CCR researchers show testing with combined biopsy method improves prostate cancer diagnosis
Mar 5, 2020
A method of testing for prostate cancer developed at the Center for Cancer Research leads to more accurate diagnosis and prediction of the course of the disease, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Peter Pinto, M.D., Investigator in the Urologic Oncology Branch, led the study and says this method, which combines systematic biopsy, the current primary diagnostic approach, with MRI-targeted biopsy, is poised to greatly improve prostate cancer diagnosis, thereby reducing the risk of both overtreatment and undertreatment of the disease. To see all open prostate cancer trials, click here. Read more...
A new set of genes linked to metastasis in melanoma
Mar 3, 2020
CCR researchers have found that melanoma can reactivate gene expression patterns that are usually active in melanoblasts, facilitating their progression to metastatic behavior. These newly discovered melanoblast genes have the potential to provide a new source of pathways that could be tapped to develop new treatments for melanoma. Read more...
Irinotecan shrinks DNA-repair-deficient breast cancers in patient-derived mouse models
Mar 2, 2020
Laboratory studies uncover genetic features that make some triple-negative breast cancers vulnerable to an overlooked treatment option. Read more...
New study overturns conventional understanding of how HIV infection occurs
Feb 26, 2020
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. Read more...
Potent new LDHI inhibitor disrupts tumor growth in mice
Feb 13, 2020
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. Read more...
Researchers identify protein essential for assembling cells’ energy-producing machine
Feb 12, 2020
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. Read more...
New tool catalogs thousands of previously unknown viruses
Feb 4, 2020
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. Read more...
T-cell stimulation could be used to target cancers with common TP53 gene mutations
Jan 29, 2020
Researchers in the Center for Cancer Research have found that circulating lymphocytes can be stimulated in the laboratory to generate cells that can recognize TP53 gene mutations. Mutations to the TP53 gene are found in about 40 percent of all cancers, making this process a potentially significant step forward in fighting many types of cancer. Read more...
New technology elucidates how metabolites interact with proteins to drive cancer
Jan 24, 2020
Acyl-coenzyme As (CoAs) are a group of small molecule metabolites that are the building blocks and chemical energy source for all living organisms. Recent evidence indicates that metabolites such as acyl-CoAs can also interact with proteins to drive the development of cancer. Read more...
Side effects of CAR T-cell therapy are dramatically reduced with new receptor
Jan 22, 2020
A new immunotherapy for lymphoma has been found to cause lower levels of neurologic toxicity than other T-cell therapies for lymphoma. The findings come from the first clinical test of a CAR T-cell therapy using a new anti-cancer T-cell receptor developed in the Center for Cancer Research. Read more...