Prostate cancer is one of the most common male-related cancers, and understanding the underlying mechanisms is crucial for developing new treatment strategies and avoiding resistance development.

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp., Veneno Technologies Co. Ltd. and Alpha Fusion Co. Ltd. have initiated a joint research collaboration in Japan to develop cancer drugs using targeted alpha therapy (TAT).

Receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1), a receptor tyrosine kinase activated by Wnt5, is mainly expressed during fetal development and plays a crucial role in processes such as neurodevelopment and angiogenesis. ROR1 is nearly absent in most adult and pediatric tissues but is overexpressed in various malignancies, including leukemia and lung and breast cancers. Its expression has been correlated with poor clinical outcomes, and therefore, it is considered a promising cancer therapeutic target.

Targeting SHP2 has emerged as a promising approach for treating cancers driven by receptor tyrosine kinases. Although allosteric SHP2 inhibitors have shown strong antitumor activity in preclinical studies, their clinical efficacy as monotherapies has been limited. Recent studies indicate that combining SHP2 inhibitors with kinase inhibitors may enhance treatment effectiveness and help overcome therapeutic resistance.

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and collaborators have developed a new method to label and monitor dormant breast cancer cells over time, shedding light on how these cells survive chemotherapy and potentially trigger metastatic relapse in the lung. Breast cancer frequently recurs in distant metastatic sites, even after the primary tumor has fully regressed following initial therapy.

Aussie researchers have used CRISPR gene editing tools to “armor” chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to activate additional cancer-fighting proteins at the tumor site, enabling them to target cancer cells in solid tumors.