News and Events
Celebrating CCR Careers: Stefan Ambs, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Stefan Ambs, Ph.D., M.P.H., is a molecular epidemiologist whose expertise is in prostate and breast cancer with a focus on cancer health disparities and risk factors that alter the tumor microenvironment. After almost 25 years at the NCI, he retired in May 2025.
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New therapies tested in mice provide a one-two punch for treating liver cancer
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.
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Study reveals function of protein crucial to survival of Staph infections
A team led by Kumaran Ramamurthi, Ph.D.,Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, has identified why the GpsB protein is essential for the survival of Staphylococcus aureus, a leading source of infection in cancer patients in hospital settings. These findings, published in eLife, point to GpsB as a possible antibiotic target.
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Study reveals regions where harmful DNA breaks are most likely to occur
Center for Cancer Research investigators have discovered that double-strand DNA breaks—the most dangerous form of DNA damage, which can lead to cancer—tend to occur during DNA replication at regions known as poly(dA:dT) tracts. Their findings represent a first step toward investigating ways to prevent these harmful DNA breaks.
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Prostate cancer journey leads to immunotherapy
A 14-year battle with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer led Tom to the doors of the NIH Clinical Center. A combination immunotherapy clinical trial led by James Gulley, M.D., Ph.D., turned the tide in his fight and led to a passion for advising prostate cancer patients.
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Committing to cell division may be clue to cancer cell growth
In a new study in Nature, CCR researchers describe, for the first time, how a cell commits to dividing during the cell cycle. Since cancer cells divide when they should not, targeting this pathway might stop their inappropriate growth.
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Antibody-linked drug shrinks various types of tumors in preclinical study
A preclinical study by Center for Cancer Research investigators and colleagues shows that a drug guided by an attached target-seeking antibody can recognize cells infiltrating tumors, the tumor stroma, and cause various types of tumors to shrink, and in many cases, disappear. Their findings suggest that when stromal cells take up the ADC, they cleave the drug from the antibody and release it to kill neighboring tumor cells.
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Fighting a rare central nervous system tumor with research and optimism
In January 2016, Sarah Rosenfeld had such severe pain shooting down her legs she couldn’t walk, sleep or care for her young daughters. After weeks of physical therapy for what she thought was sciatica, she had an MRI. Thirty-seven-year-old Rosenfeld learned she had something far worse: myxopapillary ependymoma, a rare cancerous tumor in her spinal cord. She came to the NIH for treatment options and enrolled in a clinical trial with Mark Gilbert, M.D., Chief of the Neuro-Oncology Branch at the Center for Cancer Research.
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FDA grants orphan drug status to selumetinib for neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) treatment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug status in February to selumetinib for use in patients with the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), who often develop tumors of the peripheral nervous system. Receiving orphan drug designation is a helpful step for selumetinib.
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Activated platelets can promote tumor cell invasion into healthy tissue
Pre-clinical studies conducted by CCR investigators and colleagues show that platelets, tiny cells that promote blood clotting, when activated by the CD97 protein on the surface of tumor cells, enable the tumor cells to invade healthy tissue and then metastasize. The study, published April 17, 2018, in Cell Reports, was led by Kathleen Kelly, Ph.D., Chief, Laboratory of Genitourinary Cancer Pathogenesis.
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New study shows normally helpful natural bacteria may also trigger lupus
CCR scientists have discovered that a protein produced by bacteria that naturally inhabit our bodies may trigger the autoimmune disease lupus. The results of the study could unveil an entirely new set of drug targets for treating lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Read more…
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