melanoma

Bile acids in tumors fuel cancer metabolism and help tumors hide from the immune system.

Bile acids (BAs) are significantly enriched in melanoma and breast cancer tumor microenvironments. BA enrichment drives tumor aerobic glycolysis and immune evasion by activating and stabilizing the FXR-RARα complex, upregulating glycolytic pathways and impairing anti-tumor immunity. BA depletion…

Bile acids in tumors fuel cancer metabolism and help tumors hide from the immune system.

Key Findings

Bile acids significantly enriched in melanoma and breast cancer TMEs
BA enrichment drives aerobic glycolysis via FXR-RARα signaling
BA depletion suppressed tumor progression and enhanced T cell infiltration in vivo
FXR-RARα complex is key mediator of BA effects on tumor metabolism and immunity
BA-FXR-RARα axis is a potential therapeutic target

Implications

Targeting the BA-FXR-RARα axis could offer new cancer therapy and diagnosis strategies. Cholestyramine or FXR/RARα inhibitors combined with immunotherapy may have synergistic anti-tumor effects.

Caveats

Preclinical mouse model study; abstract-only. BA biology is complex—targeting requires precision to avoid disrupting normal bile acid functions. Human clinical validation needed.

Source: Frontiers in immunology — 2026-01-01

Landmark DCIS trial, CRC microbiome & AML combos

Two themes cut across this week’s 236 posts. The first is de-escalation: researchers are building rigorous evidence that patients can safely do less — skip lymph node surgery, forgo radiotherapy, watch pre-invasive lesions instead of cutting them out. The landmark result here is a randomized trial confirming that active surveillance

Colorectal Cancer Microbiome Discovery Platform

Analysis of 9,000+ patients revealed that only colorectal cancer — not other cancer types — consistently harbors distinct microbial communities, suggesting the gut microbiome has a unique relationship with colorectal carcinogenesis that could be exploited for diagnostics and treatment.

GBM Tumor Microenvironment Drug Target Atlas

Non-cancerous brain support cells were found to promote glioblastoma growth through paracrine signaling, and blocking this communication dramatically slowed tumor growth — revealing that GBM's microenvironment contains targetable vulnerabilities that are being systematically overlooked by drug…

BET Inhibitor Target Selectivity Database

BRD2 and BRD4 have fundamentally distinct functions — BRD2 prepares genes for activation while BRD4 triggers transcription — meaning that pan-BET inhibitors have been disrupting gene regulation in counterproductive ways, and the field now needs selective BRD4 inhibitors.

Bile acids in tumors fuel cancer metabolism and help tumors hide from the immune system.

Key Findings

Implications

Caveats

Read more

Landmark DCIS trial, CRC microbiome & AML combos

Colorectal Cancer Microbiome Discovery Platform

GBM Tumor Microenvironment Drug Target Atlas

BET Inhibitor Target Selectivity Database