The old model of cancer treatments consisted of administering nonspecific cytotoxic therapies to various cancer patients. Now, cancer treatment has evolved to include agents that target a patient's genome and immune system, resulting in better patient outcomes. This 'precision medicine' approach individualizes treatment depending on each patient's unique tumor. Researchers discovered that using precision medicine to select combination treatments that target more than one genomic alteration is ef...

​ Researchers at Princeton University report that E-selectin plays a crucial role in promoting bone metastasis through its initiation of mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET). During the process of metastasis, the disseminated tumor cells need to engage specific components of distant organs' stroma—supporting connective tissue and blood vessels—in order to survive and spread. But how does this happen? "A large majority of human cancers are carcinomas derived from epithelial cells," explained Y...

​ The most common form of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is highly difficult to treat, with a five-year survival rate of only 8%. There is one therapeutic target that has led to encouraging preclinical results: inhibition of oncogenic KRAS, a mutation that is present in over 90% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. However, in mouse models of this disease, genetic extinction of oncogenic Kras has resulted in recurrence that no longer relies on the Kras oncogene. For this re...

​ Microsatellite instability (MSI), characteristic variations in the length of tandem nucleotide repeats across the genome, has been seen in a wide variety of cancers, including colon cancer, gastric cancer, endometrium cancer, ovarian cancer, hepatobiliary tract cancer, urinary tract cancer, brain cancer, and skin cancers. Researchers' discovery of the important role played by Werner syndrome helicase (WRN) in MSI-high (MSI-H) tumors presents a new opportunity for the development of targeted th...

​ Molecular targeted therapies such as trastuzumab, which targets the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), significantly improve outcomes for patients with cancer. However, these medications—particularly trastuzumab—can also result in cardiovascular side effects. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a key mechanism underlying trastuzumab-induced cardiac dysfunction in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. In addition, they have found an exist...