Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

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FDA Approves First Effective Melanoma Treatment in Decades

Patients with metastatic melanoma have renewed hope in their fight against the most lethal form of skin cancer thanks to the FDA’s approval of a new treatment, Yervoy.

It marks the first major advancement in decades against a disease that affects more than 68,000 Americans each year.  In a recent clinical trial led by former Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator Jedd. D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, nearly 50% of patients who received Yerboy survived for at least one year, compared to 25% of those who received other treatments.

Long before Yervoy got its brand name, Jedd was playing a key role in its development.

> Read the whole post: FDA Approves First Effective Melanoma Treatment in Decades

Largest Award in Medicine & Science Goes to Former Fellow

In May, former Damon Runyon Fellow and current Board Member Elaine V. Fuchs, PhD, will receive the nation’s largest award in medicine and science, the $500,000 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research.

Elaine, along with two co-recipients, has been a world leader in the study of stem cells, laying the groundwork for a field of research that is transforming the way diseases like cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson’s are approached.

> Read the whole post: Largest Award in Medicine & Science Goes to Former Fellow

“Trojan Horse” Shows Promise Against Pancreatic Cancer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, have uncovered a new method for attacking pancreatic cancer tumors.

In the growing field of immunotherapy, scientists are discovering how to steer the immune system to attack disease directly.  During a clinical trial last month, however, former Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, PhD, and his colleagues discovered a second approach.

By activating the CD40 molecule in advanced pancreatic cancer patients, the team inadvertently changed the behavior of macrophages, a type of white blood cell that often protects the tumor.  The macrophages turned on the tumor, eating away at its “scaffolding,” or supportive tissue. 

> Read the whole post: “Trojan Horse Shows Promise Against Pancreatic Cancer

Lung Cancer Drug Shows Promise Against Neuroblastoma

A team of researchers in Philadelphia, including former Damon Runyon Scholar Mark A. Lemmon, PhD, announced that the recently-approved lung cancer drug crizotinib (Xalkori) could potentially be used to treat neuroblastoma patients. The most common cancer among infants, neuroblastoma is a disease of the developing nerve cells. Treatment options are currently limited to surgery and chemotherapy.

> Read the whole post: “Lung Cancer Drug Shows Promise Against Neuroblastoma”

New Therapy Dramatically Improves Breast Cancer Survival

Decades of research have had an incredible impact on breast cancer. Today, many forms of the disease can be treated successfully when detected early. Once a tumor spreads, however, the likelihood of survival begins to plummet.  That troubling reality is starting to change thanks to former Damon Runyon Fellow David E. Lebwohl, MD, and a recent Phase III clinical trial in which survival time was doubled for its participants.

> Read the whole post: “New Therapy Dramatically Improves Breast Cancer Survival”