Resistance to radiotherapy is a crucial factor in the outcome of colorectal cancer (CRC). The Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway plays a key role in cell growth, differentiation, proliferation and immune function.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is rated as the second most deadly cancer after lung cancer. Identifying new mechanisms responsible for CRC pathogenesis is crucial for the development of new therapies.

The U.S. FDA approved the PMA application for the Shield test by Guardant Health Inc., a diagnostic for colorectal cancer that avoids some of the issues with alternative diagnostic methods. There are lingering questions about Medicare coverage and physician adoption, however, the answers to which may take a couple of years emerge.

Not all cancer cells that detach from the primary tumor and embark on a journey to another organ colonize it. To establish themselves, cells need specific conditions. Scientists at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) explored this hypothesis in the liver and identified a protein involved in metastatic transformation. Blocking it prevented liver metastasis. Their findings may have applications in other organs and various types of cancers.

Tumor cells use metabolic reprogramming for their survival and to fuel and boost their proliferation. Only 15% of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) benefit from immune checkpoint blockade therapy, mainly due to tumor microenvironment changes to promote CD8+ T-cell exhaustion and inactivation allowing tumor cells to escape from immunity.

Rgenta Therapeutics Inc. has received IND clearance by the FDA for RGT-61159, which is being developed for adenoid cystic carcinoma, colorectal cancer and other solid tumors, as well as acute myeloid leukemia.