Jane de Lartigue, PhD

Articles

Targeting Cancer's Achilles Heel: DNA Damage Response Networks Beyond PARP

December 27th 2018

Cancer cells must maintain a delicate balance to prevent catastrophic levels of DNA damage from triggering cell death, and their heavy reliance on the remaining normal DNA damage response components creates a therapeutically targetable Achilles’ heel.

Prodrugs in Oncology: Teaching Old and New Drugs More Tricks

November 7th 2018

As researchers gain a better understanding of the unique aspects of individual tumor types and their surrounding microenvironment, the design of novel therapies categorized as prodrugs is become increasingly sophisticated, and several novel constructs show particular promise.

CD22 Emerges as CAR T-Cell Therapy Target

October 17th 2018

Although CD19 has proved to be an attractive and effective target for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies in hematologic malignancies, a significant subset of patients treated with this groundbreaking form of immunotherapy eventually relapse.

Evidence Builds for Tumor Mutational Burden as Immunotherapy Biomarker

September 5th 2018

Amid a pressing need to identify patients most likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, tumor mutational burden has emerged as a highly promising and clinically validated biomarker.

ESR1 Mutations Take Center Stage in Metastatic ER-Positive Breast Cancer

August 1st 2018

Despite gaps in current knowledge, investigators are already working toward the development of novel treatment strategies to combat the effects of ESR1 mutations.

Researchers Focus on Putting the STING Back Into Immune Response

July 3rd 2018

Recently, immuno-oncologists have turned their attention to the role of the second arm of the immune response—the more rough-and-ready innate arm, which serves as the body’s frontline defense against pathogenic invaders and, it seems, cancer.

Harvard Expert Sees Potential in BCL-2 Combos

May 27th 2018

Anthony G. Letai, MD, PhD, discusses the complex nature of apoptosis and efforts to target the process.

New Strategies Aim at Survival Protein MCL-1

May 24th 2018

Myeloid cell leukemia 1 has emerged as an intriguing target for anticancer drug development as researchers turn their attention to strategies directed at evasion of apoptosis.

Leading ALK Researcher Tackles Resistance Challenge in NSCLC

May 15th 2018

Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, discusses the challenge of resistance mechanisms in the treatment of patients with non–small cell lung cancer whose tumors harbor ALK rearrangements.

Manipulating the T-Cell Receptor Yields Promising Immunotherapies

May 1st 2018

Components of the T-cell receptor complex, which links antigen recognition with T-cell activity and effector function, are being exploited for several types of cancer immunotherapy.

JAK Signaling Remains a Promising Target in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

April 10th 2018

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD, discusses the rationale for targeting JAK signaling, new drugs under study for this pathway, and clinical challenges associated with these therapies.

Interest Builds in CSF1R for Targeting Tumor Microenvironment

April 3rd 2018

A growing appreciation of the role of the tumor microenvironment in fostering the development of malignancies is prompting the pursuit of anticancer therapies that target components of this supportive niche as opposed to the tumor itself.

Antibody-Drug Conjugate Field Expanding in Oncology

March 16th 2018

Monoclonal antibodies that have the ability to selectively target cancer cells by binding to specific tumor-associated antigens have carved out an important role in anticancer therapy.

Bounty of Novel Drugs Ushers In New Era for ALK-Positive NSCLC

February 13th 2018

ALK inhibitors have followed a rapid trajectory from bench to bedside, taking over from chemotherapy as standard frontline treatment for patients with advanced non– small-cell lung cancer with ALK gene rearrangements.

Novel Approaches Show Promise in Targeting JAK Pathway

February 12th 2018

Dysregulation of the JAK pathway plays a role in the development of numerous tumor types; it is particularly central to the pathophysiology of myelofibrosis and has long been recognized as a potentially valuable therapeutic target in that malignancy.

Prime Time for CAR T Cells

December 15th 2017

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have hit prime time, with the 2 recent FDA approvals for this class of cell-based therapy.

Solving the BRAF Mystery in CRC: Genomic Clues Lead to Triplets and Immunotherapy

December 13th 2017

Mutations in the BRAF kinase are found in a relatively small number of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, but they nonetheless have important implications for prognosis and response to standard therapy.

MD Anderson Expert Sees Testing Challenges in TRK Inhibitor Field

November 20th 2017

David S. Hong, MD, discusses the tropomyosin receptor kinase pathway and potential new molecularly targeted therapies.

Pancreatic Cancer Advocacy Group Leads the Charge for Innovation

October 5th 2017

In its fight against pancreatic cancer, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network aims to improve current survival and double survival by 2020.

Novel Targets and Biomarkers Emerge in Pancreatic Cancer

October 2nd 2017

There is an urgent need for new approaches, particularly since pancreatic cancer is expected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality by 2030.