Scientists have, for the first time, recreated an assembly of proteins known as the β-catenin destruction complex in the test tube. This is a long-awaited step in cancer research, as mutations in this destruction complex are found in a large percentage of bowel and other cancers.

Scientists can use genetic ‘weather forecasting’ to predict how long it will take for bowel cancer to evolve resistance to a drug before a patient has even started treatment, a new study has shown.

Profiling the ‘immune landscape’ of patient’s tumours reveals who will most benefit from radiotherapy with potential immunotherapy in bowel cancer. Tumours which are chronically Inflamed before treatment could be made more susceptible using targeted immunotherapies