IRP Research Leads to First FDA-Approved Therapy for Merkel Cell Carcinoma
By Melissa Glim
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancers are the most common cancer in the U.S., affecting as many as five million people every year. Yet the rarest of these cancers is also one of the deadliest. Merkel cell carcinoma affects about 3,000 Americans each year, and until recently a lack of effective treatments meant only half of patients survived five years or longer after diagnosis. The median survival was nine months.
This bleak outlook changed radically in 2017 with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a new immunotherapy drug called avelumab. Developed through a collaboration between IRP researchers and the pharmaceutical company EMD Serono, Inc., and marketed as Bavencio, avelumab was the first treatment approved specifically for Merkel cell carcinoma.
Decades Later, IRP Researcher’s Discovery Is Used in Labs Around the World
By Melissa Glim
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
National DNA Day, held on April 25, commemorates the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the day in 1953 when a research team led by Drs. James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and Rosalind Franklin published their groundbreaking paper on the structure of DNA in the journal Nature.
The mapping of DNA’s structure opened the door to modern genetics and our current understanding of how DNA affects the health and survival of all living things. Since then, there have been numerous additional major leaps forward in the field of genetics. Among them was the discovery of a universal hallmark of DNA damage by IRP Scientist Emeritus William Bonner, Ph.D., an advance that revolutionized the study of how cells sense and repair genetic defects. Dr. Bonner’s findings paved the way for a deeper understanding of cell biology, as well as clinical advances for treating cancer and for assessing risks from radiation in the environment.
Studies of Blood Stem Cells Stimulate Pioneering Therapeutic Approaches
By Melissa Glim
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), first established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences as the Institute of Medicine (IOM), is comprised of more than 2,000 elected members from around the world who provide scientific and policy guidance on important matters relating to human health. Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have not only made critical scientific discoveries but have also demonstrated a laudable commitment to public service.
IRP Distinguished Investigator Cynthia E. Dunbar, M.D., was elected to the NAM last year for her pioneering research into hematopoietic stem cells, the cells in bone marrow that develop into oxygen-carrying red blood cells, infection-fighting white blood cells, and clot-forming platelets. Her work has led to valuable insights into the production of those blood cells, called hematopoiesis, and its role in human health. Her discoveries have also resulted in new approaches to treat disease by improving stem cell functioning or manipulating stem cells with gene therapy.
New Imaging Approach Improves Care for Men at Risk of Prostate Cancer
By Melissa Glim
Monday, March 29, 2021
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), first established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences as the Institute of Medicine (IOM), is comprised of more than 2,000 elected members from around the world who provide scientific and policy guidance on important matters relating to human health. Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have not only made critical scientific discoveries but have also demonstrated a laudable commitment to public service.
IRP senior investigator Peter Choyke, M.D., was elected to the NAM last year for his pioneering advances in imaging technologies for prostate cancer, which have improved diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Choyke, who directs the Molecular Imaging Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), harnessed artificial intelligence to superimpose images from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans onto images taken in real time using ultrasound, thereby enhancing doctors’ ability to non-invasively examine prostate tumors. This allows doctors to be more precise with their biopsies, thereby lowering discomfort and the risk of nerve damage when they take samples of the tumor. Better yet, if the images show no signs of cancer, patients can skip the invasive biopsy procedure entirely and just continue regular monitoring and checkups.
NIH Scientist’s Decoy Virus Revolutionizes Cervical Cancer Prevention
By Melissa Glim
Monday, March 1, 2021
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), established in 1863, is comprised of the United States’ most distinguished scientific scholars, including nearly 500 Nobel Prize winners. Members of the NAS are elected by their peers and entrusted with the responsibility of providing independent, objective advice on national matters related to science and technology in an effort to advance innovations in the United States.
IRP senior investigator John T. Schiller, Ph.D., was elected to the NAS in 2020 in recognition of a career that has produced numerous discoveries about human papillomaviruses (HPV), sexually transmitted infections that cause genital warts and are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. His decades-long partnership with fellow IRP senior investigator Douglas R. Lowy, M.D., who was elected to the NAS in 2009, has yielded a deeper understanding of how HPV infects and damages cells and led to the creation of the first vaccines to prevent HPV infection.
Artificial Intelligence Simplifies Cervical Cancer Screening
By Melissa Glim
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Even though cervical cancer is considered one of the most preventable forms of cancer, it remains a serious and deadly scourge for many across the world. A computer algorithm designed to quickly and easily identify pre-cancerous changes using a regular smartphone may change that.
“The point of everything that we do and have done in the last 40 years is to understand something deeply so that we can invent simple tools to use,” says IRP senior investigator, Mark Schiffman, M.D., M.P.H. To that end, he and collaborators in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM), in collaboration with the Global Health Labs and Unitaid, developed and are now testing a machine learning-based approach to screening for cervical cancer, with promising results.
Inhibiting Energy Production Pathway Delays Tumor Formation in Mice
By Brandon Levy
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Despite the common misconception that sugary treats send kids bouncing off the walls, fat actually provides more than twice as much energy as sugar and other carbohydrates. This energy can be a double-edged sword, fueling not just healthy cells but also cancerous ones. A new IRP study in mice suggests that reducing the body’s ability to burn fat molecules for energy could slow the formation of tumors, potentially extending the lives of individuals with strong genetic predispositions to cancer.
Future Physician-Scientists Spent a Year in IRP Labs
By Brandon Levy
Monday, September 21, 2020
Many doctors not only treat patients directly, but also make valuable contributions to research that will improve medical care in the future. Each one of these talented ‘physician-scientists’ began his or her research career under the guidance of a more senior scientist. At the NIH, the Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP) provides just such an experience to promising young medical students from all across the United States.
Program Boosts Initiatives Supporting Researchers Across NIH
By Brandon Levy
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
From Superbowl-winning football teams to comic book cohorts like The Avengers, combining the efforts of multiple talented individuals is a proven strategy for achieving remarkable results. It may come as no surprise, then, that the NIH’s Intramural Research Program (IRP) strongly encourages collaborations that breach the boundaries of its 24 Institutes and Centers. One example of these efforts is the Director’s Challenge Innovation Awards Program, which since 2009 has funded high-impact scientific projects that bring together researchers from across the IRP.
Study Also Reveals Immunotherapy’s Target on Cancer Cells
By Brandon Levy
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
In the 1995 film The Usual Suspects, Kevin Spacey’s con man character famously remarks, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.” The same could be said of cancer, which somehow persuades the body it is not a threat. Cutting-edge treatments called immunotherapies remove this façade and encourage the immune system to attack cancer cells. New IRP research in mice has demonstrated the promise of a new immunotherapy for treating ovarian cancer and identified a marker on cancer cells that could help clinicians identify patients who are most likely to benefit from the therapy.
