Treatment Research

Researchers have found that cancer cells containing extrachromosomal DNAs (ecDNAs) have a weakness that can be exploited by a drug that targets the CHK1 protein. In mice, combining the drug with another targeted therapy kept cancer at bay for long periods.

In a clinical trial, people with advanced cancer and cachexia treated with the experimental drug ponsegromab gained an average of 2 to 6 pounds over 12 weeks, depending on the dose they received. Participants treated with the placebo lost an average of 1 pound over the same time period.

Up to 40% of people being treated for cancer use cannabis to help with side effects like pain and anxiety. But with evidence from studies on cannabis lacking, clinicians feel ill-equipped to answer patient questions about its safety and effectiveness.

Scientists have developed a strategy for treating cancer that takes advantage of tumors’ ability to rapidly evolve and turns it against them. It involves intentionally making some tumor cells resistant to a specific treatment from the get-go.

In late 2023, FDA announced it was investigating instances of second cancers following treatment with CAR T-cell therapies. In this Q&A, NCI’s Dr. Stephanie Goff explains what’s known about the issue, stressing that second cancers “of any kind are rare.”

Scientists have been searching for ways to make immune checkpoint inhibitors work for more patients. In two trials, researchers explored a possible role for JAK inhibitors, which dampen chronic inflammation.

A new cellular immunotherapy approach shrank tumors in 3 of 7 patients with metastatic colon cancer, in a small NCI clinical trial. Normal white blood cells from each patient were genetically engineered to produce receptors that recognize and attack their specific cancer cells.

When it comes to cancer drugs, researchers are moving away from a paradigm called the maximum tolerated dose. Instead, they’re focusing more on identifying doses that produce fewer side effects but are still effective against a person’s cancer.

Reshaping the cancer clinical trials infrastructure to overcome key bottlenecks will involve embracing technology and collaboration, and inviting innovation, explain NCI Director Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell and NCI Special Advisor Dr. Shaalan Beg.

In a new study in mice, researchers showed they could enhance radiation therapy by boosting levels of the BAMBI protein in MDSC immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. After radiation, T cells flooded into the tumor and killed tumors elsewhere in the body.

In a clinical trial, people being treated for cancer who participated in virtual mind–body fitness classes were less likely to be hospitalized, and had shorter stays when they were hospitalized, than people who did not take the classes.

NCI’s James H. Doroshow, M.D., reflects on the accomplishments of NCI-MATCH, a first-of-its-kind precision medicine cancer trial, and gives an overview of three new successor trials: ComboMATCH, MyeloMATCH, and iMATCH.

A new study, conducted largely in mice, may help explain why a currently used molecular marker—called mismatch repair deficiency—doesn’t always work to predict which patients will respond to immunotherapies called immune checkpoint inhibitors.

New approach may increase the effectiveness of T-cell-based immunotherapy treatments against solid tumors.

A cancer-infecting virus engineered to tamp down a tumor’s ability to suppress the immune system shrank tumors in mice, a new study shows. The modified oncolytic virus worked even better when used along with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

Despite recommendations, a new analysis shows few people with cancer undergo germline testing to learn if their cancer may have been caused by gene changes inherited from a parent. Germline testing can help doctors determine the best treatments for a patient and help identify people whose family members may be at higher risk of cancer.

ComboMATCH will consist of numerous phase 2 cancer treatment trials that aim to identify promising drug combinations that can advance to larger, more definitive clinical trials.

A new study has compared three formulations of an mRNA vaccine designed to treat cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. All three vaccines showed promise in mice.

Researchers have identified a mechanism by which cancer cells develop specific genetic changes needed to become resistant to targeted therapies. They also showed that this process, called non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), can potentially be disrupted.

For some people with cancer, is 6 months of immunotherapy the only treatment they might ever need? Or 4 weeks of immunotherapy followed by minor surgery? Results from several small clinical trials suggest these scenarios may be bona fide possibilities.

Two research teams have developed ways of overcoming barriers that have limited the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapies, including engineering ways to potentially make them effective against solid tumors like pancreatic cancer and melanoma.

In people with cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a rare, but often fatal, side effect is inflammation in the heart, called myocarditis. Researchers have now identified a potential chief cause of this problem: T cells attacking a protein in heart cells called α-myosin.

Researchers have modified a chemo drug, once abandoned because it caused serious gut side effects, so that it is only triggered in tumors but not normal tissues. After promising results in mice, the drug, DRP-104, is now being tested in a clinical trial.

Two research teams have developed a treatment approach that could potentially enable KRAS-targeted drugs—and perhaps other targeted cancer drugs—flag cancer cells for the immune system. In lab studies, the teams paired these targeted drugs with experimental antibody drugs that helped the immune system mount an attack.

Inflammation is considered a hallmark of cancer. Researchers hope to learn more about whether people with cancer might benefit from treatments that target inflammation around tumors. Some early studies have yielded promising results and more are on the horizon.

NCI researchers are developing an immunotherapy that involves injecting protein bits from cytomegalovirus (CMV) into tumors. The proteins coat the tumor, causing immune cells to attack. In mice, the treatment shrank tumors and kept them from returning.

FDA has approved the combination of the targeted drugs dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) for nearly any type of advanced solid tumor with a specific mutation in the BRAF gene. Data from the NCI-MATCH trial informed the approval.

People with cancer who take immunotherapy drugs often develop skin side effects, including itching and painful rashes. New research in mice suggests these side effects may be caused by the immune system attacking new bacterial colonies on the skin.

Researchers have developed tiny “drug factories” that produce an immune-boosting molecule and can be implanted near tumors. The pinhead-sized beads eliminated tumors in mice with ovarian and colorectal cancer and will soon be tested in human studies.

Women are more likely than men to experience severe side effects from cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, a new study finds. Researchers hope the findings will increase awareness of the problem and help guide patient care.

Research to improve CAR T-cell therapy is progressing rapidly. Researchers are working to expand its use to treat more types of cancer and better understand and manage its side effects. Learn how CAR T-cell therapy works, which cancers it’s used to treat, and current research efforts.

Experts say studies are needed on how to best transition telehealth from a temporary solution during the pandemic to a permanent part of cancer care that’s accessible to all who need it.

Removing immune cells called naive T cells from donated stem cells before they are transplanted may prevent chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in people with leukemia, a new study reports. The procedure did not appear to increase the likelihood of patients’ cancer returning.

A specific form of the HLA gene, HLA-A*03, may make immune checkpoint inhibitors less effective for some people with cancer, according to an NCI-led study. If additional studies confirm the finding, it could help guide the use of these commonly used drugs.

The success of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 could help accelerate research on using mRNA vaccine technology to treat cancer, including the development of personalized cancer vaccines.

Aneuploidy—when cells have too many or too few chromosomes—is common in cancer cells, but scientists didn’t know why. Two new studies suggest that aneuploidy helps the cells survive treatments like chemotherapy and targeted therapies.

New research suggests that fungi in the gut may affect how tumors respond to cancer treatments. In mice, when bacteria were eliminated with antibiotics, fungi filled the void and impaired the immune response after radiation therapy, the study found.

FDA has approved belumosudil (Rezurock) for the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The approval covers the use of belumosudil for people 12 years and older who have already tried at least two other therapies.

In lab studies, the antibiotic novobiocin showed promise as a treatment for cancers that have become resistant to PARP inhibitors. The drug, which inhibits a protein called DNA polymerase theta, will be tested in NCI-supported clinical trials.

A drug called avasopasem manganese, which has been found to protect normal tissues from radiation therapy, can also make cancer cells more vulnerable to radiation treatment, a new study in mice suggests.

While doctors are familiar with the short-term side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors, less is known about potential long-term side effects. A new study details the chronic side effects of these drugs in people who received them as part of treatment for melanoma.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors may improve the effectiveness of cancer immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to studies in mice. The drugs appear to improve the immunotherapy drugs’ ability to find tumors and slow their growth.

Researchers have developed a nanoparticle that trains immune cells to attack cancer. According to the NCI-funded study, the nanoparticle slowed the growth of melanoma in mice and was more effective when combined with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.

A comprehensive analysis of patients with cancer who had exceptional responses to therapy has revealed molecular changes in the patients’ tumors that may explain some of the exceptional responses.

Researchers are developing a new class of cancer drugs called radiopharmaceuticals, which deliver radiation therapy directly and specifically to cancer cells. This Cancer Currents story explores the research on these emerging therapies.

FDA has recently approved two blood tests, known as liquid biopsies, that gather genetic information to help inform treatment decisions for people with cancer. This Cancer Currents story explores how the tests are used and who can get the tests.

Cancer cells with a genetic feature called microsatellite instability-high (MSI-high) depend on the enzyme WRN to survive. A new NCI study explains why and reinforces the idea of targeting WRN as a treatment approach for MSI-high cancer.

Efforts to contain the opioid epidemic may be preventing people with cancer from receiving appropriate prescriptions for opioids to manage their cancer pain, according to a new study of oncologists’ opioid prescribing patterns.

The gene-editing tool CRISPR is changing the way scientists study cancer, and may change how cancer is treated. This in-depth blog post describes how this revolutionary technology is being used to better understand cancer and create new treatments.

FDA’s approval of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to treat people whose cancer is tumor mutational burden-high highlights the importance of genomic testing to guide treatment, including for children with cancer, according to NCI Director Dr. Ned Sharpless.

Patients with acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) that does not respond to steroid therapy are more likely to respond to the drug ruxolitinib (Jakafi) than other available treatments, results from a large clinical trial show.

NCI is developing the capability to produce cellular therapies, like CAR T cells, to be tested in cancer clinical trials at multiple hospital sites. Few laboratories and centers have the capability to make CAR T cells, which has limited the ability to test them more broadly.

An experimental drug may help prevent the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin from harming the heart and does so without interfering with doxorubicin’s ability to kill cancer cells, according to a study in mice.

In people with blood cancers, the health of their gut microbiome appears to affect the risk of dying after receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, according to an NCI-funded study conducted at four hospitals across the globe.

A novel approach to analyzing tumors may bring precision cancer medicine to more patients. A study showed the approach, which analyzes gene expression using tumor RNA, could accurately predict whether patients had responded to treatment with targeted therapy or immunotherapy.

Bone loss associated with chemotherapy appears to be induced by cells that stop dividing but do not die, a recent study in mice suggests. The researchers tested drugs that could block signals from these senescent cells and reverse bone loss in mice.

Some experts believe that proton therapy is safer than traditional radiation, but research has been limited. A new observational study compared the safety and effectiveness of proton therapy and traditional radiation in adults with advanced cancer.

In people with cancer, the abscopal effect occurs when radiation—or another type of localized therapy—shrinks a targeted tumor but also causes untreated tumors in the body to shrink. Researchers are trying to better understand this phenomenon and take advantage of it to improve cancer therapy.