News and Events

Now recruiting: Combination therapy clinical trial for small-cell lung or small-cell extrapulmonary cancers

Anish Thomas, M.D., of the Developmental Therapeutics Branch, is leading a study of a drug combination to treat small-cell lung cancer that has come back after treatment as well as small-cell cancer that started at a site other than the lungs (extrapulmonary). Small-cell lung cancer is an aggressive, fast-growing type of lung cancer.

Genomic profiles of lung cancer differ based on ancestry

An analysis of tumors from people with non-small cell lung cancer by researchers at the Center for Cancer Research revealed differences in genomic instability and homologous recombination deficiency in tumors from people with African ancestry compared to those with European ancestry. These findings highlight ancestry-related differences in tumor biology and may help improve our understanding of the higher incidence of cancer burden and high mortality observed in African Americans.

Clinical trial investigates IV administration of vaccine for advanced solid tumors

Marijo Bilusic, M.D., Ph.D., of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, is leading a clinical trial to test whether giving the MVA-BN-brachyury vaccine intravenously is safe for humans and has no intolerable side effects. The goal of the study is to see whether intravenous MVA-BN-brachyury vaccine can shrink tumors and slow or prevent the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.

FDA grants orphan drug designation to zotiraciclib for the treatment of glioma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug status in December to zotiraciclib for use in patients with glioma, a cancer of the brain that begins in glial cells (cells that surround and support nerve cells). This designation is based on results from an ongoing NCI-sponsored phase 1 trial led by the CCR Neuro-Oncology Branch at the NIH Clinical Center.

FDA grants orphan drug designation to zotiraciclib for the treatment of glioma

Protein affecting cell division hints at a way to overcome drug resistance

Researchers have uncovered the way in which a protein, called CLR4, helps complete the cell division process. The mechanism could potentially be harnessed to overcome resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs such as paclitaxel.

Jay Berzofsky and Hoyoung Maeng discuss new vaccine to help men with prostate cancer

Jay Berzofsky, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Vaccine Branch, and Hoyoung Maeng, M.D., Assistant Research Physician in the Vaccine Branch, recently discussed their ongoing work to design and develop vaccines and immunotherapy for cancer prevention and treatment with Cancer Therapy Advisor. They share how they are testing a vaccine that may one day delay the need to use androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in prostate cancer patients.

Former Pediatric Oncology Branch patient donates toys to NIH Pediatric Clinic

In December, former patient Julie Jones donated over 1,000 toys to the Pediatric Clinic at the NIH Clinical Center. Jones is a former patient in the Pediatric Oncology Branch who was treated more than 20 years ago for alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. She says, “I remember what it was like. What these children are going through at such a young age really breaks your heart. I’ve often said there’s nothing greater than seeing the smile on the face of a sick child.”

Binding preferences of Ras and Raf yield clues for developing targeted cancer therapies

Using living cells, researchers in CCR have found that a set of enzymatic proteins, known as Raf kinases, have differing affinities in how they bind to a class of cancer-related proteins, known as the Ras GTPases. This could offer new strategies for developing more effective targeted therapies.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors block cancer-driving gene networks by obstructing DNA folding

Studies of the pediatric cancer rhabdomyosarcoma have revealed an unexpected way to intervene in cell-identity-determining networks that are abused by many aggressive cancers.

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