Our Discoveries

CCR scientists develop new blood test that may improve liver cancer screening

Scientists led by Xin Wei Wang, Ph.D., Deputy Chief of the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, have developed a new test that can identify people who are likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. The approach uses a simple blood test to check for the patient’s previous exposure to certain viruses. “Together with existing screening tests, the new test could play an important role in screening people who are at risk for developing HCC. It could help doctors find and treat HCC early. The method is relatively simple and inexpensive, and it only requires a small amount of blood,” he says.

New genetic analysis will help researchers understand how diffuse large B-cell lymphoma subtypes respond to experimental therapies

By looking for about 100 potential genetic abnormalities in the DNA of certain lymphomas, researchers can now assign individual cases of DLBCL to one of seven subtypes. The new classification system will better equip researchers to recognize the impact of experimental therapies on subsets of patients whose cancers share key clinical and biological features.

Mouse models and patient data suggest potential biomarker for immunotherapy response in melanoma

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are an effective treatment for about a third of patients with metastatic melanoma. Now, mouse models and patient data suggest these cancers are more likely to respond to immunotherapy if their cells resemble fully developed melanocytes rather than less mature precursor cells.

CCR researchers show testing with combined biopsy method improves prostate cancer diagnosis

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.

A new set of genes linked to metastasis in melanoma

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.

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.

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.

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.

Molecular transporter that helps to assemble the machinery for cellular power generation

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.

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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