Medicine
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…
Cancer Neuroscience: How Neurons Fuel Tumor Growth, and What it Means for Therapy
In May 2025, neuroscientist Frank Winkler, together with neurooncologist Michelle Monje, received the Brain Prize for pioneering Cancer Neuroscience, a discipline that explores how neurons actively contribute to tumor growth. How are nerve and tumor cells interacting, and how could…
Common Diabetes Medication Could Protect Heart Health During Cancer Treatment
Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, a common type of diabetes medication, may protect the heart during and after cancer treatment. The systematic review and meta-analysis, published in European Journal of Preventive Cardiology on 6 March, shows that SGLT2 inhibitors halve…
Could this dual approach be the frontier that finally gets immunotherapy to work for MSS colorectal cancer?
It is often said in medicine that the only true constant in facing life-threatening diseases is change. Nowhere is this more evident than in oncology, where advances in chemotherapy, targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and other novel agents continue to spark hope.…