Study reveals function of protein crucial to survival of Staph infections
Oct 2, 2018
A team led by Kumaran Ramamurthi, Ph.D.,Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, has identified why the GpsB protein is essential for the survival of Staphylococcus aureus, a leading source of infection in cancer patients in hospital settings. These findings, published in eLife, point to GpsB as a possible antibiotic target. Read more...
Moxetumomab pasudotox becomes first FDA-approved drug for resistant hairy cell leukemia
Sep 14, 2018
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved moxetumomab pasudotox for the treatment of some patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL). A CCR researcher team led by Ira Pastan, M.D., Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), discovered the drug, which was later licensed to MedImmune/AstraZeneca for clinical development. Robert Kreitman, M.D., Senior Investigator in LMB, led the clinical trials that showed moxetumomab to be an effective option for patients with relapsed or refractory HCL. Read more...
Bacteria could promote lung cancer progression and be biomarkers for the disease
Sep 7, 2018
A laboratory study comparing the microbiome of human lung cancer tissue with non-cancerous lung tissue found higher amounts of specific types of bacteria in lung cancer tissue from smokers, especially tissue comprised of squamous non-small cells with mutations that turn off the TP53 tumor-suppressor gene. This finding could point the way to using bacteria in the microbiome of smokers as biomarkers for early detection of the disease. Read more...
Essential gene network suggests potential therapy for adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma
Aug 20, 2018
A new study by Louis Staudt, M.D., Ph.D., has uncovered the critical importance of a complex of proteins, called BATF3 and IRF4, in regulating a pro-growth and survival network in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). The results demonstrate that this network can be targeted with a class of drugs known as bromodomain-and-extra-terminal-domain (BET) inhibitors, suggesting a novel potential therapy for ATLL. Read more...
CCR-led research team develops predictor for immunotherapy response in melanoma
Aug 20, 2018
Researchers have developed a predictor for immunotherapy response in melanoma. The study, authored by scientists from CCR’s new Cancer Data Science Laboratory and their extramural colleagues was published on August 20, 2018, in Nature Medicine, describes a gene expression predictor that can indicate whether melanoma in a specific patient is likely to respond to treatment with a type of immunotherapy known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. Read more...
New findings in Cell Stem Cell focus on Id1 and its effects on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)
Aug 16, 2018
Jonathan R. Keller, Ph.D., Senior Investigator in the Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, and others recently published findings in Cell Stem Cell focused on Id1, an inhibitor of DNA binding, and its effects on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are cells that form blood cellular components. These findings may have application for treatments such as bone marrow transplantation. Read more...
DNA-damaging drugs show promise in helping treat dogs with lymphoma
Aug 6, 2018
DNA-damaging drugs called TOP1 inhibitors are widely used to treat various cancers, but they have limitations. A clinical trial in dogs with lymphoma suggests that three alternative drug candidates with a similar mechanism may be effective. Read more...
Study reveals regions where harmful DNA breaks are most likely to occur
Aug 2, 2018
Center for Cancer Research investigators have discovered that double-strand DNA breaks—the most dangerous form of DNA damage, which can lead to cancer—tend to occur during DNA replication at regions known as poly(dA:dT) tracts. Their findings represent a first step toward investigating ways to prevent these harmful DNA breaks. Read more...
New study characterizes protein’s role in regulating DNA replication in human cancer cells
Jul 20, 2018
Center for Cancer Research investigators have found that the RepID protein recruits the CRL4 protein complex to chromatin early in the cell cycle, playing a critical role in regulating DNA replication. The findings suggest possible therapeutic targets to tighten the reigns on DNA replication. Read more...
Blocking MEK signaling pathway could inhibit rhabdomyosarcoma growth
Jul 18, 2018
New CCR research shows that a form of a cancer that occurs mainly in children, embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, which is driven by mutations to the RAS gene, may be susceptible to inhibition by drugs that target a pathway in which MEK protein signaling, triggered by RAS, plays an important role. This new mechanistic understanding of a complex biological process led investigators to test a drug, trametinib, in mice implanted with the cancer. Their findings show that trametinib might be a good agent to test in clinical trials for this disease. Read more...