Features
It’s been nearly two decades since CCR researcher Thomas Waldmann, M.D., co-discovered interleukin-15 (IL-15), a cytokine and potent stimulator of antitumor memory CD8+ T cells. Now, in a major step towards the molecule’s clinical development, Waldmann—Chief of CCR’s Metabolism Branch—and his CCR colleagues have started the process of testing IL-15 in human cancer patients for the first time.
Read the full story about IL-15 »
CCR Nurses: Collaborative, Committed, and Caring Amidst Complexity
A welcoming presence at the door and a familiar face going forward—in addition to the best chances for treatment, this is also what cancer patients seek when they enroll in one of CCR’s many clinical trials. As consistent points of contact during treatment, CCR nurses Mary Ann Yancey, Megan Mackey, Melissa Walker, and Marcia Mulquin meet that obligation, even as they tend to the administrative details of managing research. As caregivers, CCR nurses provide a reassuring presence for patients. And as liaisons among patients, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies, they manage the critically important flow of clinical information from the bedside to the research database. Read more about CCR Nurses »
Man’s Best Friend in More Ways Than One
Cancer drug development typically begins with in vitro research before proceeding through varying degrees of investigation in cell lines and laboratory animals, eventually culminating in human clinical trials. However, this often arduous development path may now find an ally in a relatively new branch of oncology research, referred to as comparative oncology. Read more about comparative oncology »
News
Giving His All for ALL
A personal visit to Guatemala evolves into a sustained global outreach program in pediatric oncology.
Faculty Successes: “NExT” Opportunities for CCR Investigators in Drug Discovery and Development
The development of new therapeutics to prevent and treat cancer is one of the most important goals of CCR.
BRCA1 Variants Co-Conspire with MicroRNA-155
Recently discovered microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important biological role by switching “on” and “off” at different times during cell growth, death, development, and differentiation.
Fighting Fire with Fire, Immunologically
CCR scientists describe a new stem-cell-like memory T cell with potential to enhance and prolong immune responses against tumor cells.
Improving an Immunotoxin
Immunotoxins are chimeric proteins that comprise a targeting domain (e.g., the Fv portion of a monoclonal antibody or ligand) and a toxin domain that is capable of causing cell death.
In Conversation: Clinical Fellow Jung-min Lee
CCR connections recently met up with clinical fellow Jung-min Lee, M.D.