Our Discoveries

Cartoon illustration showing how a variety of cell types surround and interact with cancer cells

Researchers develop new method to estimate cell-type-specific information from bulk tumor data

CCR researchers have established a way to extract cell-type-specific expression information from bulk gene expression data of a tumor sample. Their computational approach, which outperforms comparable state-of-the-art methods, evaluates thousands of tumor samples with minimal cost.

Breast cancer stem cells become aggressive upon contact with macrophages

New findings suggest that breast cancer cells gain stem-like characteristics of invasiveness, aggressiveness and drug resistance upon contact with macrophages, specialized white blood cells in the immune system.

A high-fiber diet may improve the response of melanoma patients to immunotherapy

A new study co-led by Giorgio Trinchieri, M.D., chief of the Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, found that a diet rich in fiber may help some people being treated for melanoma respond to immunotherapy treatment by influencing the gut microbiome. The new findings come from an analysis of people with melanoma and mouse models of the disease.

Cell surface molecule could predict how patients respond to immunotherapy

A new study finds that some immunotherapy drugs are less likely to control cancer in patients who carry HLA-A*03, a cell surface molecule that is involved in immune system responses. This work, which was featured in NCI's Cancer Currents, reveals that HLA-A*03 is a potential biomarker for patient prognosis following certain immunotherapy treatments.

artist depiction of a tumor microenvironment

CCR researchers use immunogenetic profiling to identify targets for numerous pediatric cancers

Researchers analyzed over 700 pediatric tumor samples and cell lines, creating one of the largest profile datasets of gene expression and immune response in solid pediatric tumors to date. Their work reveals that a germline developmental protein called PRAME is a potential cancer target.

Ibrutinib improves survival for younger people with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

New evidence suggests that adding the drug ibrutinib to a standard chemotherapy regimen can improve how long some younger people with a specific form of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma live. The findings come from a new analysis led by Louis M. Staudt, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Lymphoid Malignancies Branch, of a previous phase III clinical trial.

Gut bacteria sculpt innate immunity within the tumor microenvironment

New research reveals how gut bacteria reprogram innate immune cells to activate and recruit cells important for anti-cancer immunity, keeping tumor growth in check and improving the response to cancer immunotherapy.

New tool helps researchers make sense of complex immune signals

Drawing on thousands of prior studies, CCR scientists have developed a computational tool that helps predict how immune cells’ molecular communications impact cancer, infection control and inflammatory disease.

Diagram illustrates how the hydrogel platform delivers therapy directly to cancer cells

Newly developed gel can be used to treat cancers that form on organ surfaces

Researchers at CCR engineered a hydrogel carrying nanoparticles that can be sprayed or administered by syringe as part of a surgical strategy for cancers that develop on the outer surface of organs. When applied topically, the gel can reach small deposits of cancer cells that might have been missed during surgery. This approach has the potential to change the treatment paradigm for mesothelioma and possibly for other cancers that form on the surface of organs.

Blood test reveals when benign NF1 tumors turn cancerous

People with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) often develop non-cancerous, or benign, tumors that grow along nerves. These tumors can sometimes become cancerous, but there hasn’t been a good way to determine whether this transformation to cancer has happened. In a new study, researchers co-led by Jack F. Shern, M.D., Lasker Clinical Research Scholar in the Pediatric Oncology Branch, have developed a blood test that could one day offer a highly sensitive and inexpensive approach to detect cancer early in people with NF1.

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