The potential effect of induced abortion and miscarriage on the risk of breast cancer has remained debated and has been a persistent source of misinformation. Many previous studies have been small and based on self-reported data. Now, a study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica found that prior abortion or miscarriage was not linked with an increased risk of developing pre- or postmenopausal breast cancer.
In the nationwide Finnish registry-based study, investigators analysed data on 31 687 women with breast cancer diagnosed in 1972–2021 and 158 433 women without breast cancer.
The risk of breast cancer was found to be similar among women with a history of induced abortion and women with no history of abortion, both before and after 50 years of age. Risks were also similar among women with and without a past miscarriage.
In addition, breast cancer risks did not vary significantly by the number of abortions or miscarriages, nor by the time of first abortion or miscarriage.
“Miscarriage or induced abortion as potential risk factors for breast cancer has continued to raise concerns and has led to the spread of misinformation. In this study using high-quality Finnish registry data, we can reliably eliminate these concerns,” said corresponding author Oskari Heikinheimo, MD, PhD, of the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital. “Induced abortion or miscarriage are not risk factors for breast cancer, even if there are several of them. This information is important and reassuring for millions of women around the world.”
Findings indicate vitamin B3 looks promising to help rearm a compromised immune system
Unrestricted tumour growth in mouse brain, left, compared to the tumour growth in a mouse who received niacin treatment, right (both after 42 days). Courtesy Yong lab
Edward (Ed) Waldner had no idea why he didn’t feel well, but he knew he didn’t feel like himself. At 55 years of age, he felt exhausted all the time. It didn’t seem to matter how hard he had worked that day. He wondered if he had sleep apnoea. He noticed his walking was off. His heels would drag now and again. One day, when his symptoms were worse than usual, he decided to go to the Emergency department.
“The doctor said I had a mass on my brain and needed to see an oncologist,” says Waldner.
The mass was glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer. Treatment often involves a three-pronged approach: surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. However, despite advances in cancer treatment, the aggressive cancer comes back.
University of Calgary researchers are investigating whether adding high doses of vitamin B3 or niacin to the treatment plan could be beneficial. They approached Waldner about being in the trial.
“I have no problem trying to help anybody. I agreed. I want to help myself, too,” says Waldner. “I can tell you being part of this research helps me mentally because we’re trying. When I left the hospital after surgery I was told, that’s it, that’s all we can do.”
Hotchkiss, Charbonneau members partner for study
The research is led by two members of both the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute – Dr Gloria Roldan Urgoiti, MD, PGME’16, an oncologist specialised in brain cancers, and Dr Wee Yong, PhD, a neuroscientist whose research focuses on immune effects on the brain. Together, they designed a study to investigate whether niacin could rejuvenate compromised immune cells to kill tumour cells. The research began in the Yong lab, with mice, where findings showed niacin prolonged survival. That work evolved into a Phase I and II clinical trial.
“Normally, the immune system will try to counter and prevent tumour growth; however, this brain cancer supresses the immune system,” says Yong, a professor at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM). “Niacin treatment rejuvenates immune cells so they can do what they are supposed to do, attack and kill the cancer cells. I see it as an ongoing ‘battle for the brain.’”
Studying the benefits of adding niacin to chemotherapy, radiation
The clinical trial was designed to determine the maximum dose and potential benefit of controlled-release niacin that could be added to the recommended chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. Researchers decided the study would stop if the progression-free survival over six-months did not improve by at least 20 per cent compared with older studies. Early results involving 24 patients showed 82 per cent of the participants were free of progression of the cancer at six months; an increase of 28 per cent from previous studies. The researchers say this is a promising advancement for this incurable cancer.
“Glioblastoma is the most aggressive brain cancer in adults. Survival of patients with this condition hasn’t changed significantly for 20 years,” says Roldan Urgoiti, a clinical associate professor at the CSM. “Anything that may help should be explored, but it requires strict protocols and safety monitoring.”
The researchers caution that high amounts of vitamins, like niacin, have toxicity and can have a negative impact on someone’s health if not monitored closely by medical professionals.
The team hopes to be able to do the final analysis, that will include 48 participants by the end of 2026 or early 2027.
Waldner says he’s feeling really good these days and is just happy to hear the word “stable” when he goes for his regular scans.
Credit: Darryl Leja National Human Genome Research Institute National Institutes Of Health
Because treatment of the whole prostate can lead to long-term side effects in patients with prostate cancer, interest in minimally invasive, focal treatment options has been growing for certain patients. A clinical trial published in BJU International generated promising results for a type of focal therapy, which directly targets the cancer and spares the remainder of the unaffected prostate gland.
The ProFocal Laser Therapy for Prostate Tissue Ablation (PFLT-PC) trial is the first pivotal trial of ProFocal®, a novel, cooled laser focal therapy device for prostate cancer treatment.
In the 100-participant trial, 84% of patients had no clinically significant prostate cancer on their 3-month post-treatment biopsy. The treatment provided similar cancer-related outcomes to those that have been reported for other focal therapy devices, but with an improved safety profile and low rates of incontinence.
“This new technology is very promising with excellent cancer control while preserving patients’ quality of life,” said corresponding author Jonathan Kam, MD, of Nepean Hospital, in Australia. “Traditional radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy for prostate cancer results in very high rates of incontinence and erectile dysfunction. With this new technology, patients can have their prostate cancer treated with very low risk of suffering the side effects associated with traditional prostate cancer treatments.”
Results from a cancer screening trial indicate that consistent heavy alcohol intake and higher average lifetime drinking are associated with increased risk.
Photo by Apolo Photographer on Unsplash
Studies have demonstrated a link between alcohol consumption and an elevated risk of colorectal cancer. New research now reveals that higher lifetime alcohol consumption is also associated with a higher risk, especially for rectal cancer, and that quitting drinking can lower a person’s risk. The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
When investigators analysed data on US adults enrolled in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Prostate, Long, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial who did not have cancer at baseline, they observed that 1679 colorectal cancer cases occurred among 88 092 participants over 20 years of follow-up.
Current drinkers with an average lifetime alcohol intake of ≥ 14 drinks per week (heavy drinkers) had a 25% higher risk of developing colorectal cancer and a 95% higher risk of developing rectal cancer compared with those with an average lifetime alcohol intake of < 1 drink per week (light drinkers).
When further considering drinking consistency, heavy drinking throughout adulthood was linked to a 91% higher risk of colorectal cancer compared with consistent light drinking. In contrast, no evidence of increased colorectal cancer risk was observed among former drinkers, and former drinkers had lower odds of developing noncancerous colorectal tumours, or adenomas (which may go on to become cancerous) than current drinkers averaging < 1 drink per week, suggesting that alcohol cessation may lower individuals’ risks. These data were limited, however.
The association between alcohol consumption and increased risks observed in this and other studies might be explained by carcinogens produced from alcohol metabolism or alcohol’s effects on gut microbes. Additional studies are needed to test whether these mechanisms are involved.
“Our study is one of the first to explore how drinking alcohol over the life course relates to both colorectal adenoma and colorectal cancer risk. While the data on former drinkers were sparse, we were encouraged to see that their risk may return to that of the light drinkers,” said co–senior author Erikka Loftfield, PhD, MPH, of the NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) significantly improved outcomes in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer, according to a new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center published today in Lancet Oncology.
The study is a first-of-its-kind meta-analysis of individual patients across all available randomised clinical trials evaluating the addition of metastasis-directed radiation therapy to standard-of-care treatment.
According to corresponding author Chad Tang, MD, associate professor of Genitourinary Radiation Oncology, gathering level one evidence of the benefits of MDT in this cancer type has been a challenge due to several factors. Most significant among them are that only a small number of patients have oligometastatic cancer – meaning they have multiple metastases but not enough to be considered widely metastatic – and the relative indolence of oligometastatic disease.
“If we can identify and treat this disease in the narrow window before it spreads too far, we know that patient outcomes are significantly better. But gathering this data is difficult,” Tang said. “By bringing together all available patient data from randomized clinical trials, we have provided the best evidence to date that MDT improves patient outcomes.”
What is MDT and what is the significance of this study on oligometastatic prostate cancer?
Broadly, MDT can include multiple treatment approaches. In this setting, the most common form of MDT is radiation therapy, which targets metastases at a stage when cancer has begun to spread but hasn’t yet spread widely. This approach potentially brings several benefits to patients, such as delaying the time to progression and limiting the need for more aggressive therapies that will further impact quality of life.
The most common form of MDT is stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), a type of very precise radiation therapy. In previous studies, like the Phase II EXTEND trial presented in 2024, MDT significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS).
These and similar findings have led to widespread adoption of MDT in the oligometastatic setting, despite the lack of level one evidence.
To try and address that lack of data, researchers from several institutions created a global consortium, known as X-MET, to gather the data from all randomized trials for analysis at MD Anderson. Individual patient data from seven trials were ultimately included in this meta-analysis, known as WOLVERINE.
What were the results of the study?
This study, which included 574 men, showed a significant benefit for the patients receiving the MDT arm in PFS, radiographic PFS, and castration resistance-free survival.
Patients in the MDT arm gained a median of 7.6 months before disease progression, 4.9 months before radiographic disease progression, and 2.5 months before developing castration-resistance disease, compared to patients receiving standard of care alone. These findings were consistent across the individual trials and in the aggregated data.
Additionally, there were no significant differences in safety between the treatment arms. No grade five toxicities were observed in either arm, and any adverse effects above grade two were similar between the two arms.
“We hope that this dataset will lay the groundwork for future Phase III trials, which hopefully will show an overall survival benefit for these patients,” Tang said. “However, what this data does already show is the best evidence to date that MDT significantly benefits patients without adding any notable safety risks.”
LLMs tended to prioritise tumour-related factors whereas physicians prioritise liver function when providing treatment recommendations
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
Large language models (LLM) can generate treatment recommendations for straightforward cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that align with clinical guidelines but fall short in more complex cases, according to a new study by Ji Won Han from The Catholic University of Korea and colleagues published January 13th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine.
Choosing the most appropriate treatment for patients with liver cancer is complicated. While international treatment guidelines provide recommendations, clinicians must tailor their treatment choice based on cancer stage and liver function as well as other factors such as comorbidities.
To assess whether LLMs can provide treatment recommendations for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that reflect real-world clinical practice, researchers compared suggestions generated by three LLMs (ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude) with actual treatments received by more than 13,000 newly diagnosed patients with HCC in South Korea.
They found that, in patients with early-stage HCC, higher agreement between LLM recommendations and actual treatments was associated with improved survival. The inverse was seen in patients with advanced-stage disease. Higher agreement between LLM treatment recommendations and actual practice was associated with worse survival. LLMs placed greater emphasis on tumor factors, such as tumor size and number of tumors, while physicians prioritized liver function.
Overall, the findings suggest that LLMs may help to support straightforward treatment decisions, particularly in early-stage disease, but are not presently suitable for guiding care decisions for more complex cases that require nuanced clinical judgment. Regardless of stage, LLM advice should be used with caution and considered as a supplement to clinical expertise.
The authors add, “Our study shows that large language models can help support treatment decisions for early-stage liver cancer, but their performance is more limited in advanced disease. This highlights the importance of using LLMs as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, clinical expertise.”
The protein Dickkopf 3 plays a key role in the development of radiation-induced fibroses – and could be a promising target for novel therapies
Picture by Macrovector on Freepik
Radiotherapy is one of the main treatment forms for cancer. Among its most common side effects is skin damage, right up to chronic inflammations and fibroses. At present, such long-term damage can only be treated symptomatically and leads to thickened, painful, or sensitive skin for months to years after the radiation treatment. A team led by LMU immunologist Professor Peter Nelson (LMU University Hospital) and Roger Sandhoff and Peter E. Huber from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) has identified a protein called Dickkopf 3 (DKK3) as a main cause of long-term skin damage after radiotherapy – a decisive step for the development of novel, more targeted therapy options.
By investigating mouse models and human cells and tissue samples, the researchers demonstrated that DKK3 is activated after radiotherapy in a certain group of skin cells that are responsible for skin renewal. This activity triggers a chain reaction which promotes inflammations and the formation of scar-like tissue and leads to chronic skin damage. The key findings were driven by the work of LMU students, Li Li and Khuram Shehzad. Their efforts were essential in identifying DKK3 as the critical molecular mediator and in establishing the mechanistic framework presented in the paper. “We also observed similar processes in the kidney,” says Nelson. “This indicates that the activation of DKK3 is a fundamental mechanism that promotes fibrosis in various tissues.”
According to the researchers, these findings underscore that DKK3 represents a promising new treatment target. “Drugs that block DKK3 could one day help prevent or reduce long-term skin damage after radiotherapy and thus improve the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors,” says Nelson. The researchers are currently investigating, moreover, whether this approach could also contribute to the prevention of scar formation in other organs.
Northwestern experts explain the new milestone and what it means for patients and the future of research
Source: Unsplash CC0
The American Cancer Society recently released its 2026 statistics report, showing for the first time that 70% of people diagnosed with cancer in the US survive at least five years.
The report highlights especially large survival gains for some of the deadliest cancers, including myeloma, liver cancer and lung cancer, reflecting advances in lifestyle change, early detection, research and targeted therapies.
Northwestern Now spoke to three Northwestern oncologists about what the survival milestone means for patients and the future of research.
For the remaining 30%
“This is a major improvement from the past and the outcome of important cancer research. The challenge is now how we can get the same outcome for the remaining 30% of patients, and how we can do that as soon as possible.”
– Dr. Leonidas Platanias, director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University
Through decades of sustained investment
“Behind every statistic in this report is a person, a family and a life reshaped by cancer. The progress we’re seeing is real, and it exists because of decades of sustained investment in cancer research that has led to earlier detection, more effective treatments and more personalized care. Critically, as more patients survive cancer, success must be measured not just in years added, but in the quality of those years. Our responsibility now is to keep going. Continued support for research is not optional; it’s the reason these gains are possible, and it’s how we ensure that every patient has a chance at a longer, fuller life.”
– Dr. Mohamed Abazeed, chair and professor of radiation oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Considering quality of life
“We need to think about survivorship beyond survival,” Abazeed said. “As more patients live longer with or after cancer, quality of life, functional outcomes, and long-term toxicity become central clinical priorities, not just survival at five years.”
Higher intake of food preservatives, widely used in industrially processed foods and beverages to extend shelf-life, is associated with a modestly increased risk of cancer, finds a study from France published byThe BMJ.
While further research is needed to better understand these links, the researchers say these new data call for the re-evaluation of regulations governing the use of these additives by the food industry to improve consumer protection.
Preservatives are substances added to packaged foods to extend shelf life. Some experimental studies have shown that certain preservatives can damage cells and DNA, but firm evidence linking preservatives to cancer risk remains scarce.
To address this, researchers set out to examine the association between exposure to preservative food additives and risk of cancer in adults, using detailed dietary and health data from 2009 to 2023.
Their findings are based on 105,260 participants aged 15 years and older (average age 42 years; 79% women) enrolled in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study who were free of cancer and completed regular 24 hour brand-specific dietary records over an average 7.5 year period. Health questionnaires and official medical and death records were then used to track cancer cases up to 31 December 2023.
A total of 17 individual preservatives were analysed including citric acid, lecithins, total sulfites, ascorbic acid, sodium nitrite, potassium sorbate, sodium erythorbate, sodium ascorbate, potassium metabisulfite, and potassium nitrate.
Preservatives were grouped into non-antioxidants (which inhibit microbial growth or slow chemical changes that lead to spoilage) and antioxidants (which delay or prevent food deteriorating by removing or limiting oxygen levels in packaging).
During the follow-up period, 4,226 participants received a diagnosis of cancer, comprising 1,208 breast, 508 prostate, 352 colorectal, and 2,158 other cancers.
Of the 17 individually studied preservatives, 11 were not associated with cancer incidence, and no link was found between total preservatives and cancer incidence.
However, higher intakes of several preservatives (mostly non-antioxidants including potassium sorbate, potassium metabisulfite, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrate, and acetic acid) were associated with higher risk of cancers compared with non-consumers or lower consumers.
For example, total sorbates, specifically potassium sorbate, was associated with a 14% increased risk of overall cancer and a 26% increased risk of breast cancer, while total sulfites were associated with a 12% increased risk of overall cancer.
Sodium nitrite was associated with a 32% increased risk of prostate cancer, while potassium nitrate was associated with an increased risk of overall cancer (13%) and breast cancer (22%).
Total acetates were associated with an increased risk of overall cancer (15%) and breast cancer (25%), while acetic acid was associated with a 12% increased risk of overall cancer.
Among antioxidant preservatives, only total erythorbates and specific sodium erythorbate were found to be associated with higher incidence of cancer.
While more studies are needed to better understand these potential risks, the researchers note that several of these compounds can alter immune and inflammatory pathways, possibly triggering the development of cancer.
This is an observational study, so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, and the researchers can’t rule out the possibility that other unmeasured factors may have influenced their results.
However, they say this was a large study based on detailed dietary records linked to food databases over 14 years and results are consistent with existing experimental data suggesting adverse cancer related effects of several of these compounds.
As such, they conclude: “This study brings new insights for the future re-evaluation of the safety of these food additives by health agencies, considering the balance between benefit and risk for food preservation and cancer.”
In the meantime, they call on manufacturers to limit the use of unnecessary preservatives, and support recommendations for consumers to favour freshly made, minimally processed foods.
From a policy perspective, preservatives offer clear benefits by extending shelf life and lowering food costs, which can be particularly important for populations with lower incomes, point out US researchers in a linked editorial.
However, they say the widespread and often insufficiently monitored use of these additives, with uncertainties of their long term health effects, call for a more balanced approach.
Findings from NutriNet-Santé may prompt regulatory agencies to revisit existing policies, such as setting stricter limits on use, requiring clearer labeling, and mandating disclosure of additive contents, while collaborative global monitoring initiatives, similar to those implemented for trans fatty acids and sodium, could also support evidence based risk assessments and guide reformulation by the food industry, they write.
“At the individual level, public health guidance is already more definitive about the reduction of processed meat and alcohol intake, offering actionable steps even as evidence on the carcinogenic effects of preservatives is evolving,” they conclude.
Two Canadian clinical trials show poop pills could help patients respond to immunotherapy while also reducing toxic side effects of cancer drugs
Faecal microbiota transplants (FMT), can dramatically improve cancer treatment, suggest two groundbreaking studies published in the prestigious Nature Medicine journal. The first study shows that the toxic side effects of drugs to treat kidney cancer could be eliminated with FMT. The second study suggests FMT is effective in improving the response to immunotherapy in patients with lung cancer and melanoma.
The findings represent a giant step forward in using FMT capsules – developed at Lawson Research Institute (Lawson) of St. Joseph’s Health Care London and used in clinical trials at London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) and Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM) – for safe and effective cancer treatment.
A Phase I clinical trial was conducted by scientists at LHSCRI and Lawson to determine if FMT is safe when combined with an immunotherapy drug to treat kidney cancer. The team found that customised FMT may help reduce toxic side effects from immunotherapy. The clinical trial involved 20 patients at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).
“Standard treatment for advanced kidney cancer often includes an immunotherapy drug that helps the patient’s immune system tackle cancer cells,” says Saman Maleki, PhD, Scientist at LHSCRI. “But, unfortunately, the treatment frequently leads to colitis and diarrhoea, sometimes so severe that a patient must stop life-sustaining treatment early. If we can reduce toxic side effects and help patients complete their treatment, that will be a gamechanger.”
Separate Phase II lung and skin cancer studies were led by researchers at CRCHUM in collaboration with Lawson and LHSCRI. The studies found that 80 per cent of patients with lung cancer responded to immunotherapy after FMT, compared to only 39-45 per cent typically benefiting from immunotherapy alone. Similarly, 75 per cent of patients with melanoma who received FMT experienced a positive response to treatment, compared to only 50-58 per cent response in patients who receive immunotherapy alone. Twenty patients participated in the lung cancer clinical trial and 20 patients participated in the skin cancer clinical trial.
“Our clinical trial demonstrated that faecal microbiota transplantation could improve the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with lung cancer and melanoma,” says Dr Arielle Elkrief, co-principal investigator and Physician Scientist, Université de Montréal-affiliated hospital research centre (CRCHUM). “The results also uncovered one possible mechanism of action of faecal transplantation – through the elimination of harmful bacteria following the transplant. Our results open up a novel avenue for personalised microbiome therapies, and faecal transplant is now being tested as part of the large pan-Canadian Canbiome2 randomised controlled trial.”
“Faecal microbiota transplantation in melanoma and lung cancer opens an entirely new therapeutic avenue, made possible by the exceptional commitment of our patients and the teamwork,” adds Dr. Rahima Jamal, Director of the Unit for Innovative Therapies (UIT) at CRCHUM. “At the Unit for Innovative Therapies (UIT) of the CRCHUM, we have had the privilege of translating laboratory discoveries into early phase clinical trials and witnessing their concrete impact on people living with cancer.”
Both studies use advanced, world-leading FMT capsules, also known as LND101, produced by Lawson in London, Ont. The research reinforces London’s place as a global leader in FMT innovation and treatment. The capsules are processed from healthy donor stools and ingested to help restore a patient’s healthy gut microbiome and treat different types of cancer.
“To use FMT to reduce drug toxicity and improve patients’ quality of life while possibly enhancing their clinical response to cancer treatment is tremendous, and it had never been done in treating kidney cancer before this,” says Dr Michael Silverman, Scientist at Lawson and Head of St. Joseph’s Infectious Diseases Program. “And none of this would be possible if not for this close collaboration: innovating the FMT capsules in Lawson labs and introducing them at LHSCRI and CHUM to advance vital research initiatives. Also, because LND101 comes from healthy donors, production can be scaled up to eventually help large numbers of cancer patients.”
The studies build on earlier London and CHUM-generated Phase I research showing FMT can safely augment treatment for people with melanoma. FMT is also being studied in people with pancreatic cancer and triple-negative breast cancer, and is already a well-established treatment for serious gut infections such as C. difficile, which can cause severe diarrhoea.
“Our hope is that our research will one day help people with cancer live longer while reducing the harmful side effects of treatment,” adds Dr Ricardo Fernandes, Scientist at LHSCRI and Medical Oncologist at LHSC. “We are world leaders in FMT research and we’re excited about its potential.”
