What are examples of cutting-edge research this year in the POB?
Historically, the Molecular Oncology Section of the POB, under the direction of Dr. Lee Helman, contributed seminal work defining the critical role for IGF-1R signaling in pediatric sarcomas. Monoclonal antibodies targeting this receptor have recently entered phase I clinical trials with encouraging results. There is great optimism in the pediatric sarcoma community that this may represent the first biologically based targeted therapy to show activity in these diseases. In a second example, the Hematologic Diseases Section, under the direction of Dr. Alan Wayne, is working closely with investigators from the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at NCI to develop anti-CD22-based immunotoxins to target acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL 18). A recent phase I study 36 showed clinical activity using this approach in patients with recurrent ALL and plans are underway to improve it with a newer, higher-affinity version of the toxin conjugate and combination with standard chemotherapy, which was sy
