Scientists from the Department of Radiation Biology report a new strategy to enhance the effectiveness of WEE1 inhibitor–based cancer treatment, published recently in Nucleic Acids Research. The study shows that disrupting transcription termination — the process that properly stops RNA synthesis — significantly increases DNA damage and cancer cell death when combined with the WEE1 inhibitor adavosertib.

A new European collaboration cluster, EARLYSCAN (Early Screening & Hereditary Cancer Awareness Network), has been launched to strengthen prevention and early detection strategies for heritable cancers. The cluster brings together three Horizon Europe–funded projects: SHIELD, DISARM, and PREDI-LYNCH.

The PREDI-LYNCH project is led by Mev Dominguez-Valentin from the Department of Tumor Biology at the Institute for Cancer Research at OUS.

EARLYSCAN operates under the Mission on Cancer priority area “Prevention & early detection – early detection of heritable cancers” and aims to maximise the impact of EU investment by aligning efforts, reducing duplication, and accelerating translation into practice.

Speaker: Professor John Quackenbush, Chair of the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Professor in the Channing Division of Network Medicine of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Title: Why Networks Matter: Embracing Biological Complexity
When: Thursday, February 12, 13:00 – 13:40 + Q&A
Where: Auditorium, Institute for Cancer Research, ground floor, Research Building (K building), Oslo University
Hospital - Radium Hospital site

The European Joint Action on Personalised Cancer Medicine officially launched on January 14, bringing together 29 European countries and over 140 partner organisations to advance personalised cancer care across Europe. Coordinated by the Belgian public health institute Sciensano, the project aims to create a sustainable cross-border network to foster innovation, equity, and collaboration in personalised cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and tertiary prevention.
Oslo University Hospital (OUS) serves as the Norwegian coordinator. 

"RNA Therapeutics: From siRNA to mRNA Innovations", edited by Mouldy Sioud and published by Springer Nature, presents a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the scientific advances driving the rapid growth of RNA-based therapeutics. This landmark volume brings together leading international experts to explore the evolution of RNA technologies and their expanding role in modern medicine.
Mouldy Sioud leads the Immunomodulation and Targeted Therapies research group at the Department of Cancer Immunology at the Institute for Cancer Research.

Recommended sites for current OUS research news:

From Oslo University Hospital, in Norwegian:
OUS Innsikt – ny forskning, innovasjon og behandling - channel for science communication
More news from OUS (oslo-universitetssykehus.no)

From centres of excellence (UiO/OUS):
CanCell - Centre for Cancer Cell Reprogramming 
Cresco - Centre for Embryology and Healthy Development 
PRIMA - Precision Immunotherapy Alliance - Norwegian version
Hybrid Technology Hub - Centre for Organ on a Chip-Technology