An experimental drug targeting triple-negative breast cancer overwhelms cancer cells with toxic fats, according to new tests on human-derived tumors in mice. Triple-negative breast cancer lacks three common drug targets, making it one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. The compound, known as DH20931, appears to push cancer cells past their limits by triggering a surge in fat-like molecules called ceramides.

Researchers led by Henry Daniell of the School of Dental Medicine have shown that extracts from bioengineered chewing gum reduce the levels of three microbes known to be associated with head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), paving the way for more effective and affordable therapies. Their findings are published in Scientific Reports.

Millions of Americans are still battling potentially deadly hepatitis C even though they could be cured with antiviral drugs they are not receiving, a new analysis reveals. University of Virginia School of Medicine researcher Sanjay Kishore, MD, and colleagues at Mass General Brigham looked at prescribing trends for the drugs, known as direct-acting antivirals. They found that prescriptions rose rapidly when the drugs were first introduced in 2013, then peaked in 2015.

Macrophages, key regulators of tissue health and immune defense, are among the most abundant immune cells in solid tumors. Their role in cancer has been difficult to define because even closely related macrophage populations can have very different, and sometimes opposing, functions. Funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, researchers at Geisel School of Medicine, led by principal investigator Claudia Jakubzick, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology,

Researchers at Linköping University show how two important cancer-related proteins can be prevented from collaborating with each other. The discovery shows the way towards future medications to combat e.g. neuroblastoma in children. Their study has been published in the journal Nature Communications. “Today we can cure many cases of childhood cancer that were incurable ten years ago. But there’s still an important group of childhood tumours that evade cure.