Breast cancer cells, when disseminated to other secondary organs such as the lungs, may stay in a dormant state for years, even decades. But the mechanisms that limit their expansion are not well understood. This is what researchers call a dormant mesenchymal-like phenotype (M-like) before metastasis to the lungs. Now, scientists have shown in a study published Oct. 7, 2024, in Cell, that the limiting of disseminated breast cancer cells (DCCs) to metastasize in the lungs is due to alveolar macrophages (AMs), which activate signals that make DCCs stay dormant.

Genentech Inc. didn’t need to wait until Thanksgiving for the U.S. FDA to make up its mind. More than a month ahead of its PDUFA date, the agency approved the firm’s first-line breast cancer treatment, Itovebi (inavolisib), providing the oral therapy a place with other niched therapies from Astrazeneca plc and Novartis AG. Itovebi is to be combined with Pfizer Inc.’s palbociclib (Ibrance) and Faslodex (fulvestrant, Astrazeneca) for adults with endocrine-resistant, PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is among the most lethal cancers and the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, where 90% of cases fall into the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) type.

EZH2 and LSD1 are histone modification enzymes often overexpressed in several types of aggressive cancer such as colorectal, breast or prostate cancer, among others.

Virus is associated with sickness, but oncolytic virus therapies, which harness viruses to attack and kill cancer cells, may soon change the standard of treatment for cancer, including those long deemed uncurable like malignant glioma.

The U.K. government recently unveiled £148.4 million (US$193.7 million) in funding for a raft of initiatives to tackle cancer. Backed by public and private sector investment, the projects will deliver new technologies to speed up cancer diagnosis and new methods to transform treatment.