Our Discoveries

High magnification micrograph of a clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Combination therapy in patients with advanced kidney cancer found to be highly effective

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.

Hotspots for DNA damage and repair in neurons identified

Researchers have pinpointed hotspots along the genome of neurons where endogenous, or internally driven, DNA breaks and repair accumulate. If the breaks are not repaired rapidly, they can lead to neuron dysfunction, degeneration and death.

New finding reveals how some cancers gain or lose chromosomes

Some cancers have an abnormal number of chromosomes, and patients with these cancers tend to have a worse prognosis. CCR researchers have uncovered how overexpression of just one protein can cause these chromosome abnormalities – hinting at a mechanism that could be therapeutically targeted.

Drug lessens symptoms of severe chronic graft-versus-host disease

About half of patients who receive allogeneic stem cell transplants, a treatment for blood cancer, develop a difficult-to-treat condition called chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). CCR investigators have found that pomalidomide, an immune-modulating drug, can reduce symptoms in patients with severe cases of cGVHD.

A key mechanism that fuels uncontrolled cell growth is uncovered in yeast

Scientists have long wondered how cancer cells use a protein complex, called TOR, to survive and proliferate in nutrient-poor conditions. Now, CCR researchers have discovered how a protein that is targeted by TOR drives this process, which holds important implications for understanding cancer and some genetic disorders.

amplified TNIK contributes to LSCC progression

Potential therapeutic target for lung squamous cell carcinoma identified

CCR researchers have identified the protein TNIK as a therapeutic target for lung squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common type of lung cancer. Using human lung cancer cells transplanted into preclinical models, researchers found that the cells responded to a pharmacological treatment that inhibited TNIK and also resulted in cell death in the transplanted tumor cells.

Fecal microbiota transplants help patients with advanced melanoma respond to immunotherapy

A collaborative study between the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh suggests that fecal microbiota transplants can help patients with advanced melanoma respond to immunotherapy. “Our study is one of the first to demonstrate in patients that altering the composition of the gut microbiome can improve the response to immunotherapy,” says study co-leader Giorgio Trinchieri, M.D., Chief of CCR’s Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology.

New way to address chemoresistance linked to the protein SLFN11

CCR researchers have discovered two complementary roles for the protein Schlafen-11 (SLFN11) in determining patient response to chemotherapy. These findings have implications for how to overcome this resistance and provide new treatment options for patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and many other cancers.

Genetics, not just smoking, influence small cell lung cancer risk

People with mutations in DNA repair genes may be more likely than others to develop small cell lung cancer. Identifying these mutations in patients could help guide treatment decisions.

DNA damage during a critical phase in the cell cycle called G1

New findings show how damaged cells survive the cell cycle

As cells divide and replicate, important safety checkpoints are in place to ensure that most faulty cells with damaged DNA do not survive the cell cycle. In a new twist, CCR researchers discovered how some damaged cells use molecular inertia to drive past these safety checkpoints and continue through the cell cycle.

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