The Center’s achievements in the field of research
Clinical area of focus
The Center is one of the initiators of the development of efficient screening techniques for breast, lung and colon cancer, which can significantly contribute to the early detection of these prevalent malignant conditions, which has a positive effect on the efficacy of the treatment and the long-term survival of patients with such conditions.
The Center’s breast cancer specialists have scientifically validated and implemented into clinical practice in our country the principles of preoperative and intraoperative staging of breast cancer to select an optimal extent of surgery in each case (by conducting various types of tests, using tumoritropic and lymphotropic carriers, and sentinel lymph node biopsy), as well as the organ sparing and function-preserving surgery techniques to treat breast cancer patients who also undergo reconstructive surgery which is a crucial component of rehabilitation of female patients.
Our Center was the first Russian cancer center to have developed and introduced into clinical practice the method of isolated chemoperfusion of the lung under conditions of hyperoxia in combination with removal of individual metastases, which has a positive effect on the quality and efficacy of the treatment of lung cancer patients.
The Center has made a huge leap forward in treating sarcomas of bones and soft tissues of the limbs by using the isolated chemoperfusion treatment method. The Center has been using endoprosthetic reconstruction to surgically treat malignant tumors of the limbs, which has enhanced the quality of life of bone cancer patients.
We have developed efficient techniques of organ sparing surgery to treat kidney cancer, as well as surgical techniques to treat prostate cancer that cause less trauma.
The specialists of the Center have defined more specific indications for and designed better techniques of sparing laparoscopic surgeries which are integrated into combination treatment plans aimed at treating testicular cancer and endometrial and cervical cancer.
By using modern medications and hormonal drugs in our clinical practice, we have made considerable progress in treating lymphomas and solid tumors, and have developed new efficient combinations of such medications and hormonal drugs, and their dosage regimens. Our Center has developed more efficient techniques of pre-radiation preparation of Hodgkin lymphoma patients, using diagnostic radionuclide imaging. We have identified more specific indications and counter-indications for chemoradiation of stage III Hodgkin lymphoma patients.
Our Center was the first Russian cancer center to study the issues relating to the diagnosis and treatment of bone tumors in children and teenagers, in particular in cases of Ewing's sarcoma. The use of high-dose chemotherapy in combination with bone marrow transplantation to treat patients with generalized disease has improved the treatment outcomes. We have achieved great results in the treatment of children with Wilms' tumor, i.e. we have developed a procedure for the diagnosis of the disease and identified the way of improving the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
In 2015, for the first time in Russia the surgeons of our Center performed tracheal autotransplantation. The unique nature of this procedure was due to the fact that the trachea was composed 100% of the cells which were grown form the patient’s own tissues in our center for cell technologies. The procedure was developed by Head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery E.V. Levchenko, D.M.Sc.
The Center is the only Russian cancer center to be vigorously developing cell-based therapies (biotherapies) to treat patients with malignant neoplasms. Working closely with the Department of Chemotherapy and Medical Technology Innovations, the Research Division of Cancer Immunology was first in the country to start producing individualized cancer vaccines. The Center is a world leader in studying immunobiological, metabolic and immunological disorders in cancer patients, and pursuing research into the correction of the immune system of cancer patients. The Research Division of Cancer Immunology has developed and introduced into clinical practice four therapeutic cancer vaccines. It is also the only facility in Russia authorized to use its own cellular immunotherapy to treat malignant neoplasms. The Center is engaged in full-scale non-clinical and clinical development of immunotherapeutic high-tech bioengineered cell-based therapies, such as dendritic cell therapy, T-cell clone therapy and gene therapy. We have been studying the potential use of immune-mediated multidrug therapies as a new and advanced method of treating malignant neoplasms. The Center has developed and introduced into practice a patient-oriented treatment approach based on the comprehensive study of molecular genetic and immunologic properties of primary tumors and their metastases, resistant to standard therapies. Applying the principles of the latest advancements in the field of medical sciences, the Center performs combination immunemediated treatment and monitoring of patients with multiple primary tumors, immune deficiency and high risk of disease progression.
Experimental and research area of focus
The Center has been long recognized in Russia as a leader of using advanced technologies that allow precise detection of malignant neoplasms and better outcomes of patient-oriented treatment plans. In particular, we have developed the regimens of drug treatment of patients with solid tumors on the basis of molecular genetic markers. This task has been performed by our Molecular Oncology Laboratory which is also the country’s leader in introducing the molecular diagnostics techniques into everyday oncology practice. One of the greatest achievements of the Laboratory has been the discovery of a new hereditary breast cancer gene – BLM. A series of scientific and research activities has been performed to introduce the diagnosis of hereditary forms of cancers into routine clinical practice. It is known that a whole spectrum of deficiencies in the BRCA1 gene – the most notorious gene causing hereditary breast cancer – is expressed in a small number of so-called repeat mutations; such similarity of genetic deficiencies allows more efficient BRCA1 genetic testing of patients at relatively small costs. It has been shown that BRCA1-associated cancers have unparalleled intolerance to affordable cytostatic drugs, such as cisplatin and mitomycin. The team of the Molecular Oncology Laboratory has developed and introduced into practice more than 15 molecular tests allowing selection of a therapy suited for a specific patient. Thus, it has become possible to increase the clinical and economical efficacy of some expensive drugs. The use of a proper molecular test to select patients for treatment not only significantly decreases the consumption of expensive drugs, but also increases their efficacy to up to 100%. The Center has created a panel of markers to identify the sensitivity of tumors to fluoropyrimidines, platinum-based drugs, and taxanes. We have developed new ways of transgenation detection (ALK, ROS, RET, etc.).
The Laboratory of Cancer Chemoprevention and Oncopharmacology has created a new cancer drug – dioxadet – which has undergone pre-clinical and clinical trials and have been granted medical use. The drug is a sterile powder in ampoules or vials for parenteral administration. Based on the clinical trials, this drug is recommended for the treatment of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer (primary or metastatic cancer), and as a means of prevention of regional metastases in patients with mouth cancer. Additionally, dioxadet has proven to be one of the most useful cytostatic drugs for chemoembolization in cases of inoperable kidney and liver cancers. Analysis of the possible uses of dioxadet in modern oncology, based on the research and practical data, has shown that the drug is efficient and should be used as an anticancer chemotherapy drug to treat a large variety of cancers, including carcinomatosis of the abdomen in cases of malignant tumors at various body sites; it will also help to resolve the issue of import substitution.
It has been established that the use of antidiabetic biguanides (metformin/siofor) can not only impact insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance, but also act via other mechanisms of action that involve, in particular, AMP kinase and additionally limit cell growth. We have been the first cancer center to suggest using aromatase inhibitors before the main treatment in cases of endometrial cancer, and we have been using this practice in clinical practice (laboratory of endocrine oncology).
It has been proven that melatonin, antidiabetic drugs, peptide bioregulators, gastrointestinal adsorbents, electromagnetic fields and offset light regimens can impact the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and aging. Biomonitoring studies were performed to detect presence of carcinogens in people who were exposed to industrial products containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, especially at coking plants. The results of these studies have already been used as a means to decrease the risk of malignant neoplasms in people who find themselves in such environments. As a result, a national catalogue of carcinogens has been created by the Research Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Aging.