cancer research

When Catharine Young talks about inequity, she isn’t referring to it in abstract terms. She grew up in South Africa at the end of apartheid, when systemic injustice was not just visible, it was part of daily life. That early…

It was 2018, and I was a fifth-year medical student at Yerevan State Medical University. Word spread that our new oncology professor was someone extraordinary: Gevorg Tamamyan - a Harvard-trained, Nature-published pioneer of pediatric oncology in Armenia and president of…

For decades, the fight against cancer has been waged through tireless human intellect, groundbreaking scientific discovery, and the unwavering compassion of clinicians. We have mapped genomes, developed targeted therapies, and celebrated incremental victories that have collectively extended and improved countless…

A new, innovative pipeline fusing genomics, proteomics and modelling in animals and chicken eggs is pinpointing new treatments for children with rare and relapsed cancers in Canada. Researchers in Canada have used fertilized chicken eggs to grow tumors from children…

The gut microbiota can transform cholesterol-derived bile acids into metabolites capable of blocking androgen receptors and strengthening anti-cancer immunity. The study, published in Cell, April 15, demonstrates how one of the microbiota-derived secondary bile acids is capable of suppressing tumour…

What does it take to change the odds in cancer care? Innovation? Yes. But also: persistence. Collaboration. The refusal to accept that some lives matter less because of where they’re born. In this issue of CancerWorld, we focus not just…

The presence of flagella, the propellers bacteria use to move, explains why immune checkpoint inhibitors do not work in patients with ovarian cancer. The study, published in Cancer Immunology Research, 11 February, suggests that immune cell recognition of bacterial flagella,…

CRISPR is a revolutionary gene-editing tool that allows scientists to cut DNA with extraordinary precision and make changes to the genome. The technology was a gift to cancer researchers, whose efforts to understand the roles played by different genes rely…

Calling all gamers ‒ you can do your bit for advancing cancer research by playing a video game. While this may sound like the ultimate excuse, Spanish investigators really have just launched a smartphone game ‒ the GENIGMA challenge ‒…

Some twenty years ago, I sailed with my two little sons Sander (aged 7) and Max (aged 5) on the Ijsselmeer, formerly a large inner sea in the centre of my country. We passed by a beautiful row of newly…