News Archive
The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) is an international non-profit research institute dedicated to improving the understanding and control of cancer. Below are highlights of the Institute’s news.
December 07, 2005
Study Adds Evidence to Cancer Immune Response
A study by investigators in the Cancer Vaccine Collaborative, a partnership between Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Cancer Research Institute has measured and characterized the immune cells in over 100 patients with ovarian cancer. The team found that the presence of the CD8+ T cell subtype is associated with a favorable prognosis.
November 05, 2005
Worming Apart Chromosomes
(San Diego, USA) — A team from the San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research has discovered a novel mechanism for segregating chromosomes during ‘meiosis’ (the cell division that generates sperm and eggs) in worms, according to a study published today in Nature Cell Biology. Aberrant segregation of chromosomes in humans can result in genetic disorders, with the most well known being Down’s Syndrome. The team was investigating the CENP-A protein, which plays a central role in maintaining genomic stability and has been implicated in the onset of colorectal cancer. Nature Cell Biology. Epub ahead of print [PMID: 16273096]
September 25, 2005
Key Genetic Mutations in Brain Tumors Identified
(Rockfield, MD, September 26) — Scientists from J. Craig Venter Institute, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine identified three novel mutations in two receptor tyrosine kinases in glioblastoma tumors using high throughput sequencing.
September 17, 2005
The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) is seeking applications for Director of its Branch
The successful candidate will be a world-recognized leader in a field of research that is strongly linked to human cancer. The candidate must be willing to contribute actively to LICR’s global research programs and have strong administrative and leadership skills. The Branch Director will report to the Institute’s President and Scientific Directorate.
August 28, 2005
Search Committee Appointed for São Paulo Branch Director Succession
(New York, August 29) — The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) today announced that it has formed a search committee to identify candidates to succeed Dr. Ricardo R. Brentani as Director of the São Paulo Branch in Brazil. The search committee is comprised of Dr. Sam Hellman, former Dean of the University of Chicago School of Medicine, Dr. Harald zur Hausen, former Director of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, and Dr. Erney de Camargo, President of Brazil’s National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Dr. Brentani will retire December 31st this year after 22 years in that position. The São Paolo Branch is the second-largest of the Institute’s nine Branches with approximately 140 staff and students.
July 31, 2005
LICR Cover for Nature Neuroscience
Research into the formation of neurons during embryogenesis (Stockholm Branch) was featured on the front cover of Nature Neuroscience this month, with a dramatic image of fluorescently labeled transcription factors in the spinal cord of an embryonic chick.
July 27, 2005
Study Finds Multiple Markers for Breast and Ovarian Cancer
(Uppsala, July 28th) — Scientists from the Uppsala Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) have made a promising discovery that could improve the early diagnosis of breast and ovarian cancers through a simple blood test.
July 23, 2005
Unraveling a Stomach Cancer Puzzle
(Melbourne, July 24th) — It started several years ago with the observation that a large group of seemingly unconnected genes were behaving differently in patients with stomach cancer. Now a multi-national research team led by the Melbourne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) has identified a potential new target for stomach cancer therapy, according to a paper published today in Nature Medicine.
June 28, 2005
Study Marks First Step in Decoding Gene Regulatory Logic
(San Diego) — Investigators from the San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and NimbleGen Systems have developed an efficient method to identify thousands of regulatory sequences in the human genome, according to a study published today in Nature.
June 06, 2005
Cancer Research Finds Targets for New Cholesterol-Lowering Therapies
(Uppsala, June 7th) — A team of investigators from the Uppsala Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and Harvard Medical School has uncovered novel targets for the development of drugs that would potentially complement, or replace, statins in treating heart disease.
May 18, 2005
Cancer Antigen Discovery Collaborative Discovers More Cancer Testis Genes
(New York, May 19th) - An academic/industry collaboration coordinated by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) has used a high throughput sequencing technology to identify 20 new cancer-testis (CT) or CT-like genes according to research published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
April 14, 2005
Prostate Cancer Therapy - Study Suggests New Molecular Screening Theory
(Uppsala, April 15th) — Levels of the Smad7 protein may predict therapeutic response in patients with prostate cancer according to research published today by investigators at the Uppsala Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR).
April 05, 2005
Vaccine Reduces Human Papillomavirus Infection and Disease
(London, April 7th) – GardasilTM, Merck’s investigational vaccine against HPV, significantly reduced the combined incidence of persistent HPV 6, 1, 16 or 18 infection and related diseases, including new cervical pre-cancers and genital warts compared to placebo in a Phase II study published for the first time in Lancet Oncology. Dr. Luisa Villa of the LICR Sâo Paulo Branch was the lead author of the study, which built on the results of Sâo Paulo Branch’s 20 years of investigation into HPV and its link to cervical cancer.
March 03, 2005
Yeast Network Prevents Damage by Oxygen Radicals
(San Diego, March 4th) – Scientists at the University of California, San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) have identified a key network of DNA repair and cell cycle control genes in yeast that prevents the deleterious effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS or ‘oxygen radicals’, have been identified as major contributors to signs of premature aging, increased cancer prevalence linked to inflammation-associated syndromes and a variety of human diseases.
February 02, 2005
Pathogen-Mimicking Vaccine as Strategy for Cancer Therapy
(Lausanne, February 3rd) - The LICR Lausanne Branch has conducted the first clinical trial of a therapeutic cancer vaccine combining the synthetic bacterial DNA sequence, CpG 7909 (ProMune™, Coley Pharmaceutical), with a peptide antigen. The results, reported today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, shows that the CpG 7909 DNA sequence is safe, and increases the immune system’s ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
January 16, 2005
Cancer Vaccines: A Two-Pronged Attack?
(Brussels, January 17th) - The latest findings in cancer vaccine development, from Brussels Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and Brussel’s Louvain University, suggest that cancer vaccines may have two modes of action; specific immunization and non-specific activation of immune cells paralyzed by the tumor.