Mutant KRAS is a well-known oncogenic driver and has remained undruggable for many decades. The development of pan-KRAS inhibitors that target a broad range of mutations is a promising approach to cancer treatment.
At the ongoing AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics 2025 in Boston, Bridgebio Oncology Therapeutics Inc. (BBOT) presented data on BBO-11818, a potent and selective KRAS inhibitor with activity against several KRAS mutants both in active (ON) and inactive (OFF) forms.
Antibodies that bind to sugars on the surface of cancer cells, rather than to proteins, have not yielded satisfactory results so far due to their low binding affinity. However, scientists at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) have developed therapeutic proteins that recognize so-called tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) using lectins with a robust structure resembling velcro. This design is highly specific and eliminates only tumor cells, regardless of cancer type, while sparing healthy tissues.
An international group of scientists has completed the first draft of The Pan-Cancer Proteome Atlas (TPCPA). The project is based on mass spectrometry of 22 cancer types, which has identified more than 9,000 proteins from 1,000 tumors. The results reveal which proteins allow for the classification of different cancer types, biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets, which are now available to the entire scientific community.
A large-scale study has revealed the impact of germline variants on proteins in 10 cancer types. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) conducted a precision proteogenomic analysis in a pan-cancer study with data from 1,064 patients, identifying tumor heterogeneity and tumorigenesis associated with heritable genetic alterations.
A large-scale study has revealed the impact of germline variants on proteins in 10 cancer types. Scientists from the National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) conducted a precision proteogenomic analysis in a pan-cancer study with data from 1,064 patients, identifying tumor heterogeneity and tumorigenesis associated with heritable genetic alterations. The results provide a broad view of cancer risk that could be useful for patient stratification and the design of prevention strategies.
Recent evidence has suggested CDGSH iron-sulfur domain-containing protein 3 (CISD3) plays a tumorigenic role and is a key member in mitochondrial functioning. Additionally, the methylation changes surrounding the CISD3 gene plus its expression patterns in several cancer types suggest its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target.
Paige AI Inc.’s partnership with Microsoft Corp., announced last September, appears to have paid off quickly, with a study published in Nature Medicine demonstrating that their jointly developed image-based artificial intelligence model, Virchow, detects 16 cancer types as well or better than tissue-specific clinical-grade models.
If we unraveled the DNA of the 46 chromosomes of a single human cell, it would barely measure 2 meters. If we did the same with the rest of the body, if we aligned the 3 billion base pairs of its 5 trillion cells, we could travel the distance from the Earth to the Sun more than 100 times. It seems unreachable. However, that is the unit of knowledge of the large sequencing projects achieved in 2023.
If we unraveled the DNA of the 46 chromosomes of a single human cell, it would barely measure 2 meters. If we did the same with the rest of the body, if we aligned the 3 billion base pairs of its 5 trillion cells, we could travel the distance from the Earth to the Sun more than 100 times. It seems unreachable. However, that is the unit of knowledge of the large sequencing projects achieved in 2023. From the generation of the human pangenome to cell-by-cell maps of the brain and kidneys, scientists this year have completed several omics collaborative projects stored in large international databases. Now, what’s the plan?
