NCI Center for Cancer Research

NOW ENROLLING: Danielle Pastor, D.O., Ph.D., Assistant Research Physician in the CCR Center for Immuno-Oncology, is leading a clinical trial researching safety and efficacy of the immunotherapy ANK-101.   Are you a physician with a patient you want to refer? Contact the NCI Cancer Information Service for more information and provide the trial ID: NCT06171750. ➡️ Learn more: https://go.nih.gov/EdBFyWC National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH Clinical Center (CC)

🌟 Congratulations to Dr. Nirali Shah from our Pediatric Oncology Branch for her election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation! Dr. Shah's research focuses on the development of targeted immunotherapy approaches to treat high-risk blood cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma, in children, adolescents, and young adults. She is also interested in the prevention and treatment of relapsed disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. ➡️ Learn more about Dr. Shah and her open clinical trials: https://go.nih.gov/TQ1ayju National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH): Intramural Research Program (IRP), NIH Clinical Center (CC)

🗞️ IN THE NEWS: Javed Khan, M.D., from our Genetics Branch, and Rosa Nguyen, MD, PhD, from our Pediatric Oncology Branch, were featured in an article in the NIH Catalyst about advances using CRISPR at the NIH. Read more about their incredible work in gene editing! ⤵️ https://go.nih.gov/joguopr National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH): Intramural Research Program (IRP)

Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell will step down as NCI Director, effective Monday, January 20. Read Dr. Rathmell’s thoughts in her announcement below.

🗓 UPCOMING EVENT: Join us for the next seminar in our 2024 Grand Rounds Lecture Series with Brad St. Croix, Ph.D., Senior Scientist in our Mouse Cancer Genetics Program. Dr. St. Croix pioneered the development of methods to uncover molecules expressed on the tumor vasculature. His research focuses on the identification of molecules involved in human tumor angiogenesis and utilizes mouse models to translate new molecular information on angiogenesis into the development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics for cancer. ➡ If you cannot attend in person, this lecture will also be available for viewing the day of on the NIH VideoCast: https://videocast.nih.gov/ National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH): Intramural Research Program (IRP)

🌟 Today is #InternationalMentoringDay! CCR is proud to foster long-lasting mentorships that span all career stages, such as Dr. Steven Rosenberg who is a mentor to Dr. Stephanie Goff, who in turn mentors Dr. Mei Li Kwong. National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH Clinical Center (CC)

🌟 Big congratulations are in order for CCR's recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE): Dr. Nirali Shah from our Pediatric Oncology Branch, Dr. Benedict Anchang, adjunct investigator in our Cancer Data Science Laboratory, and Dr. Sadhana Jackson, adjunct investigator in our Pediatric Oncology Branch. National Cancer Institute (NCI)

💡 NEW FINDINGS: In the era of precision medicine, there has been a huge increase in sequencing-based genetics testing, and numerous sequence variants have been identified in BRCA2. The accurate assessment of genetic variation is vital in the case of BRCA2 because of the high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer in mutation carriers.    To address this challenge, CCR researchers have developed a high-throughput multiplexed assay using CRISPR-Cas9-based saturation genome editing (SGE) in a humanized-mouse embryonic stem cell line. They have provided clinical classification of more than 6500 variants in a breast cancer susceptibility gene, identifying them as benign or potentially cancerous. Their findings will be tremendously impactful in the field of breast cancer screening. ➡️ Read more: https://go.nih.gov/wng2N4E   Image: Donut plots showing the distribution of different classes of genetic variants identified for cancer predisposition genes and reported in ClinVar (a; n = 2,226,284), different types of variants identified for BRCA2 (b; n = 23,060), and the distribution of BRCA2 SNVs identified in ClinVar (c; n = 7,863 VUS, 1,064 pathogenic, 197 likely pathogenic, 3,339 likely benign and 738 benign). National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH): Intramural Research Program (IRP)

💡 NEW FINDINGS: Many human cancers utilize a recombination-based pathway, alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT), to extend telomeres. To gain further insights into this pathway, CCR researchers developed a high-throughput imaging-based screen named TAILS (telomeric ALT in situ localization screen) to identify genes that either promote or inhibit ALT activity.    The study’s results indicate that defects in histone deposition significantly contribute to ALT-associated phenotypes. The researchers demonstrate that pharmacological treatments could be employed to either exacerbate or suppress ALT-associated phenotypes. Read More: https://go.nih.gov/kCCqi92   Image: Example of TAILS data and quantification; U2OS cells transfected with indicated sgRNA were processed as described in the TAILS pipeline. A minimum of 2,200 cells were analyzed per condition. eros lazzerini denchi, National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH): Intramural Research Program (IRP)

The next issue of #Snapshots, highlighting the latest major news from CCR, is coming this week! Sign up here to receive this e-newsletter in your inbox: https://go.nih.gov/N6qefVy