International Research Chemistry Awards

  In a recent study published in the journal Cancer Letters, a group of researchers investigated whether physiologically achievable curcumin can inhibit colorectal tumor initiation by inducing cancer stem-like cells in adenomas and early cancers to exit self-renewal and differentiate. Background Every four minutes, someone in the United States (US) learns they have colorectal cancer, the nation’s second-deadliest malignancy. Lifestyle shifts mean incidence is climbing fastest in adults under 50, amplifying the need for prevention. Most tumors arise from benign adenomas that evolve over decades, offering a long interception window. Evidence links daily aspirin to risk reduction, yet bleeding risks and incomplete protection leave many people unserved. Plant-derived compounds with proven safety, such as the kitchen spice curcumin, intrigue researchers but often fail because their mechanisms remain vague. Unlocking how curcumin works could turn a low-cost seasoning into a precision pre...

  A new study from the University of Michigan Rogel Health Cancer Center, published in Science, sheds light on how two distinct classes of mutations in the FOXA1 gene-commonly altered in prostate cancer-drive tumor initiation formation and therapeutic resistance. FOXA1, a key transcription factor that facilitates androgen receptor binding to DNA, is mutated in 10–40% of hormone-dependent prostate cancers. While common, the exact ways these mutations alter cancer cells have remained elusive-until now. Rogel researchers, including Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D., S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology and Urology, and Abhijit Parolia, Ph.D., Rogel Fellow and Assistant Professor of Pathology, used mouse models to understand the mechanisms underlying two major classes of FOXA1 mutations. In addition to establishing FOXA1 as a true oncogenic driver in prostate cancer, their findings reveal the distinct ways that each class of FOXA1 mutations operate. Firstly, Class 1 mutations, commonly...

  Fusion genes, arising from abnormal chromosomal rearrangements, are gaining recognition as pivotal players in cancer development. These genetic alterations result in the creation of hybrid genes with altered functions, often driving tumor progression. The latest review highlights their significant role across various cancers, including hematological malignancies, lung cancer, thyroid cancer, and prostate cancer. As researchers deepen their understanding of these genetic mechanisms, new avenues for precision cancer therapies are emerging. The review underscores the biological impact of fusion genes on tumor formation. By disrupting normal cellular processes, these genetic alterations lead to uncontrolled proliferation, evasion of cell death, and enhanced metastatic potential. BCR-ABL, EML4-ALK, and PML-RARα are among the most studied fusion genes, each playing a crucial role in specific cancer types. The presence of these genes has revolutionized cancer diagnostics, allowing for m...

  Hepatitis B virus-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major global health burden, and new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches are urgently needed. Emerging research highlights the crucial role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in disease progression, offering promising avenues for early detection and innovative treatments. These non-coding RNA molecules, known for their stability and regulatory functions, are proving to be pivotal in tumor biology and immune response modulation. Unlike linear RNAs, circRNAs have a closed-loop structure that makes them resistant to degradation, allowing them to serve as long-lasting regulators of gene expression. They influence multiple cancer-related processes, including tumor proliferation, metastasis, immune evasion , and drug resistance. Specific circRNAs such as circRNA-100338, circRNA-101764, and circBACH1 have been identified as key players in HCC progression, affecting crucial signaling pathways like PI3K/Akt, Wnt/β-catenin, and ...

  A novel molecular imaging agent targeting glypican-3 (GPC3) has demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in detecting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) , including tumors smaller than one centimeter, according to results from a pilot clinical study. The agent, 68Ga-aGPC3-scFv, coded as XH06, was shown to be safe, well-tolerated, and effective at providing high-contrast images of GPC3-positive liver tumors, offering a promising new tool for early diagnosis and staging of HCC-one of the most lethal forms of liver cancer. This research was presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2025 Annual Meeting. HCC is the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, accounting for 75–85 percent of all primary liver cancers . Due to its often silent progression, HCC is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage, contributing to a five-year survival rate of just 18 percent. Most cases arise in the context of chronic hepatitis ...

  A team of international researchers led by scientists at City of Hope®, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, with its National Medical Center named a Top 5 "Best Hospital" in the nation for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report, provide the most thorough account yet of an elusive target for cancer treatment. Published today in Science Advances, the study suggests a complex signaling process involving paxillin, a focal adhesion protein that acts as a hub to connect with other proteins, may be vulnerable to therapy despite its fluid state. The research adds important new details on a hard-to-characterize network of cellular proteins . Dr. Salgia and his team looked closely at paxillin, which prompts cells to change in response to the environment. This helps cancer cells to evolve and evade detection, while also causing resistance to treatment. Dr. Salgia and his team have been working on elucidating the f...

  Scientists at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) and Nanjing University in China have developed a new drug delivery system that could improve how treatments of cancers and other diseases are delivered. Their study, published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, describes a new type of nanoparticle made by combining a widely used medical polymer with a natural blood protein. These particles can carry much larger amounts of disease-fighting drugs and remain stable much longer than current nanoparticle systems. For years, biodegradable plastics such as PLGA have been used to create nanoparticles that release medicine into the body slowly. These delivery systems are especially useful for diseases like cancer, which often require steady, controlled doses of medication. However, many of the nanoparticles used today tend to clump together over time and usually carry only a small amount of a drug. This limits their effectiveness and can increase the chance of ...

  Readouts of the full DNA of children with cancer at diagnosis have been implemented as the standard of care in a European first. By determining a child's type of cancer as precisely as possible, the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology aims to offer each individual child the treatment most likely to work for them. To determine the precise form of childhood cancer, the DNA in children's tumor cells is analyzed at diagnosis. Since May, the Princess Máxima Center has started analyzing all children's complete tumor DNA as standard of care, using a technology called whole genome sequencing. The Máxima Center made the switch because whole genome sequencing is more comprehensive than the traditional technique, in which only the protein-coding part of the DNA, which makes up roughly 2% of the complete DNA , was analyzed. As well as improving diagnostics, the move will also provide valuable data for the development of new treatments and for research into how childhood can...

  Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences uncovered a new tumor-suppressive response that could lead to novel therapies targeting hard-to-treat cancers. The new study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and published June 18 in Cell Chemical Biology , showed that targeting a key process of how cells make proteins can inhibit cancer cells and resolves what makes them so sensitive. The findings open the door to potential new treatments for cancers with common genetic mutations. The researchers found that using a drug to inhibit RNA Polymerase 1 (Pol 1) - the enzyme responsible for human ribosomal RNA (rRNA) transcription - triggered a unique stress response that rewires splicing, or the way cancer cells produce forms of proteins, to ultimately suppress tumor growth. Ribosomal RNA genes are essential for building ribosomes, the machineries that translate proteins. In 2014, Laiho and te...

  Cancer and heart disease, two leading causes of death worldwide, may be more connected than we previously thought, according to a new UCLA Health study revealing that certain cardiac blood markers can strongly predict future cancer risk-even in people with no history or symptoms of heart disease. The study found that very small elevations in two cardiac biomarkers-high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)- are strong and independent predictors of overall cancer risk, with a higher incidence in specific types of cancer. While elevated baseline levels of both hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP were associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, NT-proBNP alone was also linked to a higher risk of developing lung cancer. "These biomarkers are already well-known indicators of cardiovascular risk, but our findings suggest their predictive power may reach well beyond heart disease to encompass cancer risk too, says Dr. Xinjiang ...

  A new hereditary condition has been discovered that affects patients' ability to repair DNA – leaving them both at greater risk of developing blood cancer, and unable to repair some of the damage caused by chemotherapy treatments. In a paper published in Nature Communications, an international team of researchers led by cancer genetics experts at the University of Birmingham and funded by Cancer Research UK have found a new disease they call DIAL syndrome. The rare, inherited condition causes clinical symptoms which typically appear in the first few years of life, and are similar to other known chromosome 'breakage' disorders. Crucially the condition results in patients' cells being unable to properly repair damage to DNA. In DIAL syndrome, patients have mutations in the DIAPH1 gene which produces a protein that helps cells repair DNA damage. This works by triggering the formation of another protein called actin which works like a molecular scaffold around the break i...

  Pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with resectable locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1 [Combined Positive Score (CPS) ≥1] as determined by an FDA-approved test. The FDA approval is based on data from the pivotal KEYNOTE-689 study, a randomized, open-label phase 3 clinical trial in which patients who received pembrolizumab before, during and after standard-of-care surgery had longer event-free survival without the cancer coming back and higher rates of substantial tumor shrinkage prior to surgery. The study was led by investigators from Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. This new regimen represents a substantial change in workflow for head and neck cancer care, offering appropriate patients the option of receiving pembrolizumab before surgery for resectable locally advanced...

  Nomograms have a strong reputation as reliable predictive models that simplify statistical prediction models and guide personalized treatment to formulate preventive measures for various diseases. Through a new study, a nomogram was developed and validated to predict the risk of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer developing deep vein thrombosis. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause , the journal of The Menopause Society. Although ovarian cancer is not one of the more common types of cancer (especially compared with breast or lung cancer), it is serious. It is the fifth-leading cause of cancer death for women and becomes more common as women age, especially past the age of 65. Epithelial ovarian cancer accounts for more than 90% of ovarian cancer cases. Its symptoms, especially in the earlier stages, are hard to detect and often go unnoticed, which partially explains the high mortality rate. Common symptoms experienced as the disease progresses include...