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New DiscoveriesAugust 2, 2012

Gene copy number linked to testicular cancer

Zsofia K. Stadler, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘11-‘14) of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, led a genomic study of testicular cancer that identified “copy number variations” (CNVs) as a cause of cancer. Rather than being triggered by a single gene mutation, these tumors can be caused by CNVs (too many or too few copies of a gene). CNVs occurred spontaneously in 7% of patients with early-onset testicular germ cell tumors. These findings were published in The American Journal of Human Genetics.

New DiscoveriesAugust 1, 2012

New evidence for cancer stem cells

Luis F. Parada, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘85-‘86) and colleagues at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, used genetic techniques to track cancer cells. They found that glioblastoma brain cancers contained a small number of stem cells that are resistant to chemotherapy and can give rise to tumor cells. This study—along with two separate studies conducted independently by other research groups—confirms the existence of cancer stem cells, and the researchers are now searching for ways to kill these cells.

New DiscoveriesAugust 1, 2012

Peripheral T-cell lymphoma genome sequenced

Andrew L. Feldman, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘09-‘14), and colleagues at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, reported the completion of the world’s first genome-wide sequencing analysis of peripheral T-cell lymphomas, a highly aggressive cancer of the immune system. The team found 13 genetic abnormalities, five of which involve genes related to the tumor suppressor p53. These findings will ultimately be used to improve diagnostic tests and develop targeted treatments for this type of lymphoma. The study was published in the journal Blood.

New DiscoveriesJuly 23, 2012

Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers announced

Valerie Horsley, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘04-‘07) of Yale University, New Haven, and Georgios Skiniotis, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘04-‘07) of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

New DiscoveriesJune 6, 2012

New treatment option for rare form of basal cell carcinoma

Jean Y. Tang, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘11-‘14) of Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues, reported the success of a newly approved drug, vismodegib/Erivedge, in dramatically shrinking basal cell carcinoma (BCC) skin cancers and preventing new ones from forming in patients with basal cell nevus syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes dozens to thousands of skin cancers on each patient’s body.

New DiscoveriesJune 2, 2012

Clinical trial success for new immunotherapies in multiple cancer types

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New DiscoveriesMay 16, 2012

Drug boosts effectiveness of cancer vaccine

Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘00-‘05) and colleagues at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, reported that the drug daclizumab (Zenapax) improved the survival of breast cancer patients taking a cancer vaccine by 30 percent (seven months), compared to those patients not taking the drug. Daclizumab, approved for use in preventing transplant rejection, targets Tregs (regulatory T cells) that normally prevent the immune system from detecting and attacking tumors.

New DiscoveriesMay 9, 2012

Genetic mutations in melanoma

A team of scientists from the Broad Institute, Cambridge, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, led by Matthew L. Meyerson, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘95-‘98) and Todd R. Golub, MD (Innovation Award Committee Member, Board Member) sequenced the whole genomes of 25 metastatic melanoma tumors. Analysis of these sequences indicated that the rates of genetic mutation rose along with chronic sun exposure in patients. As expected, the scientists detected known mutations in genes that regulate cell growth.

New DiscoveriesMay 1, 2012

New Members of National Academy of Sciences Elected

Election to the National Academy of Sciences is one of the highest honors that can be earned by a U.S. scientist. In recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original biomedical research, three Damon Runyon alumni were inducted this May:
Rachel D. Green, PhD (Fellow ‘93-‘96, Current Innovation Award Committee, Fellowship Sponsor), Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore

New DiscoveriesApril 30, 2012

New findings about MCL1 gene function in apoptosis

MCL1 encodes a protein that helps keep cells alive (anti-apoptotic); it is frequently overexpressed in cancer. Joseph T. Opferman, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘01-‘04) and colleagues at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, reported that different forms of MCL-1 reside in distinct locations in the cell’s mitochondria and exhibit separable functions. One form is anti-apoptotic, while a newly identified form that works inside the mitochondria is involved in energy production and is probably essential for tumor cell survival.