UK Groups Plan Cancer Research Hub.

Two major cancer research groups in the UK have announced plans to create a global cancer center aimed at accelerating drug development and fostering collaboration with industry. The $1.5 billion campus is expected to house 10,000 scientists and clinicians and deliver two additional drug candidates, an increase of 40%, every 5 years.

NCI-MATCH Trial Draws Strong Interest.

After 800 cancer patients enrolled during the first 3 months of the NCI-MATCH trial, organizers have extended a temporary halt in enrollment to gear up for the next phase. The basket study, which matches patients to approved or experimental drugs based on specific genetic mutations in their tumors, is expected to resume in April or May.

Expanding the Scope of ENCODE.

The National Human Genome Research Institute has earmarked up to $38 million in grant funding for five new initiatives aimed at expanding ENCODE, its database of functional elements in human and mouse genomes. For the first time, grantees will focus on diseased tissue samples in an effort to understand how these functional elements influence the development of cancer and other diseases.

Illumina Spin-off to Develop Early-Detection Test.

DNA-sequencing giant Illumina has formed a new company, called Grail, to develop liquid biopsies capable of spotting cancer before symptoms arise. The start-up is working on a low-cost "pan-cancer" test that can detect multiple cancer types early, which it hopes to introduce by 2019.

CRUK Launches "Grand Challenges".

Cancer Research UK says it will invest £100 million, or about $150 million, over the next 5 years in an ambitious grant program aimed at tackling some of the most vexing unsolved problems in cancer research. The group has issued seven initial Grand Challenges and will present its first award next fall.

Is PD-L1 Expression a Biomarker of Response?

Drugs that target the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) receptor have shown promising antitumor activity in clinical trials, but it is not clear whether expression of the ligand PD-L1 is a biomarker for response. Increasingly, researchers say that PD-L1 expression is just one of many variables that may affect response to PD-1 blockade.

Shelved 4-1BB Antibodies Make Comeback.

New trials are reexamining 4-1BB antibodies for a variety of cancers. Development of the drugs had stalled due to concerns about toxicity, but recent studies in animals, as well as early-phase trials, suggest that new formulations of the drugs may be less toxic-and potentially more potent-when combined with other therapies.