📄 Category

cancer biology

299 papers

Cancer biology explores the complex ways cells grow out of control, investigating the genetic mutations and environmental factors that drive tumor formation. This field seeks to understand how healthy cells transform into malignant ones and how these rogue cells spread throughout the body. By decoding these fundamental mechanisms, researchers aim to develop more effective treatments that target the disease at its source while sparing healthy tissue.

At Gist.Science, we process every new preprint published in this category directly from bioRxiv to ensure you stay ahead of the curve. Our team provides both accessible plain-language overviews and detailed technical summaries for each study, bridging the gap between raw research data and practical understanding. Whether you are a specialist or a curious reader, our goal is to make these critical findings clear and actionable.

Below are the latest papers in cancer biology, offering fresh insights into the ongoing fight against this disease.

📄 cancer biology

EZH1-dependent H3K27me1 is an adaptive chromatin barrier that limits DNMT inhibitor response in colorectal cancer

This study identifies EZH1-dependent H3K27me1 as a key adaptive barrier limiting DNMT inhibitor efficacy in colorectal cancer and demonstrates that combining DNMT inhibitors with dual EZH1/2 inhibitors overcomes this resistance by eliminating H3K27 methylation, resolving induced bivalent chromatin states, and suppressing oncogenic transcription to enhance therapeutic response.

Chomiak, A. A., Wiseman, A. K., Hrit, J. A., Liu, Y., Stransky, S., Cui, Y., Kong, X., Topper, M., Baylin, S., Sidoli, S (…)2026-02-27
📄 cancer biology

Benzoxaboroles are structurally unique binders of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E

This study demonstrates that structurally unique benzoxaboroles selectively and stereoselectively bind to the cap-binding pocket of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) through specific hydrogen bonding interactions, offering a promising new avenue for targeting this challenging drug site.

Combs, J. B., Peacock, D. M., Craven, G. B., Jung, S., Chen, Y., Le, S. M., Taunton, J., Shokat, K.2026-02-25
📄 cancer biology

Leukemia stem cell expansion cultures reveal clonal drivers of leukemogenesis and therapy response

This study introduces Polymer-based Leukemic STem-cell Cultures (PLSTCs) to efficiently expand and trace Acute Myeloid Leukemia stem cells, revealing distinct clonal drivers of therapy resistance and identifying chondroitin-sulfate synthesis as a critical target for maintaining primitive stem cell states.

Singh, I., Polazzi, A., Maya Pombo, A., Lopez Osias, M., Bauer, C., Guarini, M., Sanchez-Sanchez, P., Goulet, L., Gallar (…)2026-02-25
📄 cancer biology

Domain-adaptation deep learning models do not outperform simple baseline models in single-cell anti-cancer drug sensitivity prediction

This study demonstrates that complex deep learning domain adaptation methods fail to outperform simple gradient boosting baselines in predicting single-cell anti-cancer drug sensitivity, revealing that performance gains primarily stem from target-informed hyperparameter tuning and sparse label supervision rather than adaptation strategies.

Esteban-Medina, M., Bohl, M., Beerenwinkel, N., Lenhof, K.2026-02-25
📄 cancer biology

Mega-frequency mutagenesis: generation of non-random precise mutations with extremely high frequency upon adaptation of cancer cells to drugs and stress

This study reveals that cancer cells adapting to drug stress undergo a non-random, selection-independent process of mega-frequency mutagenesis during pseudo-senescence, generating tens of thousands of precise, recurrent mutations at specific transcription factor binding sites that drive drug resistance.

Oleynik, V., Edathil Kadangodan, A., Gahramanov, V., Das, S. R., Levi, B., Yaglom, J., Anoshkin, K., Kumar, S., Steinber (…)2026-02-23
📄 cancer biology

eIF4E and Ezrin cooperate in pseudopods to drive a localized migratory translation program in acute myeloid leukemia

This study reveals that in aggressive acute myeloid leukemia, eIF4E and Ezrin physically interact within pseudopods to establish a localized translation program (T-PODs) that drives cell motility and disease progression, a mechanism validated using the novel VISTA-R technique for visualizing active ribosomes in situ.

Kraljacic, B., Martinez, L. M., Retiz, A., Perron, S., Shi, N., Embree, C. M., Yip, W., Trujillo-Alonso, V., Chu Carty (…)2026-02-23
📄 cancer biology

Functional and sensitivity profiling of theKITMutation Landscape in Melanoma

This study characterizes the diverse landscape of KIT mutations in Asian melanoma and demonstrates that specific variants exhibit distinct drug sensitivities, thereby establishing a critical evidence base to replace the current "one-size-fits-all" treatment approach with genotype-guided precision medicine strategies.

Yeung, S. F., Chan, M. S. M., Law, C. T. Y., Law, A. C. H., Lee, C., Leung, A. M. F., Chau, M. P. K., Chan, H. H. Y., Ch (…)2026-02-20
📄 cancer biology

Hypoxic stress granules trigger immunogenic dormancy in lung cancer

This study reveals that physiologic hypoxia in lung cancer induces translational arrest and sequestration of MHC class I antigen processing pathway mRNAs into stress granules, thereby blocking immunopeptide presentation and establishing a state of "immunogenic dormancy" that facilitates immune escape.

Smith, M. G., Ramos, A. R., Panchal, H., Cerkezi, N. H., Garcia, C., Spruce, L., Fazelinia, H., Maggi, L. B., Mailloux (…)2026-02-20