The Medical Advisor

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is one of the more unusual compounds in medicine. It has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, membrane-active, antioxidant and drug-delivery properties, and decades of laboratory research have examined its effects on platelets, vascular tone, ischemia, tissue injury and the blood-brain barrier. These properties have generated a provocative hypothesis: could DMSO improve circulation, reduce vascular injury and protect tissue during ischemic events such as stroke? The hypothesis is biologically plausible, but the clinical evidence is much less definitive than some popular accounts suggest. DMSO has demonstrated important vascular and neuroprotective effects in laboratory and experimental models, while human evidence remains limited and insufficient to establish DMSO as a standard treatment for acute stroke, myocardial infarction, deep-vein thrombosis or peripheral arterial disease. Clinical bottom line: DMSO should currently be regarded as an investigational o...

Medically Reviewed by: Dr Frank Yap, MD | Written by: OneDayMD Editorial Team | Last Updated: August 2026 Quick Answer:  Cancer treatment is moving from a one-size-fits-all model toward increasingly biomarker-driven, immune-based, targeted and combination therapy . The most consequential 2026 cancer breakthrough is daraxonrasib , an oral RAS(ON) inhibitor that nearly doubled overall survival in previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer in the phase 3 RASolute 302 trial presented at ASCO 2026. Other major advances include the OPTIMA trial , showing many high-risk breast cancer patients can safely skip chemotherapy after genomic testing; the bispecific antibody ivonescimab , which outperformed standard immunotherapy in squamous lung cancer; continued expansion of CAR-T and cell therapies into solid tumors; and growing, evidence-tiered interest in repurposed drugs and metabolic approaches as complementary strategies. AACR 2026 and ASCO 2026 both emphasized that progress ...

Cancer treatment has transformed dramatically over the past decade. From chemotherapy and radiation to targeted therapies, each advance has sought to tip the balance in favor of the patient. Now, cell-based immunotherapies — therapies that harness and engineer the body’s immune system to fight cancer — are taking center stage. Two of the most promising approaches are CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapies. But what makes them different, and how are emerging innovations, including AI and NK cell expansion, shaping the future of immunotherapy? Understanding CAR-T Therapy CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) therapy involves harvesting a patient’s T cells, genetically engineering them to recognize specific cancer antigens, and reinfusing them into the body. These modified T cells can detect and destroy cancer cells with remarkable precision. Strengths of CAR-T: High efficacy in blood cancers: Durable remissions have been reported in leukemia and lymphoma patients. Long-term immune memory: ...