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Researchers report that cancer cells don't just passively resist immune detection—they actively alter the tissue around them to create a protective microenvironment. This process helps shield tumours from being recognized and destroyed by the body's immune defenses.
Researchers at the University of Washington collected tissue from 20 bladder cancer patients through a rapid autopsy program, gathering normal tissue, primary tumor samples and up to seven metastases per patient—108 specimens total obtained within hours of death. Samples with high tumor purity were sequenced to trace how bladder cancer spreads and diversifies genetically across different organs in the same patient.
Legend Biotech has appointed Ingrid Zhang, an executive from Novartis, as its new chief executive officer. She fills a leadership vacancy that opened in July after the company's previous CEO resigned abruptly.
American cancer patients are increasingly traveling to China for CAR-T cell therapy, a personalized immunotherapy that reengineers a patient's white blood cells to fight cancer. The Wall Street Journal reports that Chinese providers, having scaled up production, now offer the treatment for $150,000 to $230,000 versus $550,000 to $850,000 in the US, with faster turnaround and included follow-up care.
A retired NYPD officer treated for lung cancer linked to ground zero exposure describes losing multiple friends—construction workers, firefighters and police—to cancers and respiratory illness in the years after 9/11. The 25th anniversary ceremony at the World Trade Center will include a new moment of silence honoring those who died from post-exposure illnesses rather than the attacks themselves.
Researchers at Westlake University built an AI-based 'virtual cell model' trained on over 38 million protein measurements from breast cancer cell lines, most of them triple-negative. Tested on real patient biopsies, the model successfully identified which drugs would be effective against individual tumours, matching actual clinical outcomes. The findings, published in Nature, mark the first time such a virtual cell model has moved from lab experiments to clinical testing.
Researchers cultured dozens of cancer cell lines alongside normal primary epithelial cells to profile surface proteins near known tumor markers. They applied a graph-learning computational method to identify 'proximity antigens'—proteins located near established cancer targets on the cell membrane—that could serve as new markers for tumor-specific therapies. The work combined wet-lab cell culture across breast, lung, colon, pancreatic, gastric and other cancer types with a novel AI-driven proximity mapping approach.
Researchers analyzed whole-genome sequencing data from 1,001 prostate cancer patients (1,172 tumour samples) collected through the PPCG consortium, applying computational tools to classify structural variants, including simple, complex, and chromothripsis-related genomic rearrangements. The team combined breakpoint detection, copy number segmentation, and statistical tests to build a detailed picture of mutational processes driving the disease.
Researchers combined single-cell RNA sequencing from human and mouse pancreatic tumours with protein localization databases, CRISPR dependency screens and functional annotation to identify tumour-secreted genes that shape cancer cell diversity and suppress immune responses. The filtering pipeline pinpointed a group of serpin family proteins acting through myeloid cells as key drivers of this immune evasion process. The work narrows a large pool of candidate genes down to those most likely to influence how pancreatic tumours interact with surrounding immune cells.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota, led by surgeon Daniel Saltzman, have developed a therapy using genetically modified Salmonella Typhimurium bacteria to carry interleukin-2, an immune-stimulating molecule, straight into tumours. Pancreatic cancer patient John Heller received the experimental treatment after starting chemotherapy for advanced disease, illustrating an early real-world test of the approach.
Scientists are developing genetically modified bacteria designed to seek out and treat tumors from within the body. The approach relies on engineering microbes to recognize cancerous tissue and deliver therapeutic effects directly at the tumor site.
Rene Haas, chief executive of Arm Holdings, told the BBC that AI will eventually cure cancer by modelling complex cellular and DNA processes beyond current human or computing capability, though he said this progress is being constrained by a shortage of chips needed to build data centres. He also predicted humanoid robots would become widespread within five years, while expressing doubt that chip manufacturing could realistically be built up in the UK.