Urine testing may be as effective as the smear test at preventing cervical cancer, according to a study published in the journal BMJ Open.

Columbia University scientists, in collaboration with researchers from Nimbus Therapeutics, have demystified a metabolic enzyme that could be the next major molecular target in cancer treatment. The team has successfully determined the 3D structure of human ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY) – which plays a key role in cancer cell proliferation and other cellular processes – for the first time.

For some cancers, initial treatment with chemotherapy brings positive, but only temporary, results: tumours shrink, but then rebound as the cancer becomes drug-resistant. This pattern of remission-resistance-relapse is particularly true for pancreatic cancer, an aggressive disease in which early success is often countered by eventual disease progression.

White blood cells known as B cells have been shown to be effective for predicting which cancer patients will respond to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy.

Most patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia can be treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. These drugs are highly effective and lead to deep remission and prolonged survival. Yet quiescent leukaemic stem cells persist in these patients, and they therefore must continue inhibitor treatment to maintain remission.

Cancer genes in mucosal melanoma, a rare and poorly understood subtype of melanoma have been compared in humans, dogs and horses for the first time by scientists. Researchers sequenced the genomes of the same cancer across different species to identify key cancer genes.