Dual drug combination overcomes treatment resistance in mutant liver cancer

Among the most stubborn adversaries in oncology, liver cancer has long exploited the body's own regulatory machinery to evade destruction. Researchers have now traced how β-catenin-mutant hepatocellular carcinoma silences ferroptosis — a form of cellular self-destruction — by co-opting the mTOR and ERK pathways, effectively teaching tumor cells to ignore their own kill signals. A two-drug combination, MLN0128 and PD901, was found to close both escape routes simultaneously, restoring the cancer's vulnerability to death in mouse models. The work offers not merely a new treatment candidate, but a