News and Events
Celebrating CCR Careers: Alan Rein, Ph.D.
Alan Rein, Ph.D., is a known expert in the field of viral assembly, particularly in retroviruses like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). After an extensive career studying molecular mechanisms of retroviral replication and pathogenesis, he has announced his retirement.
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Clinical trial studies combination therapy for mesothelin-expressing solid tumors
A clinical trial at the NIH Clinical Center is evaluating a combination therapy for mesothelin-expressing solid tumors. Mesothelin is a protein found on the surface of certain types of normal cells and cancer cells. This trial is studying the effect of LMB-100, a man-made protein attracted to mesothelin, with a drug commonly used to treat certain types of arthritis and colitis.
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Irinotecan shrinks DNA-repair-deficient breast cancers in patient-derived mouse models
Laboratory studies uncover genetic features that make some triple-negative breast cancers vulnerable to an overlooked treatment option.
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Udo Rudloff and team develop potential new type of immunotherapy
New research led by Udo Rudloff, M.D., Ph.D., Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch, describes a potential new type of immunotherapy that applies across many types of cancer. The findings were reported in Science Translational Medicine and showed this approach has potential for treating other diseases as well. This work was featured in a recent press release from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
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New study overturns conventional understanding of how HIV infection occurs
Researchers have succeeded in imaging where and when the protective coating that surrounds HIV is disassembled, a critical step in the viral replication process. Their observations show that the virus keeps its protective coating after entering the nucleus of a cell and then begins replicating, which is counter to what most scientists have thought for decades.
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Jennifer Brudno and James Kochenderfer discuss reduced side effects of remodeled CAR T-cell therapy
Jennifer Brudno, M.D., Assistant Research Physician, and James Kochenderfer, M.D., Investigator, both of the Surgery Branch, discussed their ongoing work to remodel CAR T cells to create a safer, more effective therapy in a recent Cancer Currents blog post. They share that since they tweaked the design of their original CAR T cells, the new therapy caused far fewer neurologic side effects than the original therapy did in an earlier trial but was equally effective.
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Potent new LDHI inhibitor disrupts tumor growth in mice
Researchers have identified a potent LDH inhibitor, which can disrupt the energy production of tumors in mice. After exposure to the LDH inhibitor, the cancers cells began to rely on a different form of energy production, which could also be disrupted by using a second drug. Combining the two drugs had a potent anti-cancer effect.
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Researchers identify protein essential for assembling cells’ energy-producing machine
CCR researchers have discovered that the protein Bcs1 acts as the element that facilitates the transport of iron-sulfur protein, or ISP, across the inner membranes of mitochondria, the cell’s power plant. ISP is needed for the assembly of Complex III, a key element of the respiratory chain, which ensures that nutrients are converted to ATP, energy that cells need.
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New tool catalogs thousands of previously unknown viruses
In the quest to study two cancer-causing viruses, a team of researchers has uncovered a wealth of previously unknown viruses, some with very unusual properties. The work could one day help identify viruses associated with cancer and other disease.
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James N. Kochenderfer receives Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Award
James N. Kochenderfer, M.D., Investigator in the Surgery Branch, has been named a Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Awardee by the Clinical Research Forum. Dr. Kochenderfer received the award for “Development of CAR T-Cell Therapy for Myeloma.”
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Clinical trial tests combination immunotherapy for genitourinary tumors
Andrea B. Apolo, M.D., of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, is leading a study to recruit patients with each of the nearly 40 rare genitourinary malignancies and treat them with a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs.
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