FDA approves BCMA-targeted CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma
The Food and Drug Administration approved idecabtagene vicleucel (Abecma) for people with multiple myeloma that has not responded to or has returned after at least four different prior cancer treatments. The approval is based, in part, on earlier clinical work led by James N. Kochenderfer, M.D., Senior Investigator in the Surgery Branch. Read more...
FDA approves BCMA-targeted CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma
In Memoriam: George Vande Woude, Ph.D. (1935-2021)
Apr 15, 2021
The CCR community mourns the recent death of longtime National Cancer Institute colleague, George Vande Woude, Ph.D. He was an expert in molecular oncology and discovered the human MET oncogene. Read more...
New tool predicts which treatments may work best in cancer patients
Apr 12, 2021
A new precision oncology software tool, called SELECT, analyzes tumor transcriptomics data to predict which therapies are most beneficial for an individual patient. When applied to data from over 30 different clinical trials, SELECT was predictive of patient responses to targeted and immune therapies in about 80 percent of the trial datasets. Read more...
CCR scientists and alumni honored by the American Association for Cancer Research
Apr 12, 2021
Several CCR scientists and alumni will be awarded for their exceptional contributions to cancer research at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. The meeting will be held virtually April 10-15 and May 17-21. Read more...
Drug combination leads to durable responses in patients with small cell lung cancer
Apr 12, 2021
Relapse after chemotherapy is common among patients with small cell neuroendocrine cancers, including small cell lung cancer. In a new clinical study, CCR scientists found a combination of berzosertib and topotecan led to durable tumor responses in patients with these cancers. Read more...
Brigitte Widemann named a Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Awardee
Mar 31, 2021
Brigitte C. Widemann, M.D., Chief of the Pediatric Oncology Branch, has been named a Top Ten Clinical Research Achievement Awardee by the Clinical Research Forum, and she was awarded a Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award for her study “Selumetinib in Children with Inoperable Plexiform Neurofibromas.” Read more...
Engineered myeloid cells have promise as a potential treatment for metastatic cancer
Mar 31, 2021
A team, led by Rosandra N. Kaplan, M.D., Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch, genetically engineered immune cells, called myeloid cells, to deliver an anti-cancer signal to organs where cancer may spread. The results of the treatment, reported in Cell, shrank tumors and prevented metastasis in mice. Read more...
Anish Thomas featured in The Cancer Letter for SCLC study
Mar 31, 2021
In a conversation with The Cancer Letter, Anish Thomas, M.B.B.S., M.D., NIH Lasker Clinical Research Scholar and Investigator in the Developmental Therapeutics Branch, discussed his study, published in Science Translational Medicine, that found some patients with small cell lung cancer may have actionable germline mutations, which may be used to inform personalized screening and targeted therapies. The study challenges the notion that small cell lung cancer is exclusively tied to smoking. Read more...
FDA grants orphan drug designation to PRGN-2012 for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis
Mar 30, 2021
The Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to PRGN-2012 immunotherapy for use in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Read more...
Curtis C. Harris elected as a fellow of the AACR Academy
Mar 30, 2021
Curtis C. Harris, M.D., Chief of the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, has been elected to the 2021 class of fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy. Fellows of the AACR Academy serve as a global brain trust of top contributors to cancer science and medicine who help advance the mission of the AACR to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy and advocacy, and funding for cancer research. Read more...
Combination therapy in patients with advanced kidney cancer found to be highly effective
Mar 26, 2021
A phase III international clinical trial that tested the combination therapy of nivolumab and cabozantinib in patients with advanced, untreated renal-cell carcinoma yielded promising results. Read more...