Researchers have compiled a detailed catalogue of bacteria living in cancer metastases. Having analyzed over 4000 tumors, they shed light on the diversity of these co-inhabitants and how they might interact with cancer cells and their surroundings. For example, certain bacteria were linked to a worse response to immunotherapy. This study paves the way to a better understanding of how bacteria help or hinder cancer (therapy), and how we can use this for patients' advantage ..read more

Researchers have connected KRAS mutations in colorectal cancer to microbial signatures in the gut ..read more

Researchers have found that a specific subtype of a microbe commonly found in the mouth is able to travel to the gut and grow within colorectal cancer tumors. This microbe is also a culprit for driving cancer progression and leads to poorer patient outcomes after cancer treatment. The findings could help improve therapeutic approaches and early screening methods for colorectal cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in adults in the U.S. according to the American Cancer Society ..read more

Researchers found that precancerous colon cells can avoid immune detection by turning on a gene called SOX17, which allows them to become essentially invisible to the immune system ..read more

Researchers have designed a candidate drug that could help make pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, a treatable, perhaps even curable, condition ..read more

A new study highlights racial disparities in a subset of cancer patients and, using advanced biomedical research technology, provides evidence for those differences at the molecular level ..read more

A team of scientists has successfully developed a groundbreaking targeted therapy that hones in on the KRAS protein that drives some of the deadliest human cancers, including pancreatic, lung and colon tumors. Their findings suggest that a novel inhibitor drug could be used to target KRAS G12D, a subset of the notorious cancer-driving KRAS gene ..read more

Hard-to-detect colorectal pre-cancerous lesions known as serrated polyps, and the aggressive tumors that develop from them, depend heavily on the ramped-up production of cholesterol, according to a preclinical study. The finding points to the possibility of using cholesterol-lowering drugs to prevent or treat such tumors ..read more

According to data in mice, extra tryptophan could reduce the risk of future colitis flares ..read more

Intratumoral therapy -- in which cancer drugs are injected directly into tumors -- is a promising treatment option for solid cancers but has shown limited success in clinical trials due to an inability to precisely deliver the drug and because most immunotherapies quickly dissipate from the site of injection. A team of researchers has developed a gel delivery system that overcomes these challenges. The gel is injectable but solidifies upon delivery; contains an imaging agent for visualization under CT scan; and can hold a high concentration of drug for slow, controlled release ..read more