University of Alberta scientists have identified the mechanism of action behind a new type of precision cancer drug for blood cancers that is set for human trials, according to research published today in Nature Communications. Now, a Purdue University scientist and entrepreneur is working to use simple LED light to help determine if certain chemotherapy options will work for specific patients. The work is published in Scientific Reports.... Learn More

Playing with colours while drawing pictures is the only thing that brings joy to seven-year-old Afia Akhter these days.The second-grader, who is suffering from blood cancer, largely spends her days lying in bed at a shelter home for child cancer patients in Dhaka nowadays. Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in September last year, she has been living in the shelter home for the last six months.“Her hair and eyelashes are falling out day by day, but she never stops drawing – these... Learn More

A drug that could stop cancer cells repairing themselves has shown early signs of working. More than half of the 40 patients given berzosertib had the growth of their tumours halted. Berzosertib was even more effective when given alongside chemotherapy, the trial run by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden NHS Trust suggested. The trial was designed to test the safety of the drug.... Learn More