Catherine J. Wu, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘07-‘12) and colleagues at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, reported the success of a new strategy to boost leukemia patients’ immune systems after transplant. In a phase I clinical study, patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were given a “personalized” tumor vaccine composed of their own inactivated leukemia cells combined with an immune stimulant called GM-CSF.

Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘08-‘13) of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues, reported that the association between aspirin use and risk of colorectal cancer was affected by mutation of the gene BRAF. Researchers found that regular aspirin use was associated with a lower risk of BRAF-wild-type colorectal cancer but not with risk of BRAF-mutated cancer. These results were published in the journal JAMA.

Alice Tsang Shaw, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘04-‘05) of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues, reported that treatment with the investigational drug LDK378 resulted in an overall response rate of 60% to 78% in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with mutations in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. In March, LDK378 received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). 

Marcia S. Brose, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘05-‘10) of University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and colleagues, reported results from a Phase 3 clinical trial (DECISION trial) demonstrating that the FDA-approved drug Nexavar (sorafenib) stopped metastatic thyroid cancers from progressing – nearly doubling progression-free survival from 5.8 to 10.8 months. This result is particularly exciting because no new drugs have been approved for this form of thyroid cancer in 40 years.

Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘03-‘08) of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues, reported the success of a new combination therapy for advanced metastatic melanoma. The therapy combines two drugs (Yervoy and nivolumab) to block “checkpoint” pathways, thus stimulating T cells in the immune system to attack cancers. In a Phase I clinical trial, the combination was demonstrated to be more effective than either drug administered alone.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) selected 27 of the nation’s top biomedical researchers to become new HHMI investigators. HHMI investigators are widely recognized for their creativity and research accomplishments. The new group of HHMI investigators were selected for their individual scientific excellence from a group of 1,155 applicants. Four of the new investigators are Damon Runyon alumni:

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 April: 
Stephen M. Beverley, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘79-‘81), Marvin A. Brennecke Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Chair, Department of molecular microbiology, Washington University, St. Louis

Matthew G. Vander Heiden, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ‘11-‘13, Damon Runyon Fellow ‘06-‘08) of MIT, Cambridge, and colleagues, reported the results of a large study analyzing gene expression data from 22 tumor types. They identified multiple changes in genes that regulate metabolism in cancer cells. The analysis also identified hundreds of potential drug targets that could block tumor growth. The study was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

James E. Bradner, MD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ‘11-‘13) of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues, discovered a set of powerful gene regulators -“super-enhancers” that control cell state and identity. Important for gene control in healthy cells, super-enhancers are co-opted by cancer cells to overexpress oncogenes that lead to aggressive tumors. Treatment of multiple myeloma tumor cells with the drug JQ1 blocked the super-enhancer of the MYC oncogene and resulted in tumor growth arrest.

Oren J. Becher, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ’12-’15) of Duke University, Durham, Laura A. Banaszynski, PhD (Angelo Family Fellow ‘08-‘11) of The Rockefeller University, New York, and colleagues, reported results that, for the first time, link a mutated histone protein to a rare brain stem cancer in children called diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG). This histone typically silences expression of certain genes; when the histone is mutated in DIPG, cancer-promoting genes are aberrantly turned on.