Stephen Russell, M.D., Ph.D.

The measles vaccine is not just for immunizations any more. Research results from the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center suggest it’s also a promising tool for treating cancer. Stephen Russell, M.D., Ph.D. led a group that combined the measles virus (which has an innate ability to find CD46, a cell membrane protein that is characteristically plentiful on cancer cells) with sodium iodide symporter (NIS), a gene that signals cancer cells to take in and hold onto large quantities of radioactive iodine. This process is cytotoxic, killing the targeted tumor cells. Dr. Russell teamed with colleagues Angela Dispenzieri, M.D., and Eva Galanis, M.D., to evaluate this treatment approach in clinical trials focusing on multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer, and glioblastoma multiforma. These innovative researchers are leading the way in various molecular medicine projects aimed at finding alternative or complementary methods of fighting cancer. Living up to the theme that patients come first, Mayo Clinic scientists have shepherded the research from basic laboratory science to therapies being tested today in several tumor types. In the past, patients and their physicians had little grounds for hope, but now through the collaboration of scientists and physicians, the measles virus therapy offers patients new options to combat cancers that are extremely virulent.