Damon Runyon News

Andrew L. Feldman, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘09-‘14), and colleagues at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, reported that novel genetic tests can be used to determine the best treatment options for patients with anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. There are three subgroups of ALCL that have very different survival rates. These subgroups could not be differentiated by routine pathology but only with the aid of the genetic tests, which the researchers recommend giving to all patients with ALK-negative ALCL.

Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘03-‘08) at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues, reported the results of an ongoing clinical trial evaluating the safety and activity of combined immunotherapies for treatment of advanced melanoma. Nivolumab (anti-PD-1), an investigational PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, and ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4; Yervoy), were given either concurrently or sequentially to these patients. The two-year overall survival rate was 88%.

Eranthie Weerapana, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ‘12-‘14) and colleagues at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, have developed new nanotechnology “cage” that can entrap small molecule drugs and infiltrate cancer cells. This is a promising drug delivery system that could be used to fight cancer and other diseases. The results were published in the American Chemical Society journal ACSNano.

Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘08-‘13) of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, working with a multi-institutional team, analyzed data from two long-term studies involving nearly 128,000 participants. The researchers found that individuals whose colons have high levels of a specific gene, 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH), dramatically reduce their chances of developing colorectal cancer by taking aspirin. In contrast, aspirin provides no benefit to individuals whose colons show low levels of 15-PGDH.

Madhav Dhodapkar, MD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘02-‘07), Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, reported positive results from a Phase 1 clinical trial using a cancer vaccine called CDX-1401, which activates the patient’s immune system against cancers that express the tumor marker NY-ESO-1. In 45 patients with advanced malignancies (melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer), thirteen patients experienced stabilization of disease and two patients had tumor regression.

Feng Zhang, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ‘12-‘14), of the Broad Institute, Cambridge, was named the 2014 recipient of its Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This award is NSF’s highest honor that recognizes an outstanding researcher under the age of 35 and funds his or her research in any field of science or engineering.

Sean Bendall, PhD (Damon Runyon-Dale F. Frey Scientist ‘14-‘16, Damon Runyon Fellow ‘09-‘12), of Stanford University, Stanford, and colleagues, reported the development of a new technology that can simultaneously detect as many as 100 clinically important proteins in breast tumor cells-conventional methods can pinpoint only two to four at the same time. This technology, called multiplexed ion beam imaging (MIBI), will enable scientists to provide new insights into cancer cell development that will be valuable for basic research, drug discovery and clinical diagnostics.

Clark C. Chen, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘04-‘06) of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, and colleagues,  reported that FDA-approved anti-psychotic drugs possess tumor-killing activity against the most aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma.

Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD (Dr. Bart A. Kamen Fellow ‘13-‘15) in the laboratory of Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘03-‘08) at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, reported the clinical efficacy of a combined approach using checkpoint blockade, a strategy that harnesses the immune response to treat cancers, and oncolytic virotherapy, an investigational intervention that uses viruses to destroy tumors.

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) named two Damon Runyon alumni as 2014 recipients of its prestigious awards. Elaine V.