Nov 15, 2018

Ovarian cancer includes cancer of the ovaries, fallopian tubes or abdominal lining (peritoneum). Peritoneal mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the peritoneum and is caused by ingesting asbestos fibers. In a new clinical trial, a drug derived from the patient’s own white blood cells will be customized and infused back into the patient’s body to try and combat cancer cells. Read more...

Nov 14, 2018

Steve Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Surgery Branch, was featured in an article in The Wall Street Journal discussing immunotherapy. The article primarily focuses on the history and future of immunotherapy and discusses Dr. Rosenberg’s role in the discovery and pursuit of immunotherapy as a cancer treatment.   Read more...

Nov 14, 2018

A team of researchers from NCI’s Cancer Data Science Lab and the NIH National Center for Biotechnology Information have provided evidence for a long-held theory about tumor evolution: The balance between mutation load and selection changes below and above a critical point. This finding marks the first time that evidence for this theory emerged from actual tumor samples. Read more...

Nov 13, 2018

Mesothelioma develops in the thin layer of tissue lining the chest or abdomen, often following exposure to airborne asbestos particles. In this study, patients will receive a combination of a targeted immunotherapy and an immunotherapy agent that blocks a protein pathway that allows cancer cells to hide from the immune system. Investigators aim to see how well patients with mesothelioma respond to this treatment.  Read more...

Nov 9, 2018

Human T-cell leukemia virus-1(HTLV-1) is the only known retrovirus to directly cause cancer in humans. Infection with this retrovirus affects millions of people worldwide, but currently there is neither a targeted antiretroviral therapy nor a vaccine available. “The discovery of novel preventive or therapeutic remedies for this retrovirus could relieve not only the suffering of HTLV-1 infected individuals but also augment understanding of other chronic infections with cancer viruses,” says Genoveffa Franchini, M. D., Senior Investigator in the CCR Vaccine Branch who has conducted pioneering work on the retrovirus. Read more...

Nov 9, 2018

A novel technique that uses near-infrared light to kill cancer cells is very efficient, but the reasons have remained a mystery. A new study reveals that infrared light changes the structure of an immunotherapy agent that can be embedded in the cancer cell’s membrane. This transformation causes the cell to rupture, leading to cell death. Read more...

Nov 5, 2018

A research team in NCI’s Center for Cancer Research in collaboration with investigators at Peking University Health Science Center (PUHSC), Beijing, has found a pathway by which the anti-diabetes drug metformin could affect bacteria in the gut and how that pathway could be supplemented to benefit patients. Read more...

Nov 5, 2018

Biopharmaceutical agents that combine the precision of cancer-specific antibodies and the potency of drugs toxic to harmful cells are increasingly being used to treat cancer. A team in CCR has identified two such agents for liver cancer, which were both found to reduce tumor size and prolong survival in mice. Read more...

Nov 2, 2018

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development recently issued a press release on a new collaborative paper with Vanja Lazarevic, Ph.D., Investigator in the Experimental Immunology Branch, and others from institutes across NIH. The paper, “Regulation of myelin structure and conduction velocity by perinodal astrocytes,” suggests that astrocytes play an important role in how the brain processes information.  Read more...

Nov 1, 2018

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Our research portfolio includes investigators making important discoveries in lung cancer research.  Read more...