Investigators in multiple teams set to share latest research at AACR Annual Meeting

Talks and posters to be presented at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting reflect the breadth and depth of science conducted at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNL), with topics including liquid biopsy, Lynch syndrome, a new potential treatment for KRAS-related cancers, and ways to achieve cell death in lung cancer. 

FNL investigators are co-authors on about 25 abstracts at the meeting, which runs from April 5 to10 at the San Diego Convention Center. Several scientists will be on hand to present their work.  

“Collaboration and sharing of technology and expertise to accelerate cancer research is a key part of our mission at the FNL,” said Leonard Freedman, Ph.D., chief science officer. “The AACR Annual Meeting is always a great opportunity to make connections with cancer community colleagues across the world, and to build partnerships across disciplines.” 

The annual meeting program covers the latest discoveries across the spectrum of cancer research—from population science and prevention; to cancer biology, translational, and clinical studies; to survivorship and advocacy—and highlights the work of the best minds in research and medicine from institutions all over the world.   

Presentations feature RAS Initiative at FNL and liquid biopsy research 

On Sunday, April 7, Lily Chen, Ph.D., the head of bioinformatics in FNL’s Molecular Characterization Laboratory, will present the latest on her team’s development of a liquid biopsy in “A New Era of Discovery Power: From comprehensive microenvironment characterization to multiomic liquid biopsy,” 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. PDT, in Spotlight Theater C in the Sails Pavilion. 

Chen will discuss integrated analysis of circulating tumor DNA, whole exome sequencing and RNA sequencing data from an arm of the NCI-MATCH study, and the potential of using blood-based testing to identify patients who might be candidates for immunotherapy. NCI-MATCH is a precision medicine trial that tested different targeted therapies in people with cancer whose tumors had specific genetic changes. 

Also on Sunday, a team of FNL scientists and their collaborators from the National Cancer Institute RAS Initiative, headquartered at FNL, will share their discovery of a novel therapy, as part of the “New Drugs on the Horizon” series, 3:45 to 4:00 p.m. PDT in Ballroom 20 CD upper-level Convention Center. In laboratory models, the highly potent anticancer compound blocked KRAS-driven cancer cells from proliferating. 

Poster sessions 

Investigators in many of FNL’s research programs will present abstracts during poster sessions in the exhibit hall.  

Data scientist Pinyi Lu, Ph.D. will share his team’s computational modeling-based discovery of anticancer drug candidates modulating CENP-E, a promising target for cancer therapy development. FNL collaborates with the National Cancer Center of Japan on the study. Lu's poster is Tuesday, April 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PT in section 37. 

“We are excited to have this opportunity to showcase our research project and receive feedback from the community,” Lu said. “We want to engage potential users of our cutting-edge AI and data analytics tools and seek new collaborators to further develop our technology.” 

Scientists at the Molecular Characterization Laboratory at FNL are co-authors on three posters, one of which details a pilot study that tested quality control materials (QCMs) for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) assays, which can detect tumor cells in the blood. The QCMs were developed by a consortium including the Molecular Characterization Laboratory, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, NCI, and industry partners and can be used to develop future ctDNA assays and monitor performance of existing assays.  

While there are several FDA-approved ctDNA assays and many more under development, the field lacks standards to qualify the tests’ performance. The team will present the ctDNA assay poster on Sunday, April 7, 1:30 to 5 p.m. PT in section 40.