Researchers Dr. Marc Therrien at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal, and Dr. Frank Sicheri, at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, have discovered a new target that may be instrumental in the development of new, more effective cancer therapies.

Viruses -- long regarded solely as disease agents -- now are being used in therapies for cancer. Concerns over the safety of these so-called oncolytic viruses stem from their potential to damage healthy tissues.

Immune therapies are considered very promising in cancer medicine: Tumor-fighting immune cells are supposed to invade tumor tissue and eliminate cancer cells right there. Although this works well in the test tube, clinical application often fails because immune cells are unable to get into the tumor tissue from the bloodstream in sufficient numbers.

Diet and lifestyle may play a much more significant role in a person’s ability to respond favourably to certain drugs, including some cancer therapies, than previously understood, say scientists.

Cancer therapies save and prolong many lives, but they and the tumors they target also can exact a debilitating toll on patients' mental and emotional and cause health problems that typically are not dealt with during oncology treatment.

University of Iowa researchers have discovered a gene that plays a linchpin role in the ability of breast cancer cells to respond to estrogen. The finding may lead to improved therapies for hormone-responsive breast cancers and may explain differences in the effectiveness of current treatments.

Testicular cancer patients who do not respond to traditional therapy can be cured with high-dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, according to an Indiana University School of Medicine report in the July 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

A commentary in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) urges researchers to explore an intriguing approach to reduce the dose, and therefore the cost, of oral targeted cancer therapies.

A chemically-modified version of a mitochondrial toxin long used to control species of invasive fish in lakes has been found to selectively inhibit two "survival proteins” in cancer cells. The research is a first step toward developing a molecularly-targeted drug that could eliminate cellular-level resistance to multiple types of chemotherapy and radiation therapy found in many types of cancers.

Colon cancer could join the growing list of stem cell-related cancers with the discovery of a population of highly tumorigenic primary human colon tumor cells, according to researchers from Biogen Idec.

Engineers at the Johns Hopkins Urology Robotics Lab report the invention of a motor without metal or electricity that can safely power remote-controlled robotic medical devices used for cancer biopsies and therapies guided by magnetic resonance imaging. The motor that drives the devices can be so precisely controlled by computer that movements are steadier and more precise than a human hand.

By recognizing sugars, a technique developed by University of Michigan analytical chemist Kristina Hakansson sets the stage for new cancer diagnosis and treatment options.