The Cancer Letter

Daraxonrasib improves OS across metastatic pancreatic cancer subgroups, phase III RASolute 302 trial finds https://cancerletter.com/clinical-roundup/20261023_10b/

"The microbiome is intriguing because it may offer a different approach—one that improves outcomes without substantially increasing treatment burden," writes @cityofhope.bsky.social's Sumanta Pal https://cancerletter.com/sponsored-article/20261023_6/

James LaBelle to lead pediatric cancer, blood diseases programs at Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance, UChicago Medicine (@uchicagocancer.bsky.social) https://cancerletter.com/in-brief/20261023_8b/

"I hope my fellow physicians, scientists and researchers throughout California will join me in supporting Prop 38," writes Arie S. Belldegrun. https://cancerletter.com/perspective/20261023_4/

International Myeloma Society opens applications for over $3M in 2027 research funding https://cancerletter.com/funding-opportunities/20261023_9a/

“I realized, ‘Oh, there’s this third most common mutant, which is cysteine. And, oh, that’s the link,’” Shokat said to The Cancer Letter. https://cancerletter.com/conversation-with-the-cancer-letter/20261023_1/

Douglas Flora named president of ACCC, Jorge Garcia president-elect https://cancerletter.com/in-brief/20261023_8a/

While scientists may not currently have clear answers, the cost of cancer—both human and financial—is quite clear to voters in Iowa. https://cancerletter.com/news-analysis/20261023_3/

Intismeran autogene + Keytruda improves RFS and DMFS in melanoma patients, phase III INTerpath-001 trial finds https://cancerletter.com/clinical-roundup/20261023_10a/

FDA approves bepirovirsen, first-of-its-kind chronic hepatitis B treatment https://cancerletter.com/drugs-and-targets/20261023_11b/

.@nam.edu announces new members for 2027 The list includes Anthony Letai, Kathleen Burns, William Frist, Roy Herbst, Ross Levine, Fred Ramsdell, Dennis Slamon, Elizabeth Swisher, Albert Koong, Charles Roberts https://cancerletter.com/the-cancer-letter/20261023_5/

Trump signs executive order to establish the NIH Women’s Health Division and task force https://cancerletter.com/cancer-policy/20261023_7b/

.@nam.edu announced the election of 90 regular members and 10 international members during its annual meeting Oct. 19. https://cancerletter.com/the-cancer-letter/20261023_5/

FDA approves pembro or pembro + berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph for unresectable or metastatic TMB-H solid tumors with updated indication https://cancerletter.com/drugs-and-targets/20261023_11a/

FDA has granted an accelerated approval to dostarlimab-gxly (Jemperli), making it the first and only immunotherapy approved in the U.S. for adults with locally advanced rectal cancers. https://cancerletter.com/regulatory-news/20261023_2/

Moving beyond escalation to a new therapeutic strategy in oncology Microbiome-based treatment may offer a different approach By @cityofhope.bsky.social's Sumanta Pal https://cancerletter.com/sponsored-article/20261023_6/

Perspective: California’s Prop 38 is an historic approach to funding medical research, immunology The $8.4B bond makes a long-term investment in a field with life-saving power By Arie S. Belldegrun, MD https://cancerletter.com/perspective/20261023_4/

Professional societies, cancer advocacy groups urge NIH to withdraw proposed changes to peer-review process https://cancerletter.com/cancer-policy/20261023_7a/

Iowa’s “cancer crisis” emerges as a top issue on the campaign trail https://cancerletter.com/news-analysis/20261023_3/

Kevan Shokat, a professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology at UC San Francisco (@ucsfcancer.bsky.social), has won the second annual Stephenson Global Prize for research in pancreatic cancer. https://cancerletter.com/conversation-with-the-cancer-letter/20261023_1/

Dostarlimab becomes first FDA-approved immunotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer Patients now have an alternative to the brutal, life-altering standard of care https://cancerletter.com/regulatory-news/20261023_2/

Kevan Shokat made KRAS druggable. With daraxonrasib now in the clinic, he is “all in” on the ultimate target: p53 Shokat was named 2026 Stephenson Global Prize winner https://cancerletter.com/conversation-with-the-cancer-letter/20261023_1/

ChristianaCare study identifies potential drug combination for making CRC more responsive to retinoids https://cancerletter.com/clinical-roundup/20261016_8d/

VCU Massey and UNC Lineberger are among the first cancer centers embarking on a new era of CCSG renewals. Their directors appeared on this month's episode of The Directors, a series on The Cancer Letter Podcast. https://cancerletter.com/podcastc/20261016_1/

"Everyone should be treated like the pontiff," said Dartmouth's Roy Herbst. "With precision, caring and respect.” https://cancerletter.com/news-analysis/20261016_4/

Keith Argenbright receives CPRIT's Texans Conquer Cancer Award in Population Health https://cancerletter.com/in-brief/20261016_7d/

ACS (@americancancersoc.bsky.social) studies find widening rural-urban survival and mortality gaps for women with breast cancer https://cancerletter.com/clinical-roundup/20261016_8c/

Moffitt advances patient avatar technologies through $15M federal research initiative https://cancerletter.com/in-brief/20261016_7c/

Shroff's personal motto: “If you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine." One of her final wishes was to establish the Conquer Cancer – Rachna Shroff, MD, MS, FASCO Endowed Young Investigator Award in Biliary Cancers. https://cancerletter.com/obituary/20261016_3/

"I hope I’m wrong," Ransohoff said. "And I will keep an open mind and crossed fingers, but I don’t see how the work is going to get done given all the destruction of infrastructure and the loss of institutional culture." https://cancerletter.com/conversation-with-the-cancer-letter/20261016_2/

FDA seeks nominations for the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, announces new members https://cancerletter.com/cancer-policy/20261016_6c/

Wistar Institute study identifies immunotherapy strategy for glioblastoma https://cancerletter.com/clinical-roundup/20261016_8b/

A Fox Chase team is combining a rare longitudinal family cohort to investigate why people with similar inherited susceptibility experience different cancer outcomes. https://cancerletter.com/sponsored-article/20261016_5/

William Freed-Pastor wins Steven A. Rosenberg Scholars Award https://cancerletter.com/in-brief/20261016_7b/

Experts say that guidelines would not have recommended that someone like Pope Leo, who has not been known to smoke, be screened. https://cancerletter.com/news-analysis/20261016_4/

MCDs "would be probably more for our kids, but it’s not that far off," @unclineberger.bsky.social's Ferris said. "It’s exciting, and we’re just really pleased to participate and help move this along." https://cancerletter.com/podcastc/20261016_1/

Verma, Aguirre-Ghiso, Konopleva, Hosgood, Guo, Shastri named to @MontefioreNYC CCC leadership team https://cancerletter.com/in-brief/20261016_7a/

Rachna Shroff, a physician-scientist who spent much of her career researching treatments for pancreatic and biliary cancers, has died at the age of 47. She briefly battled an aggressive cancer of an unknown origin. https://cancerletter.com/obituary/20261016_3/

UCLA scientists identify clues to making immunotherapy more effective against glioblastoma https://cancerletter.com/clinical-roundup/20261016_8a/

FDA expands Anktiva approval for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer to cover both papillary and CIS disease https://cancerletter.com/drugs-and-targets/20261016_9b/

FDA launches Rare Disease Framework Initiative for drug development https://cancerletter.com/cancer-policy/20261016_6b/

FDA approves atezolizumab + chemotherapy for stage 3 colon cancer https://cancerletter.com/drugs-and-targets/20261016_9a/

David Ransohoff: "Right now the task force is in the process of being destroyed. And if we lose the task force, we lose an important institution that was the exemplar of evidence-based medicine." https://cancerletter.com/conversation-with-the-cancer-letter/20261016_2/

Beyond BRCA: Using AI to uncover the hidden architecture of hereditary cancer risk https://cancerletter.com/sponsored-article/20261016_5/

Rachna Shroff, accomplished GI oncologist and “tireless mentor,” dies at 47 Her endowed award will live on https://cancerletter.com/obituary/20261016_3/

Letai announces: NCI met FY26 goal of full funding payout https://cancerletter.com/cancer-policy/20261016_6a/

The lung cancer diagnosis of Pope Leo—believed to be a never-smoker—sparks conversations around screening “Even when the patient is the Pope, advances in cancer treatment don’t arrive by divine intervention.” https://cancerletter.com/news-analysis/20261016_4/

“I think there’s room for us to have some caution, because we still don’t know what [a Galleri result] is actually saying," VCU Massey's Baskin said. “The key is really in the follow-up." https://cancerletter.com/podcastc/20261016_1/

As trust in USPSTF erodes, cancer screening is in peril David Ransohoff predicts a “Wild West” era without evidence-based screening guidelines https://cancerletter.com/conversation-with-the-cancer-letter/20261016_2/

VCU's Baskin and UNC’s Ferris weigh oncology’s looming dilemma—MCDs Center directors are strategizing for likely FDA approval of GRAIL’s Galleri https://cancerletter.com/podcastc/20261016_1/