News and Events

Clinical trial tests new schedule of radiation therapy for recurring prostate cancer

In order to find the most compressed schedule of radiation that prostate cancer patients can tolerate without strong side effects, Deborah Citrin, M.D., of the Radiation Oncology Branch wants to see if giving higher doses of radiation over 2–4 weeks can be as effective at killing cancer cells. Read more…

Ken Aldape joins CCR as Chief, Laboratory of Pathology

Kenneth Aldape, M.D., has joined CCR as the Chief of the Laboratory of Pathology. Dr. Aldape’s research interests focus on the molecular pathogenesis and classification of brain tumors, particularly malignant gliomas and meningliomas. His passion is to apply new molecular technologies to classify tumors from a biological perspective. Learn more...

Cartoon illustrating how SLFN11acts like an alarm clock against abnormal DNA replication in a DNA-damaged cell

Study characterizes how DNA-damaging anti-cancer drugs kill cancer cells

Patients whose cancer cells express the SLFN11 protein are more likely to respond to DNA-damaging anti-cancer drugs than those whose cancer cells don’t express SLFN11. In a new study, Center for Cancer Research investigators show how these drugs recruit SLFN11 to block replication and kill cancer cells. Read more…

Phase II trial suggests new drug can shrink tumors in advanced ovarian cancer

In an ongoing phase II trial led by Jung-Min Lee, M.D., an Investigator in CCR’s Women’s Malignancies Branch, using the drug prexasertib led to decreases in tumor size in patients with advanced ovarian cancer, known as high-grade serious ovarian carcinoma, who currently have limited treatment options. Read more…

Scientists repurpose HPV vaccine technology to fight eye cancer

Uveal melanoma is a rare eye cancer that affects about 1,600 people in the United States. A study by scientists in the Center for Cancer Research and Aura Biosciences, Cambridge, Mass., published December 14, 2017, in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, provides new hope for the early treatment of uveal melanoma. Read more…

Mark Roschewski discusses significance of early detection in solid tumors with Newsweek

A recent Newsweek article profiles the capabilities of CancerSEEK, a blood-based cancer detection test that may improve detection of early-stage cancers, including those that are hard to detect. Mark Roschewski, M.D., Staff Clinician in the Lymphoid Malignancies Branch, offered insight on the value of early detection for patients with solid tumors, such as those of the pancreas. According to Dr. Roschewski, “In solid tumors, earlier detection is actually the key. The earlier that one could detect a patient with a tumor, the more likely that the intervention would succeed because the intervention is surgery.” Read the full article…

Combination therapy for non-small cell lung cancer studied in new clinical trial

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer, is slow growing and can affect smokers and non-smokers alike. David S. Schrump, M.D., Surgical Chief of the Thoracic and Gastrointestinal Oncology Branch, is leading the NCI’s participation in a multicenter trial of a combination drug therapy in patients with NSCLC. Read more...

Yves Pommier named fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Yves Pommier, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Developmental Therapeutics Branch, was recently elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a fellow honors AAAS members whose efforts to advance science or its applications have distinguished them among their peers and colleagues. The 2017 AAAS Fellows will be recognized on Feb. 17, 2018 at the AAAS annual meeting in Austin, TX. Read more...

Michael Gottesman honored with Order of the Rising Sun by Japanese Government

The Government of Japan recently honored Michael Gottesman, M.D., Chief of the Laboratory of Cell Biology, with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays and Neck Ribbon, for his contributions toward promoting research exchange in the biomedical field between the U.S. and Japan. The Order of the Rising Sun was established in 1875 as the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government. Read more...

New NCI video showcases one patient’s clinical-trial journey

Sue Scott was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2011. When standard treatment failed to eliminate her cancer cells, Scott’s doctor referred her to an immunotherapy clinical trial at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with Christian Hinrichs, M.D., Investigator and Lasker Scholar in CCR’s Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch. Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment where the patient’s own immune system is used to fight the cancer. In this video, Sue details her story of survival and experience of taking part in a clinical trial with CCR. Watch the video here.

Breadcrumb