Researchers from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center will present the latest results of clinical trials and insights on cancer treatment and issues affecting patients with cancer, including the financial burdens induced by cancer treatment, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which will take place both online and in-person in Chicago, Illinois, from June 3 to 7.

A small molecule discovered and developed by a team of scientists led by Fengzhi Li, PhD, Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, eliminates human pancreatic and colorectal tumor cells by binding to and degrading DDX5, a powerful cancer-causing protein. The latest research results from Dr. Li’s lab, published today in Clinical and Translational Medicine, suggests that FL118, a compound derived from Chinese tree bark, could be further developed into a targeted treatment for pancreatic cancer and colon cancer, and possibly for other solid and liquid tumors as well.

A multidisciplinary team from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has uncovered a previously unknown function of a gene that regulates p53, a protein that plays a significant role in more than half of all cancers. Their findings, published this week in the journal PlosGenetics, could have big implications for the development of cancer therapies targeting MDM2.