WSU cancer therapy shows promise in trials

By Rachel Tompa, Fred Hutch News

BlackPULLMAN, Wash. – A recent small clinical trial for patients with a rare, aggressive brain cancer has shown promise. The targeted cancer therapy enlists a modified yeast protein that is the brainchild of Washington State University biologist Margaret Black.

The early-stage human trial results were published last month in Science Translational Medicine.

Black recognized that, with a few tweaks, a natural yeast molecule could have potent anti-tumor power, according to an article about the research in this week’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center newsletter. Read the article by Rachel Tompa at http://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2016/07/dr-barry-stoddard-glioblastoma-experimental-drug.html.