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Strawberry tree extracts helped treat ulcerative colitis in rats. (HJBC/Shutterstock) In a nutshell A traditional Mediterranean plant, the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), showed strong protective effects against ulcerative colitis in rats, performing nearly as well as a common prescription drug. The extract worked by reducing inflammation, preventing tissue damage, and restoring antioxidant enzyme levels, suggesting multiple mechanisms of action. While promising, these findings are from animal studies, and more research is needed before the extract can be considered a safe or effective treatment for humans. ======================================================================== JENDOUBA, Tunisia — A humble fruit from the Mediterranean region might hold the key...

In a study, researchers explore a surprising phenomenon in which high doses of radiation cause growth in existing metastatic tumors that weren't directly treated with radiation. Scientists had previously observed that radiation can cause distant tumors to shrink after radiation, known as the "abscopal effect." The researchers dubbed the opposite response the "badscopal effect." They believe this unexpected response happens because high-dose radiation increases the production of a protein called amphiregulin by tumor cells that are directly treated with radiation. High amounts of amphiregulin weaken the immune system's ability to fight cancer and make cancer cells better at protecting themselves....

An interdisciplinary research team has demonstrated a durable and lasting response to a novel treatment—combined locoregional therapy and immunotherapy (LRT-IO)—for advanced liver cancer patients. Advanced liver cancer is often considered incurable, but it can sometimes be converted to a treatable stage through a combination of therapies, potentially leading to curative surgery. This innovative strategy consists of three treatments: stereotactic beam radiotherapy (SBRT) with optional transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), followed by immunotherapy (IO). In previous studies, the team found that the cancer completely disappeared in 42% of patients after treatment, as evidenced by MRI or CT scans—even without curative surgery. The research...

Presented at ESTRO 2025 in Vienna, Austria, a 10-year study involving over 4,000 UK patients confirms that a one-week course of post-surgery radiotherapy is just as safe and effective as the traditional three-week regimen for early-stage breast cancer patients. These long-term results from the FAST-Forward trial could further reduce the burden on breast cancer patients worldwide, and expand access to life-saving radiotherapy. The phase III randomized trial followed up patients for ten years and showed that a shorter, five-day radiotherapy schedule provides a similar level of cancer control as the standard 3-week treatment, without additional long-term side effects. This builds...

[FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW] “I was as astonished as anyone might be that ivermectin has potential as an anti-cancer agent,” says cancer surgeon Dr. Kathleen Ruddy. She’s observed multiple cases where patients with severe, late stage cancer started to make a turn for the better after taking ivermectin. One patient with stage four prostate cancer tried all the traditional protocols like chemotherapy and radiation before being told that there was nothing left that his doctors could do. He started taking ivermectin as a last resort. In a few short months, he had made a stunning recovery. After observing several cases like...

Exercise can counter the detrimental effects of cancer treatment, such as heart and nerve damage and brain fog, suggests an overarching review. Exercise also seems to boost psychological well-being and overall quality of life, say the researchers. The researchers carried out an umbrella review of the existing pooled data analyses of randomized controlled trial results, published between 2012 and July 2024. The review included 485 associations from 80 articles, all evaluated as being of moderate to high quality. Among these associations, the types of exercise of any length, intensity, and duration included mind-body (138, 28.5%), such as Qigong, tai chi,...

Scientists have discovered a promising new therapy for resistant high blood pressure, leading to a 15-point drop in systolic levels. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a potential new treatment for individuals with uncontrolled or treatment-resistant hypertension, a condition commonly referred to as high blood pressure. The investigational drug, lorundrostat, showed encouraging results in a recent clinical trial. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study found that participants who received lorundrostat experienced an average 15-point reduction in systolic blood pressure, the upper number in a blood pressure reading, compared to...

An international team of scientists has identified similarities in the mechanisms of diabetes and cancer: as the researchers show, the protein PPARγ, which is central to the regulation of metabolic processes, can also influence the growth of prostate cancer cells. PPARγ is already known to be a target of certain drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes. The results of the study indicate that such drugs could also represent a promising approach for the treatment of prostate cancer. PPARγ has been known in diabetes research for quite some time, as it has an influence on insulin sensitivity. For more than...

A common diabetes drug can reduce the pain of people with knee osteoarthritis and overweight or obesity, possibly delaying the need for knee replacements, research has found. Metformin, which is commonly prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes, reduced knee arthritis pain over six months in a clinical trial. The research was performed as a community-based study using telehealth. Some of the 107 participants with pain from knee osteoarthritis, who had a mean age of 60, took up to 2,000 mg of metformin daily for six months. Others took the placebo. None had diabetes. Knee pain was measured on a 0–100...

How would you summarize your study? Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug used globally for the treatment of several cancers; however, it is also highly toxic to the kidneys. Beyond general supportive measures, there is minimal data from clinical trials regarding preventive treatments for cisplatin-associated kidney damage. Animal studies suggest magnesium may help the kidneys excrete cisplatin in the urine, thereby protecting the kidneys from damage. However, data from larger studies in humans is lacking. What question were you investigating? We examined whether receipt of IV magnesium on the same day as the first dose of IV cisplatin was associated with...

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment provides long-term relief for patients suffering from late radiation-induced injuries after treatment of cancer in the lower abdominal area. Five years after hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the positive effects remain. Radiation therapy is a component of many cancer treatments in organs such as the prostate, colon, ovaries and cervix. While tumor cells are destroyed, 5%–10% of patients experience severe side effects due to healthy tissue being affected by the radiation therapy. Symptoms may include urinary incontinence, bleeding and severe pain in the lower abdomen that becomes both physically and socially disabling. These problems can occur several years after...

A team of scientists has tested four anti-amyloid Alzheimer's therapeutics to find out how the drugs bind to toxic amyloid beta protein to tackle the disease. Using new, highly sensitive methods, the researchers detected and visualized how amyloid beta protein—a plaque that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease—binds to lecanemab, donanemab, gantenerumab and aducanumab. The findings show that lecanemab performs the best at binding a small, soluble form of amyloid beta, suggesting that it is most effective, when used as early as possible in the disease progression. Amyloid beta is one of the toxic proteins that...

Recently, researchers have discovered an increasing correlation between some liver cancers and non-viral chronic liver disease (CLD). One liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is associated with CLD in about 15%–25% of cases. In order to investigate how healthy liver tissue differs from that of HCC patients with CLD, scientists analyzed which metabolites were present in CLD and normal tissue to identify metabolic pathways that may be dysregulated. By investigating differences in gene expression and metabolites, the investigators were able to identify possible disease-causing pathways and potential therapeutic targets for HCC prevention. "The molecular mechanisms underlying the development of HCC from...

A new type of antibiotic for treatment of urinary tract infections in women could also work against gonorrhea infections, a new study finds. This could put the medication, called gepotidacin, on track to become the first new antibiotic for gonorrhea since the 1990s. “Gepotidacin is a novel oral antibacterial treatment with the potential to become an alternative option for the treatment of gonococcal infections, supported by an acceptable safety and tolerability profile,” the researchers wrote in the study published Monday in The Lancet, adding that the drug “could mark a meaningful advancement in patient care.” As an antibiotic, gepotidacin works...

An international team has found genomic testing and targeted therapies for patients with advanced cancer could improve survival rates by up to 40%. The team conducted a review of 37 trials. It found next-generation sequencing could help guide matched targeted therapies (MTT) for people with relapsed or metastatic cancer, delaying the progression of their cancer compared to standard treatments. "Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of cancer identifies specific mutations in the DNA of a person's cancer cells," said Dr. Shrestha. "These mutations can give clinicians clues about why the cancer is growing and which treatments might work best. "Targeted therapies designed to...

Call it a new type of precision medicine. A researcher says one day oncologists may be able to write personalized exercise "prescriptions" for cancer patients that suppress tumor growth. Jay Taylor helped develop a mathematical model that attempts to quantify the relationship between exercise, immune function and cancer. The paper looked at models of mice running on wheels to show that increases in exercise intensity and duration decrease the proliferation of malignant cells. According to the paper, the team worked on a mathematical model to describe the transition of natural killer cells from inactive to active states due to exercise-induced...

Opinion Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, with millions of new cases reported each year. In 2022 alone, approximately 20 million new cancer cases were diagnosed globally, and 9.7 million lives were lost to the disease. In India, the numbers are equally alarming, with around 100 out of every one lakh people diagnosed with cancer. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), more than 14 lakh cancer cases were estimated in 2023. [1 lakh = 0.1 million] Despite advancements in early detection and treatment, many myths surrounding cancer testing prevent people from undergoing timely...

A large-scale study provides the strongest evidence yet that a shorter, standard-dose course radiation treatment is just as effective as conventional radiotherapy for prostate cancer, without compromising safety. The shorter approach, known as isodose moderately hypofractionated radiotherapy (MHFRT), delivers slightly higher doses of radiation per session, allowing the total treatment duration to be over four to five weeks instead of seven to eight weeks. Patients who received this type of MHFRT had the same cancer control rates as those who received conventional radiotherapy. Additionally, the risk of long-term side effects affecting the bladder and intestines was no higher with MHFRT,...

Researchers report a discovery in cardiac regeneration that offers new hope for the treatment of ischemic heart failure. The study reveals a novel approach to promoting cardiomyocyte proliferation. "When the heart cannot replace injured cardiomyocytes with healthy ones, it becomes progressively weaker, a condition leading to heart failure. In this study, we investigated a new way to stimulate cardiomyocyte proliferation to help the heart heal," said Dr. Riham Abouleisa. Previous studies showed that calcium plays an important role in cardiomyocyte proliferation. In the current study, Abouleisa and her colleagues explored how modulating calcium influx in cardiomyocytes would affect their proliferation....

High-grade glioma, an aggressive form of pediatric and adult brain cancer, is challenging to treat given the tumor location, incidence of recurrence and difficulty for drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier. Researchers established a collaborative team to uncover a potential new avenue to address this disease. The team's study shows that high-grade glioma tumor cells harboring DNA alterations in the gene PDGFRA responded to the drug avapritinib, which is already approved by the US FDA to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors with a PDGFRA exon 18 mutation as well advanced systemic mastocytosis and indolent systemic mastocytosis. "We were excited to see...