The abscopal effect occurs when therapy leads to the regression of metastases distant from the target tumor. In the current study, researchers from INSERM aimed to evaluate the abscopal effect potentially inducted by the use the targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) candidate, [131I]ICF-01012, which has been previously shown to target only pigmented metastases.

Currently, cancer therapy trial-and-error methodology is inefficient and unsustainable. Oncology is the worst therapeutic area for drug trial success; only 3.4% of drugs that enter phase I end up being FDA approved, and 57% fail due to poor drug efficacy in trials. Building tools that may aid in predicting an individual’s response to a specific therapy may help in reducing costs, guesswork, and importantly improve the outcome of patients and accelerate new drug development.

A recent retrospective cohort study of Insight MMG highlighted potential of Lunit Inc.’s artificial intelligence-powered breast cancer screening tool in detecting “subtle signs of cancer” earlier for women.

Early results from REFLECTION, a real-world study, mirrored results for Grail Inc.'s multi-cancer early detection (MCED) assay in clinical trials, according to a presentation at the 2024 Early Detection of Cancer Conference. The study, conducted at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sites, focuses on the real-world application of the Galleri test, which screens for multiple cancers in asymptomatic individuals.

Modifi Biosciences Inc. has come a long way very quickly. Spun out of Yale University in 2021, it published data on DNA in Science in July 2022, and now it’s being acquired by Merck & Co. Inc. for $30 million up front. Ultimately, Modifi shareholders could receive milestones of up to $1.3 billion.

Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. has obtained a short-list of recommended drug candidates from an initial artificial intelligence (AI) screening effort using the Deep Docking AI platform under a collaboration with the University of British Columbia.