Chemotherapy is often seen solely as a tumor-targeting treatment, yet new evidence reveals a paradox: the tissue injury it causes can reprogram the body’s defenses, influencing the risk of metastasis. Researchers from the University of Lausanne and collaborators reported that chemotherapy reshapes the gut-immune axis by inducing microbiota-derived indole-3-propionic acid, which reprograms myelopoiesis to curb monocyte-driven immunosuppression and metastasis in colorectal cancer.
Chemotherapy is often seen solely as a tumor-targeting treatment, yet new evidence reveals a paradox: the tissue injury it causes can reprogram the body’s defenses, influencing the risk of metastasis. Researchers from the University of Lausanne and collaborators reported that chemotherapy reshapes the gut-immune axis by inducing microbiota-derived indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), which reprograms myelopoiesis to curb monocyte-driven immunosuppression and metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC).
Cardiff Oncology Inc. welcomed Mani Mohindru as interim CEO and simultaneously provided what the company dubbed a “positive” but stock-denting clinical update. The firm rolled out data from the 113-patient phase II trial called CRDF-004, designed to test the oral Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) inhibitor onvansertib in first-line, RAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Shares (NASDAQ:CRDF) closed Jan. 27 at $2, down 94 cents, or 32%, as Wall Street took in the results.
Intratumoral regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress antitumor immunity and are linked to poor prognosis across many cancers. These tumor-infiltrating Tregs express high levels of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), making them attractive targets for immunotherapy. However, systemic Treg depletion carries the risk of severe autoimmune toxicity.
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has cleared Shanghai Henlius Biotech Inc. to initiate a phase Ib/II trial of HLX-701 in combination with cetuximab and chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with advanced RAS/BRAF wild-type colorectal cancer.
A new method, based on gene editing with oligonucleotides and functional analyses, identifies which variants of DNA repair genes associated with Lynch syndrome are truly harmful and which are not. Scientists at The Netherlands Cancer Institute have developed this technique and classified these gene variants in both coding and noncoding regions, distinguishing those that are pathogenic from those that are benign.
Rhythm Biosciences Ltd. launched a new genetype colorectal cancer risk assessment clinical test that incorporates clinical and lifestyle risk factors alongside its established 140-SNP polygenic risk score to identify people at elevated risk of colorectal cancer. The test supports more targeted screening and complements Melbourne-based Rhythm’s Colostat blood-based CRC detection test, which debuted in Australia in December 2025.
FGFR1 is a receptor tyrosine kinase that drives multiple intracellular signaling pathways involved in tumor cell proliferation, survival and progression. Because these pathways are frequently hyperactivated in colorectal cancer (CRC), FGFR1 represents a biologically relevant therapeutic target, and its inhibition has the potential to simultaneously suppress several oncogenic mechanisms.
A2 Biotherapeutics Inc. has gained IND clearance from the FDA for A2B-543 for the treatment of germline heterozygous HLA-A*02 adults with recurrent unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors.
