📄 Category

cancer biology

256 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

Spatial Compartmentalization of TCR Repertoires Between Primary Melanomas and Sentinel Lymph Nodes Reveals Distinct Clonal Architectures and Shared Antigen Recognition

By performing TCRbeta sequencing on paired primary melanomas and sentinel lymph nodes from 24 patients, this study reveals that tumors exhibit reduced diversity and clonal dominance with patient-specific antigen recognition, while distinct spatial TCR architectures and limited shared clonotypes highlight the unique organization of anti-tumor immunity across these compartments.

Kitanovski, S., Srinivas, N., Schrama, D., Hoffmann, D., Becker, J.2026-06-09
📄 cancer biology

Reconstruction of septin higher-order nano-size structures in ovarian cancer cells uncover susceptibility to the septin-targeting small molecule UR214-9

This study identifies septin-2 overexpression in ovarian cancer and demonstrates that the small molecule UR214-9 disrupts canonical septin hetero-octamer assembly to induce aberrant higher-order structures, thereby inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and migration while showing efficacy and safety in xenograft models across multiple cancer types.

Khazan, N., Snyder, C. W., Dawney, N., Lamere, E., Ekambaram, S., Singh, N. A., Ravi, C., Snape, R., Aichelman, H., Prit (…)2026-06-09
📄 cancer biology

Murine osteosarcoma recapitulates the driver landscape and genomic complexity of osteosarcoma evolution in humans

This study demonstrates that a genetically engineered murine osteosarcoma model faithfully recapitulates the complex genomic rearrangements, structural variant landscape, and key driver alterations (such as *Myc* amplification and *PTEN* loss) observed in human osteosarcoma, thereby providing a robust preclinical platform for investigating tumor evolution and therapeutic development.

Smith, G. A., van Belzen, I. A. E. M., Epinette, M., Herdes, E., Mercer, K. L., Butterworth, C. G., Rust, A. G., Flanaga (…)2026-06-04
📄 cancer biology

Spatial tumor microenvironmental architecture of chemoradiotherapy-resistant residual esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

This study utilizes spatial transcriptomics and single-cell profiling to reveal that chemoradiotherapy-resistant residual esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is characterized by a spatially organized microenvironment featuring SPP1+ macrophage accumulation, microvascular rarefaction, and immune exclusion, which collectively drive treatment resistance and predict poor patient survival.

Bae, S., Ohn, J., Choi, H., Lee, H. S., Kim, B., Kang, C. H., Kim, H. J., Na, K. J., Kim, B. H.2026-06-04
📄 cancer biology

Impacts of mutation accumulation and order on tumor initiation revealed by engineered murine colorectal cancer organoids

Using engineered murine colorectal cancer organoids, this study demonstrates that while specific combinations of Kras, Apc, and Trp53 mutations drive tumor growth, the temporal order of these mutations critically influences tumorigenic potential, particularly by altering immunological features and reducing tumor formation in immunocompetent hosts when Trp53 loss precedes Apc inactivation.

Li, Y., Xie, X., Deng, D., Sun, Z., Huang, Z., Tang, Y., Fang, L., Chen, W., Zhu, Q.2026-06-03
📄 cancer biology

Kindlin-1 loss disrupts vascular and extracellular matrix organisation to sustain hypoxia in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

This study demonstrates that the loss of Kindlin-1 in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma disrupts the coupling between extracellular matrix organization and vascular architecture, leading to a dysfunctional, dense vascular network and persistent hypoxia that drives tumor progression.

Hardman, D., Carrasco, G., Lee, M., Furqan, M., Enjalbert, R., Brunton, V. G., Bernabeu, M. O.2026-06-03
📄 cancer biology

FLASH reduces radiation-induced oral mucositis in a mouse model of Fanconi anemia

This study demonstrates that ultra-rapid FLASH radiotherapy significantly reduces radiation-induced oral mucositis and DNA damage in both wild-type and Fanconi anemia-deficient mice compared to conventional radiotherapy, suggesting a promising normal tissue-sparing approach for treating head and neck cancers in patients with Fanconi anemia.

Loo, P., Pan, M., Zhao, M., Melemenidis, S., Chen, D., Whitmore, L., Richter, S., Dirbas, F. M., Casey, K. M., Graves, E (…)2026-05-28
📄 cancer biology

Long read sequencing reveals novel isoforms and spliceosome-mutant-enriched transcripts in AML and MDS

Using Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing on 71 human samples, this study characterizes the alternative splicing landscape of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, identifying over 174,000 novel translated isoforms and spliceosome-mutant-enriched transcripts while providing a valuable community resource for exploring these splicing patterns.

Miller, C. A., Srivatsan, S. N., Kramer, M. H., Ramakrishnan, S. M., Fronick, C. C., Fulton, R. S., Katerndahl, C. D., H (…)2026-05-27