Press Releases

Obesity has been identified as an adverse risk factor for survival in many adult and childhood cancers, but not in pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma, the most common cancer in adolescents. The results of a study led by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) and Columbia University Medical Center used advanced imaging methods to evaluate obesity and suggest a relationship between obesity and disease relapse. The team’s findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 52nd Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Primary immunodeficiency disorders are a group of more than 300 single gene defects that affect the role of the immune system and prevent it from functioning properly. When Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers evaluated the overall and site-specific incidence of cancer among patients registered in the United States Immune Deficiency Network (USIDNET), they found increased cancer incidence rates among patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases — and, in particular, a significant increase in lymphoma cases. The team’s findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 52nd Annual Meeting in Chicago.

The ability of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) such as T cells to produce multitudes of clones that overwhelm and effectively control cancer cells has been demonstrated, but the significance of the composition of T-cell repertories is unknown. Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) researchers used deep T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing to evaluate the clonal composition of TILs and identify novel prognostic biomarkers in ovarian cancer. The findings will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 52nd Annual Meeting in Chicago.

In a large randomized study, the immunotherapy drug nivolumab, a checkpoint inhibitor, was shown to be a safe and effective therapy for kidney cancer even in patients who continued treatment after their disease progressed. Results of the phase III clinical study conducted by physician-scientists at multiple centers, including Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 52nd Annual Meeting in Chicago.

While several clinical trials have demonstrated that maintenance therapy with lenalidomide reduces the risk of disease progression in patients with multiple myeloma, there have been no definitive results regarding overall survival. Philip McCarthy, MD, Director of Blood & Marrow Transplant at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, will present the findings of an international team of researchers at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 52nd Annual Meeting in Chicago.

More than two dozen Roswell Park physicians and researchers will be take part in the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago June 3–7, presenting research findings, leading sessions and connecting with colleagues from around the world.

An immune-based therapy developed at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is moving forward with its third clinical trial. The early-stage clinical trial will assess whether SurVaxM — a cancer vaccine developed at Roswell Park — is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with multiple myeloma, a rare type of blood cancer.