovascular and respiratory disease and poorer survival among patients with lung cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-wildfire-air-pollution.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:40:01 EDT news708860221 Women with a higher body mass index (BMI) in early adulthood may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer after menopause because of lasting changes in the structure of their breast tissue, according to researchers at The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-early-adult-bmi-postmenopausal-breast.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:20:12 EDT news708859861 Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and collaborators have identified candidate treatment targets and potential prognostic markers for high-grade glioma, an aggressive brain cancer, in children, adolescents and young adults. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-tumor-profiling-reveals-enzyme-candidate.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:00:15 EDT news708794762 Cancer is most dangerous not when it starts but when it spreads. Metastasis—the process by which cancer cells travel to and colonize distant organs—is responsible for the vast majority of cancer deaths. The problem is that by the time metastatic tumors show up on a scan, they've often already been growing quietly for some time. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-metastasis-tumor-derived-extracellular-vesicles.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:40:10 EDT news708852909 An existing anti-seizure drug slows the growth of a devastating group of childhood cancers, new Stanford Medicine-led research has shown. The tumors, called diffuse midline gliomas, strike the brain and spinal cord. They affect 300 to 400 U.S. children per year and have a five-year survival rate of about 1%. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-anti-seizure-drug-aggressive-childhood.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 05:00:03 EDT news708794221 Two patients receive the same immunotherapy for the same cancer. In one, the tumor retreats and stays gone for years. In the other, the treatment does nothing. Oncologists still have no reliable way to tell these patients apart before therapy begins. Why does immunotherapy succeed for some and fail for others? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-early-tumor-environment-immunotherapy-patients.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:20:07 EDT news708796141 Cytological tests are a common method of screening for cancer cells in stained cell samples. Using a microscope, pathologists examine cells collected from bodily fluids, looking for telltale signs of malignancy, like enlarged nuclei or abnormal cell shapes. Owing to their minimally invasive nature, these tests are widely used for early cancer screening and diagnosis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-machine-cancer-cells-based.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:40:07 EDT news708793561 Virtually all high-grade, aggressive gliomas in adults accumulate massive amounts of a metabolite called guanidinoacetate (GAA) that overstimulates nearby neurons and promotes tumor growth, according to new research from scientists at Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) published in Cell. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-metabolite-buildup-reveals-aggressive-brain.html Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:40:06 EDT news708790141 For generations, scientists have looked to the genetics inside immune cells for ways to improve how the body fights disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-method-explores-mitochondrial-trna-reshape.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:20:06 EDT news708702625 The biologic drug interferon-alpha can benefit patients with blood cancers called myeloproliferative neoplasms by forcing mutant blood stem cells to become shorter-lived white blood cells, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. Because the broad activity of interferon-alpha can induce significant side effects, developing more focused strategies based on these mechanistic findings could meet an important need in cancer therapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-cancer-drug-mutant-blood-stem.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 13:20:18 EDT news708692281 Targeting the gut microbiome with fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) may help cancer patients with immunotherapy-related colitis avoid the need for steroids and other immunosuppressive treatments, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-fecal-microbiota-transplantation-immunotherapy-colitis.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:40:05 EDT news708691801 When it comes to priorities in life, oxygen tops the list. Humans can go weeks without food and days without water. Take away the ability to breathe, however, and the clock starts ticking within minutes as the brain begins shutting down. But the life-giving gas does even more heavy lifting than you might think. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-experimental-cancer-vaccine-oxygen-cells.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 11:00:03 EDT news708687122 Scientists have long believed that large stretches of our genetic material, known as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), help regulate genes but do not produce proteins. A new study by Stav Zok and Professor Michal Linial from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggests that this picture is incomplete. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-hidden-proteins-coding-rna-clues.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 17:20:04 EDT news708621653 Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help physicians predict treatment and survival outcomes in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with immunotherapy, according to a new study published in Nature Medicine. The study reported findings from the I3LUNG project, a large international trial aimed at improving the treatment of metastatic NSCLC by developing AI-based predictive models that can help determine the best therapeutic approach for each individual. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-ai-tool-successfully-outcomes-immunotherapy.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:40:20 EDT news708618061 Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have demonstrated an innovative approach for targeted breast cancer therapy using pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs). The NUS team successfully reprogrammed tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), a corrupted class of immune cells that typically promote cancer growth, into an active anti-tumor state that attacks and destroys cancer cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-magnetic-pulses-reprogram-immune-cells.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:00:10 EDT news708617402