Medicine
Rewriting RAS: A New Targeted Option on the Horizon for Pancreatic Cancer
Metastatic pancreatic cancer remains one of the most treatment-refractory solid tumours in oncology. Despite multiple incremental refinements over the past decade, first-line therapy continues to rely on cytotoxic chemotherapy, most commonly FOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel, with limited change in…
Immunotherapy’s Hidden Burden: Rethinking Toxicity in the Era of Breakthroughs
Immunotherapy has redefined cancer care—offering survival where little once existed, and in some cases, the possibility of long-term remission. But as its use expands across tumor types and earlier lines of treatment, a more complex reality is coming into focus:…
“Between the Checkpoints of Life, Take the Immunobuddies with You” —Professor Ricky Dylan Frazer
The conversation starts with a small detail that quickly becomes memorable. There is no coffee. On a podcast built around conversations over coffee, Professor Ricky Dylan Frazer, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Velindre Cancer Centre, Deputy CEO of the Immuno-Oncology Clinical…
Charles Balch Treated Thousands of Patients. He Says That’s Not His Greatest Work.
If you try to list everything Charles Balch has done, you quickly realize the list does not help you understand the man. He has led some of the most important institutions in oncology. He has built systems that are now…
Cancer Vaccines: From Missed Promise to Second Chance
In oncology, some ideas arrive too early. For decades, cancer vaccines were one of them. The concept was elegant: train the immune system to recognise tumour cells, much like it recognises viruses, and allow it to eliminate disease with precision…
Nutrition in Cancer Care: Closing the Gap Between Awareness and Action
On 3 February 2025, on the eve of World Cancer Day, Cancer Patients Europe (CPE) hosted a high-level policy event at the European Parliament in Brussels, convened by MEP Michalis Hadjipantela (EPP, Cyprus). The occasion marked the official launch of…
Michael Gnant at the Crossroads of Oncology: Precision, Restraint, and the Courage to Challenge Orthodoxy
Sixteen years ago, Dr. Michael Gnant was portrayed in CancerWorld as a surgical oncologist unafraid to push boundaries in breast cancer care. Today, his perspective reflects not retreat but evolution. The boundary-pusher remains, but his focus has widened. His work…
The Day Immunotherapy Went Off-Patent
In oncology, some milestones arrive with applause. Others arrive quietly. This year, one of the most important cancer drugs of the modern era begins to lose its monopoly. Nivolumab, one of the first PD-1 inhibitors to reach patients, is set…
Sustainability, the Architecture of Equitable Cancer Innovation
In oncology today, innovation advances at a breathtaking pace, yet the capacity to deliver it to all who need it lags behind. Each new therapeutic frontier exposes the same paradox: the deeper our biological insight becomes, the wider the gulf…
Beyond the Checkpoint: What Comes After PD-1?
When the first signals of modern immunotherapy began to emerge a little over a decade ago, many of us realised that oncology was about to change forever. I still remember the sense of astonishment when we saw the first durable…