Our Discoveries

New findings hint at therapies for African Americans with lung cancer

A study published in Nature Communications reveals that two genes tend to be mutated at higher rates in cancerous lung tissue samples taken from African Americans, hinting that these patients may benefit more from certain therapies targeting those genes.

Unlocking the key to HIV persistence

Even though antiretroviral therapies have allowed many people to live long lives, ridding the body of HIV completely has been an elusive goal ever since the discovery in the 1980s that HIV causes AIDS. New research from the Center for Cancer Research shows that proviral DNA sequences and their integration at specific sites could provide clues for researchers developing drugs to eradicate AIDS.

Mitochondrial shape in pancreatic cancer

Computational analysis leads to potential new drug combination for pancreatic cancer

A computer analysis has been able to predict that low levels of asparagine, an amino acid required for protein synthesis, combined with the shutdown of a stress response pathway can lead to reductions in the fitness of a tumor. These combined findings could potentially lead to new combination therapies to treat aggressive tumors, such as those found in pancreatic cancers.

Diversity of liver cancer cells can impede tumors’ response to immunotherapy

New research from the NCI’s Center for Cancer Research shows that understanding the impacts of cellular diversity on liver tumors’ microenvironment suggests ways to make immunotherapy effective for more patients.

Advanced imaging technology reveals pulsed hormone release regulates gene transcription

Using advanced microscopic imaging technology, CCR investigators have correlated a pulsed pattern of hormone release with bursts of transcription, the process in which the genetic information encoded by DNA is written into RNA. They are the first researchers to observe this process at a gene-specific level.

Tumor composition of melanoma indicates potential responses to immunotherapy

The number of genetic mutations in a tumor is thought to influence how well melanoma may respond to immunotherapy, but new research in mice and supported by preliminary human data reveals that the diversity of mutations within a tumor may be a better indicator of response to therapy.

FDA grants breakthrough therapy designation for new CAR T-cell therapy for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

In August 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted breakthrough therapy designation to an experimental immunotherapy being developed in the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) for the treatment of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a type of blood cancer. The designation will advance CCR’s development and testing of an immunotherapy for children and young adults whose B-cell ALL is resistant to CD19-targeted immunotherapies.

Contour maps created from glucose and lactate signals

Researchers develop a new imaging technique to measure cancer metabolism

CCR researchers have developed a new technique to show metabolism from MRI images by reducing the amount of noise in those images, resulting in significantly improved quality. This breakthrough enables researchers to see biochemical processes, paving the way for a deeper understanding of tumors and potentially improved diagnosis and treatment.

Human breast tumor cells arrested in the blood vessels of zebrafish larvae

Tumor cells in transparent fish reveal physical and molecular factors that determine metastasis sites

CCR researchers used zebrafish to discover that particular sites colonized by migrating tumor cells are determined by both the physical architecture of tissue and the cells’ molecular compatibility with their microenvironment.

FDA grants breakthrough therapy designation of new TIL therapy for advanced cervical cancer

In May 2019, the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation to a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy technology known as LN-145 to treat advanced cervical cancer based on data presented by CCR collaborator Iovance Biotherapeutics.

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