The Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center held a lecture on how certain white blood cells in the immune system can contribute to bone metastatic prostate cancer as part of their ongoing Oncology Grand Rounds lecture series March 28.
Leah Cook, a senior investigator at the Cancer Innovation Laboratory in the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research spoke about her research and findings. Cook investigated how neutrophils, a type of white blood cells, play a role in inducing the death of prostate cancer cells.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death of males in the United States, resulting in nearly 36,000 deaths each year. Cook estimates that more than 60% of prostate cancer patients develop bone metastasis, where cancer cells spread from their original site to the bones, causing life-threatening complications such as severe pain, an increased risk of fractures and spinal cord compression. Research indicates that neutrophils actively combat infection by trapping and ingesting invading bacteria and microorganisms.
Although people have previously overlooked the role of neutrophils, Cook said she focused on them due to their potential to provide insights into the body’s response to bone metastatic prostate cancer in specific areas.
“When we think about immunology and immunotherapy, a lot of people have ignored neutrophils for years because they are a short-lived population,” Cook said during the event. “Where I became really interested in them was this pivotal paper that came out in 2009 where they determined that there could be subpopulations of the neutrophil that could exist in one tumor.”
These subpopulations are important because they are affected by the presence of the tumor. Neutrophils can combat prostate cancer by infiltrating regions of the prostate tumor in the bone and killing it. However, Cook’s research has found that as the tumor progresses in the bone, the neutrophils in that region kill the tumor less efficiently.
Cook said she hopes to use this information to understand and discover more effective cures for prostate cancer.
“We are wondering how we can leverage this information to induce neutrophil activity while also being able to use these standard care therapies that seem to have worked very well for patients until they don’t,” Cook said.
Rebecca Riggins, an associate professor of oncology at Lombardi, said learning about neutrophils can help fellow scientists discover novel ways to approach their own studies and inspire students to explore new topics.
“Cancer research is a team sport — no one works in isolation and everyone benefits by learning from and interacting with other scientists, be they in a very similar subfield or one that is completely different,” Riggins told The Hoya.
Ellie Ward (CAS ’28), an event attendee, said she found the seminar interesting as someone on the pre-med track.
“As a biochemistry major on the pre-med track, I found this event really engaging, as it expanded on my studies here at Georgetown,” Ward told The Hoya. “I have learned about neutrophils in the past, but it was cool to build on this knowledge by hearing about current research in oncology.”
Full Disclosure: Ward is a columnist in the Science section for the Spring 2025 semester.
Riggins said she encourages emerging scientists to attend the Grand Rounds lecture series.
“You may find that a guest speaker does research that really resonates with you,” Riggins said. “Perhaps you’re gearing up for graduation, and they are hiring or could be part of your professional network.”
