AACI News News From The Centers University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 8/30/2009 President Barack Obama honored the University of Chicago’s Janet Rowley with the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor in the United States—on Wednesday at the White House. Rowley will receive the Association of American Cancer Institutes’ Distinguished Scientist award during the 2009 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, October 18-20, in Washington, D.C. more... NYU Cancer Institute 8/29/2009 Gastroesophageal reflux diseases , or GERD, affects about 10 million people in the United States, yet the cause and an unexpected increase in its prevalence over the last three decades remains unexplainable. Now, researchers have discovered that GERD is associated with global alteration of the microbiome in the esophagus. The findings, reported in the August 1, 2009 issue of Gastroenterology, may provide for the foundation for further study of the condition as a microecological disease with new treatment possibilities. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 8/29/2009 James L. Mohler, MD, an internationally recognized prostate cancer translational scientist who has led the development of minimally invasive surgery for urologic cancers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), has been appointed Senior Vice President for Translational Research. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 8/29/2009 President Obama announced in July that two Hutchinson Center investigators would receive the nation’s highest honor for scientists at the beginning of their independent research careers. Basic scientist Dr. Harmit Malik and cancer-prevention researcher Dr. Ulrike “Riki” Peters are among 100 researchers to receive the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. They will be honored at a ceremony this fall at the White House. more... Other Organization 8/29/2009 “Your Role in Cancer Clinical Trials", is a series of free, one hour e-learning courses which enable patient advocates, community leaders, primary care providers, and cancer clinical trial staff to learn more about promoting and discussing all treatment options, including clinical trials, for every person diagnosed with cancer. Participants will also learn how to promote greater access to and participation in cancer clinical trials, especially for minorities and the medically underserved. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 8/28/2009 Two of the most powerful approaches to cancer treatment -- a stem cell transplant and an immune system-stimulating vaccine -- appear to reinforce each other in patients with an aggressive, hard-to-control form of leukemia, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have found. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/28/2009 The tiny translucent egg nestled in the special laboratory gel was a mere 30 days old, but its four-week birthday caused researchers to quietly celebrate. This was the first time anyone had successfully grown a woman’s immature egg cells, contained in a tiny sac called a follicle, to a healthy and nearly mature egg in the laboratory. When an egg is fully mature, it is ready to be fertilized. more... Mayo Clinic Cancer Center 8/28/2009 Investigators at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center have received a five-year, $11.5 million grant to translate research into treatments for women with ovarian cancer. The award from the NCI is called a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant. It is the seventh SPORE grant that Mayo has received to support cancer research. more... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 8/27/2009 Vanderbilt University has been selected as one of 10 centers in the nation to participate in the Chemical Biology Consortium (CBC), a major new initiative to facilitate the discovery and development of new agents to treat cancer. As one of four Chemical Diversity Centers, Vanderbilt’s role in the consortium will be to synthesize and optimize new compounds as potential cancer therapeutics. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 8/26/2009 Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies in high-risk individuals. more... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 8/26/2009 Vanderbilt cancer epidemiologist Wei Zheng, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., has received a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his research on women and cancer. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 8/26/2009 Among unmarried cancer patients, those who are separated at the time of diagnosis do not live as long as widowed, divorced, and never married patients, according to a new study to be published in the Nov. 1, 2009, issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. more... Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute 8/25/2009 Scientists at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute’s National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers (NCVAC) have discovered a probable reason for the unrelenting chest pain experienced in certain patients with asbestos-related diseases and cancers. The findings, featured in the July 20, 2009 edition of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, were published in an academic peer-reviewed manuscript by principal author Michael Harbut, M.D., MPH, co-director of the NCVAC and chief of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, affiliated with Wayne State University. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 8/25/2009 A pioneering surgical technique for lung cancer that allows the direct delivery of chemotherapy has been developed by Todd Demmy, MD, Chair of Thoracic Surgery at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), and is reported in the August 2009 issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. more... Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University 8/25/2009 A new study by researchers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown finds a higher level of common household pesticides in the urine of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer that develops most commonly between three and seven years of age. The findings are published in the August issue of the journal Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. Researchers caution that these findings should not be seen as cause-and-effect, only that the study suggests an association between pesticide exposure and development of childhood ALL. more... Massey Cancer Center 8/25/2009 Massey Cancer Center opened a clinical study that will assess the safety and effectiveness of a new device — a small, biodegradable balloon — intended to allow doctors to more aggressively treat prostate cancer with radiation therapy while sparing other tissues. Radiation therapy for prostate cancer sometimes results in injury to the rectum. In the study, a small, biodegradable balloon, developed by BioProtect Ltd., is placed between the prostate and rectum in a minimally invasive approach before the patient starts radiation treatments. more... Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA 8/25/2009 UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another. The data from the study suggest that embryonic stem cells and the reprogrammed cells, known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, have overlapping but still distinct gene expression signatures. The differing signatures were evident regardless of where the cell lines were generated, the methods by which they were derived or the species from which they were isolated, said Bill Lowry, a researcher with the Broad Stem Cell Research Center and a study author. more... Moffitt Cancer Center 8/24/2009 Thirteen scientists at Moffitt Cancer Center received close to $5 million in Florida grants to support research into understanding what causes cancer and what will lead to personalized treatments. The awards from the Bankhead-Coley Cancer Research Program and James & Esther King Biomedical Research Program will also fund research into patient outcomes and survival trends. more... The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center 8/24/2009 Tumor growth can start from stem cells in the gut, say researchers studying fruit flies at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They found that tumors can grow from adult stem cells that have lost a specific tumor-suppressor gene. The gene, Apc, has previously been implicated in human gastrointestinal cancers, including colon cancer. more... University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/24/2009 For some time, researchers have known that protein p27 is an important inhibitor of the cell division that spreads cancer. Understanding the full mechanism and extent of that role has taken much longer. Now, scientists at the Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center have solved part of the puzzle, discovering that p27 can severely misbehave when in bad company. In fact, it can lose its restraining action on cell growth and bind to other molecules to promote cell motility, one of the first steps in the spread of cancer. In other words, Dr. Jeckyl becomes Mr. Hyde. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/23/2009 Jason Brickner, assistant professor of biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and member, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, has been named one of the five Distinguished Young Scholars in Medical Research for 2009 by the W. M. Keck Foundation, a leading supporter of high-impact medical research, science and engineering. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 8/23/2009 A new study shows that certain genes are turned off early, before clinical signs of the disease appear, in the development of chronic leukemia. The study, led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, examined cancer cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and from a new strain of mice that developed a very similar disease. more... SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute 8/23/2009 Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield has been awarded a five-year federal grant from the National Cancer Institute for the study of exercise and breast cancer. Total budget for the grant is $3,581,688. Dr. Laura Rogers, associate professor of internal medicine and member of the SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute at SIU, is the principal investigator. The study will test how well exercise improves physical activity behavior in breast cancer survivors after they finish the three-month program. more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 8/22/2009 Peering into the DNA of tiny yeast, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego and the San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have pinpointed a large number of genes that can prevent a type of genetic rearrangement that may lead to cancer and other diseases. more... The Wistar Institute 8/22/2009 Ramin Shiekhattar, PhD, a leading expert in the biochemical mechanisms of gene expression, has been appointed to the Herbert Kean, M.D., Family Professorship at The Wistar Institute, the nation’s oldest independent biomedical research institute and a National Cancer Institute–designated Cancer Center since 1972. Shiekhattar rejoins Wistar’s full-time faculty in its Gene Expression and Regulation Program after two years as an ICREA Professor at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain. more... Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital 8/21/2009 The most comprehensive analysis yet of the genome of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) found only a few mistakes in the genetic blueprint, suggesting the cancer arises from just a handful of missteps, according to new findings from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. more... Winship Cancer Institute 8/21/2009 The Chest Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American College of Chest Physicians, has awarded Johann Brandes, MD, PhD, $75,000 over two years to support his research on chemotherapy for lung cancer. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 8/20/2009 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital Boston, was one of only three large stem cell transplant programs nationwide that consistently outperformed the expected one-year survival rate for unrelated donor stem cell transplants in the United States, according to an independent report from the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/20/2009 Hospitals that treat more black cancer patients have worse survival rates on average for patients with breast and colon cancer, regardless of race, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The research helps explain why African-Americans with breast or colon cancer are less likely than white patients to survive the disease. more... The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center 8/20/2009 The stroma, the supportive framework of the prostate gland, is much more than that. The stroma is an important part of the tumor microenvironment, which can determine the course of the disease. When prostate cancer occurs, the stroma can react. Changes in gene expression can cause the generation of new blood vessels, nerves and axons that support the growing tumors, said researchers from the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in a recent issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research. more... UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/19/2009 One of the biggest challenges in scientists’ quest to develop new and better treatments for cancer is gaining a better understanding of how and why cancer spreads. Recent breakthroughs have uncovered how different cellular proteins are turned ’on’ or ’off’ at the molecular level, but much remains to be understood about how protein signaling influences cell behavior. A new technique developed by Klaus Hahn, PhD and his colleagues uses light to manipulate the activity of a protein at precise times and places within a living cell, providing a new tool for scientists who study the fundamentals of protein function. more... Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/19/2009 Dr. Nima Sharifi, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has received a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Physician-Scientist Award. He is one of 11 researchers named in a national competition by the institute to be part of the program, which is aimed at increasing the number of researchers who translate basic science discoveries into improved treatment for patients. Established in 2006, the program supports a total of 52 physician-scientists. more... Masonic Cancer Center 8/19/2009 Research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota indicates that a baby born to an older mother may have a slightly increased risk for many of the cancers that occur during childhood. more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 8/19/2009 New research published in the latest online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute by a team of investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), shows significant changes in the profile of prostate cancer patients since the late 1980s. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The study, Contemporary Risk Profile of Prostate Cancer in the United States, found that patients who were diagnosed in 2004 and 2005 were younger and had earlier stage prostate cancer than those diagnosed in previous years. more... James P. Wilmot Cancer Center 8/18/2009 Older women with breast cancer are more likely to get lower doses of chemotherapy than younger women, in an effort, presumably, by their doctors to reduce the ill effects of the toxic therapies, according to a study by a University of Rochester Medical Center scientist. more... The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center 8/17/2009 When estrogen-lowering drugs no longer control metastatic breast cancer, the opposite strategy might work. Raising estrogen levels benefited 30 percent of women whose metastatic breast cancer no longer responded to standard anti-estrogen treatment, according to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine and collaborating institutions. The results are reported in the Aug. 19, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. more... Huntsman Cancer Institute 8/17/2009 Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute have uncovered new information on the notion that sugar “feeds” tumors. The findings may also have implications for other diseases such as diabetes. The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). “It’s been known since 1923 that tumor cells use a lot more glucose than normal cells. Our research helps show how this process takes place, and how it might be stopped to control tumor growth,” says Don Ayer, Ph.D., a Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator and professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences at the University of Utah. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 8/17/2009 About 150 professionals in the fields of neurology, neuro-oncology and neurological surgery are expected to attend the 8th Annual Neuro-Oncology Update hosted by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research, and jointly co-sponsored by the department of neurosurgery/ neuro-oncology at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, the Istituto Besta in Milan, Italy, and the Semmes-Murphy Clinic in Memphis, Tenn. The event will be held Sept. 8-10. in Columbus. more... Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium of New Orleans at the Tulane Cancer Center 8/16/2009 Tulane Cancer Center welcomes radiation oncologist and new chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Marnin Merrick, M.D. Dr. Merrick comes to Tulane from the University of Kentucky Medical Center and the Markey Cancer Center, where he has been clinical director and head of quality assurance. more... University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 8/16/2009 The Gwen and Jules Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery (KCBD) is open for business. The building, which places a strong emphasis on cancer, symbolizes the University of Chicago’s powerful commitment to cancer research and care. Seventy percent of the researchers who will be located in the building are University of Chicago Cancer Research Center members. more... Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson 8/16/2009 Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified a protein relationship that may be an ideal treatment target for ER+ breast cancer. The study was reported in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research. DACH1, a cell fate determination factor protein, prevents cancer cell proliferation by repressing the function of estrogen receptors in breast cancer, the researchers found. However, they also found that as the presence of DACH1 decreases in breast cancer, the presence of estrogen receptors increases, and vice versa. more... Winship Cancer Institute 8/15/2009 Emory researchers have developed tools for improving the diagnosis of breast cancer by attaching onto iron oxide "nanoparticles" a molecule that binds specifically to breast cancer cells. The iron makes the particles clearly visible under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and thus could enhance breast MRI, a widely available diagnostic technique. At clinical field strength, tumors with specific disease signatures, implanted in mice, can be detected by MRI with the nanoparticles. more... Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University 8/15/2009 In a discovery that rebuffs conventional scientific thinking, researchers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have discovered a novel way to block the activity of the fusion protein responsible for Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare cancer found in children and young adults. In the paper published online July 5 in Nature Medicine, they report discovering and successfully testing a small molecule that keeps the fusion protein from sticking to another protein that is critical for tumor formation. The researchers say this interaction is unique – and is especially surprising since the Ewing’s sarcoma fusion protein is extremely flexible, which allows it to change shape constantly. more... Masonic Cancer Center 8/14/2009 Three University of Minnesota cancer scientists were each recently awarded $100,000 grants from the National Institutes of Health for research on pediatric cancer. The three scientists, all with the University’s Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School, are Julie Ross, Ph.D., Jen Poynter, Ph.D., and Anne Jurek, Ph.D. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 8/14/2009 While long-term tamoxifen use among breast cancer survivors decreases their risk of developing the most common, less aggressive type of second breast cancer, such use is associated with a more than four-fold increased risk of a more aggressive, difficult-to-treat type of cancer in the breast opposite, or contralateral, to the initial tumor. These findings by Christopher Li, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center were published online Aug. 25 in the journal Cancer Research. more... Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital 8/13/2009 Switching off a key DNA repair system in the developing nervous system is linked to smaller brain size as well as problems in brain structures vital to movement, memory and emotion, according to new research led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists. more... Nevada Cancer Institute 8/13/2009 Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI) recently enrolled a subject in a first-in-human clinical trial of a novel investigational drug that causes accumulation of defective proteins to kill cancer cells. Sponsored by Salt Lake City-based Myriad Pharmaceuticals Inc., the treatment, referred to as MPC-3100, is an investigational oral drug currently being studied in qualifying patients with untreatable or relapsed cancer. Wolfram Samlowski, M.D., NVCI head of the Section of Melanoma, Renal Cancer and Immunotherapy, is the principal investigator for the trial conducted at the Institute. more... University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/13/2009 Breast cancer researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have been awarded a prestigious Department of Defense Synergistic Idea Award, one of just 12 such grants in the United States. The $725,000 research grant over two years will allow Lisa Baumbach, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Miller School, and Mark Pegram, M.D., professor of medicine and associate director for clinical and translational research at the Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute at Sylvester, to expand their work examining the genetic differences found in African-American breast cancer patients. more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 8/11/2009 The Breast Center at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center has received accreditation from the National Accreditation Program of Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. The Breast Center at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center is the first hospital-based program in California to receive this accreditation. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 8/11/2009 Fox Chase Cancer Center has been granted a three-year/Full accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. Accreditation by the NAPBC is only given to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance. more... SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute 8/10/2009 A research scientist at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield has been awarded a three-year federal grant from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, funded by the Department of the Army to study breast cancer. The total budget for the grant is $547,000. The principal investigator for the project is Dr. Deliang Cao, Ph.D., associate professor of medical microbiology, immunology and cell biology and member of the SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute at SIU. more... Moffitt Cancer Center 8/10/2009 Scientists have located a region of DNA that – when altered – can increase the risk of ovarian cancer, according to research published in Nature Genetics. An international research group, including scientists from Moffitt Cancer Center, searched through the genomes of 1,817 women with ovarian cancer and 2,353 women without the disease from across the UK. more... NYU Cancer Institute 8/9/2009 Patients who receive additional information about lymphedema report significantly fewer symptoms and practiced more risk-reducing behaviors, according to a recent study co-authored by Deborah Axelrod, MD, associate professor in the department of surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center and a member of the NYU Cancer Institute. more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 8/9/2009 One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. It is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in males other than skin cancer, and is expected to result in 6,000 new cases of the disease in New Jersey this year. Isaac Yi Kim, MD, PhD, who is the director of CINJ’s Urologic Oncology Program hopes to have an impact on these numbers, thanks to a $351,000 grant awarded by the Department of Defense (DoD) to study the role of neuroendocrine cells in prostate cancer. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. more... USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/9/2009 The University of Southern California announced that Alan Epstein, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has received approval for a $3.5 million drug development project through the Rapid Access to Intervention Development (RAID) program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for his breakthrough Interleukin-2 (IL-2) cytokine immunotherapy analog. This is the second RAID award Dr. Epstein has received from the National Cancer Institute. more... Please select 8/8/2009 The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has licensed the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) and Department of Biomedical Informatics as a cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG®) Support Service Provider in the category of Training Materials and Services. The distinction is the first to be awarded to an academic medical institution. more... Cancer Therapy and Research Center 8/5/2009 The National Cancer Institute, the nation’s top cancer research organization, has renewed the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio as one of its NCI-designated Cancer Centers for three years. The distinction comes with $5.4 million in new federal funding through 2012 to sustain and grow the cancer center’s rapidly expanding research programs, now consisting of 140 scientists at work on a multitude of cancer projects. more... UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/3/2009 One of the most bothersome symptoms of leukemia is extreme fatigue, and asking these patients to exercise doesn’t sound like a way to help them feel better. In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, a team of researchers from the Department of Exercise and Sport Science and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have shown that physical activity can significantly improve symptoms of fatigue and depression, increase cardiovascular endurance and maintain quality of life for adult patients undergoing treatment for leukemia. more... James P. Wilmot Cancer Center 8/3/2009 Lung cancer expert Manoj Agarwal, M.D., M.B.A., has joined the University of Rochester Medical Center’s James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. He is director of the multidisciplinarythoracic oncology program at the Wilmot Cancer Center, having joined from the Sutter Cancer Center in Sacramento, Calif. more... USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center 8/3/2009 Debasish (Debu) Tripathy has been appointed professor of medicine by Keck School of Medicine Dean Carmen A. Puliafito. Tripathy will hold the Art and Priscilla Ulene Chair in Women’s Cancer, and will be head of the Section of Women’s Cancers, Division of Oncology, in the Department of Medicine. He will join Dr. Michael Press, Professor of Pathology, who has been associated with the Women¹s Cancer Program for the last 16 years. Dr. Tripathy is a national authority in breast cancer, said Puliafito. We are delighted that he is coming to USC as we strengthen our clinical research activities and our patient-focused programs. more... Massey Cancer Center 8/2/2009 Massey Cancer Center opened a Phase II clinical study to see whether an FDA-cleared pain therapy device helps decrease pain in cancer patients. The study will examine the device’s effect on pain associated with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which can produce sharp pains in the hands and feet of cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. This debilitating pain affects about 20 to 30 percent of cancer patients. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/30/2009 Northwestern University researcher Chad Mirkin, one of the world’s leaders in nanotechnology research and its application, has been awarded the prestigious 2009 $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize. The Lemelson-MIT Program recognizes outstanding inventors. Mirkin’s innovations have the potential to transform the future of medical diagnostics and patient point-of-care and to ignite change across many industries, from semiconductors to health care. more... American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 6/29/2009 The University of San Pablo CEU, a major academic and research institution in Madrid, Spain, presented Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research, with an honorary doctorate in medicine that recognizes her exceptional contributions to cancer research and leadership of the AACR, which have done so much to help those suffering from cancer. more... NYU Cancer Institute 6/29/2009 The invasion of tumor cells into the brain and spinal cord occurs in about half of all patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) who relapse, making further treatment all but futile for this childhood cancer. Now, a new study in the June 18, 2009, issue of the journal Nature by scientists at NYU School of Medicine reveals the molecular agents behind this devastating infiltration of the central nervous system. The finding may lead to new drugs that block these agents and thus lower the risk of relapse. more... Mayo Clinic Cancer Center 6/28/2009 The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center (MCCC) received an additional five years of National Cancer Institute funding and re-designation as a comprehensive cancer center, Dr. Robert Diasio, Director, MCCC, announced. The NCI Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) award to MCCC totals more than $28 million over five years to provide infrastructure and administrative support for MCCC researchers across the three sites. more... Masonic Cancer Center 6/28/2009 The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has renewed the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota’s designation as a comprehensive cancer center for another five years, the longest term possible. NCI awards the comprehensive designation only to institutions that make ongoing, significant advances in cancer research, treatment, and education. Masonic Cancer Center is one of 41 cancer centers in the United States to hold this highest-level designation and the only one in the greater Twin Cities region. more... Arizona Cancer Center 6/28/2009 The Arizona Cancer Center has received a five-year, $20.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to renew support for its cancer research programs through 2014. The grant renewal, which came with an “excellent” rating, also extends the Cancer Center’s designation as one of 40 comprehensive cancer centers in the United States, and the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center headquartered in Arizona. more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 6/28/2009 “Taking out the trash” takes on a whole new meaning, as investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have discovered that a waste disposal protein is the key to cancer tumor suppression in a process known as autophagy. more... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 6/28/2009 Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, has been named one of 15 new members of the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars. The society — the first of its kind in the nation — inducts former postdoctoral fellows, postdoctoral degree recipients, house staff and junior or visiting faculty who have served at least a year at Johns Hopkins and thereafter gained marked distinction elsewhere in their fields of physical, biological, medical, social or engineering sciences or in the humanities and for whom at least five years have elapsed since their last Johns Hopkins affiliation. There are currently 536 members in the Hopkins Society of Scholars. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 6/28/2009 Reviewing the records of 577 breast cancer patients, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers found that women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who receive a breast MRI are more likely to receive a mastectomy after their diagnosis and may face delays in starting treatment. The study will appear in the August edition of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 6/28/2009 A stem cell transplant (SCT) from a compatible donor early in the course of disease is the best approach for the majority of young and middle-aged adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a new analysis of two dozen clinical studies. The findings of the study, published in the June 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other institutions, provide new guidelines for treatment of the disease. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 6/28/2009 John A. “Drew” Ridge, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S, chief of head and neck surgery at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been elected president of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS). Ridge has been Fox Chase’s chief of head and neck surgery since 1991. He performed his fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and has held many positions within AHNS. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/27/2009 At the ends of chromosome are special pieces of DNA called telomeres; these are analogous to the little tips that cap off a shoelace. Over time, as cells reproduce, the telomeres become shorter and no longer function; these cells then have a higher risk of mutating into cancer. But, a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds that if the telomere becomes dysfunctional at any point - regardless of shortening - it can trigger a cancer event. more... UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/27/2009 In 2004, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center announced a crucial discovery in the understanding of cellular aging. They found that as cells and tissues age, the expression of a key protein, called p16INK4a, dramatically increases in most mammalian organs. Now the team has proven that the same biomarker is present in human blood and is strongly correlated both with chronological age and with certain behaviors such as tobacco use and physical inactivity, which are known to accelerate the aging process. more... The Wistar Institute 6/27/2009 Researchers at The Wistar Institute have defined a key target of an evolutionarily conserved protein that regulates the process of aging. The study, published June 11 in Nature, provides fundamental knowledge about key mechanisms of aging that could point toward new anti-aging strategies and cancer therapies. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/27/2009 The vast majority of cancer deaths are due to metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from its primary site to other parts of the body. These metastatic cells tend to move more than their non-metastatic variants but this movement is poorly understood. Northwestern University researchers now have demonstrated a novel and simple method that can direct and separate cancer cells from normal cells. Based on this method, they have proposed that cancer cells possibly could be sequestered permanently in a sort of “cancer trap” made of implantable and biodegradable materials. more... Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA 6/27/2009 Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, on a quest to find lung cancer stem cells, have developed a unique model to allow further investigation into the cells that many believe may be at the root of all lung cancers. If researchers could find a way to isolate and grow lung cancer stem cells, they could study their biologic mechanisms and perhaps identify targets for new therapies, said Raj Batra, an associate professor of medicine and a Jonsson Cancer Center scientist. The study appears in the June issue of PLoS One, a peer-reviewed journal of the Public Library of Science. more... Winship Cancer Institute 6/26/2009 A “guardian angel” hormone produced by fat cells could become a tool to fight breast cancer. Scientists at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute have discovered that adiponectin, which is produced by fat cells, can reduce breast cancer cells’ ability to migrate and invade other tissues. Their results were published online June 1 preceding print publication in the journal Oncogene. A future treatment strategy may be to use “adiponectin analogues” that can mimic adiponectin’s effects or maximize the effects of what the body already produces, says senior author Dipali Sharma, PhD, assistant professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory Winship. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/26/2009 Some patients with large tumors on their larynx can preserve their speech by opting for chemotherapy and radiation over surgery to remove the voice box. A new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found that a single round of chemotherapy could identify those patients most likely to benefit from this approach. more... Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital 6/26/2009 Charles Mullighan, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant member in the Pathology Department at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, has been named a 2009 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. Selected by The Pew Charitable Trusts as one of 17 of the country’s most promising early-career scientists, Mullighan will receive a $240,000 award over four years to support his research. more... University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/25/2009 Breast cancer researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have been awarded a prestigious Department of Defense Synergistic Idea Award, one of just 12 such grants in the United States. The $725,000 research grant over two years will allow Lisa Baumbach, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Miller School, and Mark Pegram, M.D., professor of medicine and associate director for clinical and translational research at the Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute at Sylvester, to expand their work examining the genetic differences found in African-American breast cancer patients. more... UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/25/2009 The only available screening tests for ovarian cancer fail to catch early signs of the disease and often result in unnecessary surgery, said researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center. The new study looked at a screening regimen that combines ultrasound and a blood test for CA-125, a marker for women’s cancer. Results showed the combo screening caught 70 percent of the ovarian cancers in their late stages, when effective treatment options are limited. more... UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/24/2009 An experimental drug derived from cottonseeds shows promise in treating the recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme, widely considered the most lethal brain cancer, said researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center. The new results are from a Phase II clinical trial of AT-101, a pill manufactured from a potent compound in cottonseeds that overcomes the abnormal growth patterns of tumor cells. In clinical tests, AT-101 halted the cancer’s progression in many of the 56 patients. more... University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 6/24/2009 The ASCO/American Cancer Society Award and Lecture honors an individual who has made significant contributions to the prevention and management of cancer. Since 1993, this award has served to distinguish those who strive not only to treat patients with cancer but also to understand causation and focus on prevention. In 2009, ASCO and the American Cancer Society honor Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, MD, FACP, for her outstanding research achievements and professional leadership. more... UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/23/2009 Mary-Ann Bjornsti, Ph.D., has joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center senior leadership as Program Leader in Cancer Cell Biology and Chair of the UAB Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Prior to joining the UAB faculty, Bjornsti served on staff as a full member at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for the past 10 years. more... Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/22/2009 Bert Vogelstein, M.D., whose published studies of cancer genetics are the most highly cited works in the field, received this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology “Science of Oncology” Award at the group’s annual meeting in Orlando. Vogelstein was selected for his decades of research, uncovering the specific genes and mutations responsible for colorectal cancer and for establishing a genetic model for how all cancers form and progress. more... The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center 6/22/2009 Three Baylor College of Medicine post-doctoral fellows received Young Investigator Awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology at the professional organization’s recent annual meeting in Orlando. Established in 1984, the one-year career development awards recognize researchers at the beginning of their careers, as they transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment. The BCM awardees received the $50,000 grants. more... UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/21/2009 Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center have been awarded a $6.4 million grant from two national nonprofit groups that are partnering in the fight against an aggressive and difficult-to-treat form of cancer called “triple negative” breast cancer. These breast tumors lack receptors for several hormones; this makes them resistant to several powerful cancer-fighting drugs. The grant is from Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation. more... The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center 6/21/2009 As stroma, the supportive framework of the prostate gland, reacts to prostate cancer, changes in the expression of genes occur that induce the formation of new structures such as blood vessels, nerves and parts of nerves, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research. In this study, using special techniques and gene chips that allowed them to sample the entire genome, the researchers found changes in 1,141 genes. They were either upregulated – meaning that there was more of the protein with which they were associated than expected – or downregulated, which meant the opposite, said Dr. Michael Ittmann, professor of pathology at BCM and a senior author of the report. more... The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center 6/20/2009 The Baylor College of Medicine breast center-supported program at the Harris County Hospital District’s Ben Taub General Hospital has been recognized by the Houston affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure for its outstanding ability to serve the community. The Smith Breast Center, located within the NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM, provides staff and services for the Ben Taub Breast Clinic. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 6/20/2009 Eric M. Horwitz, MD, acting chairman of the radiation oncology department at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been elected president of the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS). Horwitz was elected as vice president of the ABS in 2008 and served a one year term. The ABS provides insight, rationale, and research into the use of brachytherapy in the treatment of both malignant and benign conditions. more... Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA 6/20/2009 UCLA scientists have linked for the first time intestinal inflammation with systemic chromosome damage in mice, a finding that may lead to the early identification and treatment of human inflammatory disorders, some of which increase risk for several types of cancer. Researchers found that local intestinal inflammation induced DNA damage to lymphocytes of the peripheral blood circulating throughout the body. more... Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University 6/20/2009 Mitchell Machtay, MD, has been named Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, following a national search. Dr. Machtay comes to Cleveland from the Bodine Center for Cancer Treatment at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he served as the Walter J. Curran Jr. Professor and Vice Chair of Radiation Oncology. more... University of New Mexico Cancer Center 6/20/2009 University of New Mexico Cancer Center researchers have identified a genetic mutation underlying one of the most common childhood cancers, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The discovery could lead to more effective treatments for a subset of ALL patients who experience minimal benefit with current therapies by using drugs that are already in clinical trials for similar blood diseases in adults. The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. more... University of New Mexico Cancer Center 6/20/2009 The New Mexico Technology Council (NMTC) has selected University of New Mexico Cancer Center researcher Larry Sklar, Ph.D., as a recipient of a 2009 Technology Excellence Achievement Award. The award is in recognition of the innovative research efforts of the team led by Sklar in molecular discovery technology, which could lead to potential new cancer drugs and identify new ways to target cancer cells. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 6/19/2009 A new technique known as stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is safe for patients with recurrent head and neck cancers and may improve their quality of life, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). Results of the phase I study were reported in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. more... University of Kansas Cancer Center 6/19/2009 The University of Kansas Cancer Center’s effort to achieve National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation was boosted when one of its prominent cancer drug researchers received a $1 million NCI grant renewal. The new four-year grant will allow Blake Peterson, PhD, Regents Distinguished Professor in Medicinal Chemistry at KU, to expand his work in cancer drug delivery. more... Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University 6/19/2009 Neal Meropol, MD, has been recruited as Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Meropol has a national reputation for his contributions in GI malignancies including evaluation of new agents, predictors of response and outcome, and assessment of the economic impact of care. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 6/18/2009 The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the Gamida Cell – Teva Joint Venture announced that the Institute has joined an elite group of cancer centers in Europe, the United States and Israel that are now enrolling patients to participate in the ExCell research study. The phase III study is assessing the safety and efficacy of StemEx®, an investigational product derived from stem cells, as an alternative treatment to bone marrow transplants for hematological malignancies, including leukemia and lymphoma. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 6/18/2009 When some women learn they have breast cancer, they decide to have a mastectomy and reconstructive breast surgery at the same time. Studies have shown that reconstructive surgery is safe and does not interfere with treatment or increase the risk of breast cancer recurrence, says Dr. Michael J. Miller, a nationally recognized plastic surgeon specializing in cancer reconstruction at James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at Ohio State. However, surveys show a majority of surgeons do not discuss reconstruction with their patients. more... Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA 6/18/2009 A long-term study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that the three most common treatments for localized prostate cancer had significant impacts on patients’ quality of life, a finding that could help guide doctors and patients in making treatment decisions. The study appeared June 9 in the early online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. more... Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania 6/17/2009 In a study comparing two strains of mice, one susceptible to developing cancer and the other not, researchers found that a high-fat diet predisposed the cancer-susceptible strain to liver cancer. The same high-risk mice also avoided the malignancy by switching to a low-fat diet early in the experiment. The findings, from a joint University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University study, appeared online in the June edition of Human Molecular Genetics. more... Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital 6/17/2009 Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can be successfully treated using a carefully personalized chemotherapy regimen without cranial radiation, investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have found. Such radiation of the brain was once a standard ALL treatment to prevent recurrence of the leukemia in the central nervous system (CNS). The investigators reported their findings in the June 25 New England Journal of Medicine. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/16/2009 Dr. Steve Rosen, director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, joined President Barack Obama for a special Father’s Day event at the White House. The day-long event celebrated the importance of connecting male role models with young men to support young men’s ambitions as future leaders and fathers. more... Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania 6/16/2009 After a vaccination or an infection, the human immune system remembers to keep protecting against invaders it has already encountered, with the aid of specialized B-cells and T-cells. Immunological memory has long been the subject of intense study, but the underlying cellular mechanisms regulating the generation and persistence of long-lived memory T cells remain largely undefined. Now, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have found that a common anti-diabetic drug might enhance the effectiveness of vaccines. more... UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute 6/15/2009 The UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center officially opened a new laboratory research building on June 2 at the university’s growing Mission Bay campus. Designed by renowned architect Rafael Viñoly, the 163,865 square-foot facility houses scientists investigating basic biological mechanisms, including brain tumors, urologic oncology, pediatric oncology, cancer population sciences, and computational biology. The building will more than double the UCSF laboratory space in buildings exclusively dedicated to cancer research. more... Nevada Cancer Institute 6/15/2009 Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI) and Siemens Foundation announced the Nevada nursing and healthcare students selected as winners of the 2009 Siemens Oncology Scholarship Program. In 2007, Siemens provided $100,000 to NVCI to fund a scholarship program that aims to increase the number of Nevada students focusing on oncology nursing, basic sciences, biotechnology or public health. The scholarship program also allows currently licensed registered nurses to complete graduate work focusing on oncology nursing. more... Nevada Cancer Institute 6/15/2009 Nevada Cancer Institute’s Board of Directors has elected Stephen J. Cloobeck as its next chairman, effective July 1. Cloobeck succeeds founding Chairman of the Board Heather Murren. NVCI has made remarkable strides since its inception. Since opening its doors in 2005, NVCI has treated more than 10,000 patients from Nevada, the nation and the world. The Institute has initiated more than 100 clinical trials representing cutting-edge treatment options not available anywhere else in the state. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 6/15/2009 Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) was honored with the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) 2009 Employer Recognition Award. ONCC recognizes one organization each year for its sustained support of oncology nursing certification. Oncology nursing certification validates that nurses have met stringent requirements for knowledge and experience and are qualified to provide competent oncology care. more... NYU Cancer Institute 6/12/2009 A protein called STAT3 has been found to play a fundamental role in converting normal cells to cancerous cells, according to a new study led by David E. Levy, Ph.D., professor of pathology and microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. The study, published in the June 26 issue of the journal Science, found that STAT3, in addition to its role in the cell nucleus regulating gene expression, is also present in mitochondria and regulates the activity of the electron transport chain in tumors cells. more... NYU Cancer Institute 6/12/2009 Aggressive, deadly and often misdiagnosed, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most lethal form of primary breast cancer, often striking women in their prime and causing death within 18 to 24 months. Now, scientists from The Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified a key gene—eIF4G1—that is overexpressed in the majority of cases of IBC, allowing cells to form highly mobile clusters that are responsible for the rapid metastasis that makes IBC such an effective killer. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 6/11/2009 Higher selenium levels in the blood may worsen prostate cancer in some men who already have the disease, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute the University of California, San Francisco. A higher risk of more-aggressive prostate cancer was seen in men with a certain genetic variant found in about 75 percent of the prostate cancer patients in the study. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 6/11/2009 Dr. Steven Devine, Director of Blood & Marrow Transplant Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, testified in support of the Umbilical Cord Blood Donations legislation on June 24 before the Ohio state legislature. House Bill 102, sponsored by Rep. Todd Book (D-McDermott), is pending in the Senate Health Committee after passing in the House. The bill requires the Department of Health to make available on its Web site printable publications containing standardized, objective information about umbilical-cord-blood banking. more... Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson 6/10/2009 The absence of a stromal protein called caveolin-1 appears to be a marker for advanced prostate cancer and metastasis, researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson and Harvard Medical School reported in Cell Cycle. There was an abundance of stromal caveolin-1 in prostate tissue taken from patients with benign prostate hypertrophy. However, the level of stromal caveolin-1 was significantly decreased in the prostate tissue taken from patients with localized prostate cancer, the study found. more... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 6/10/2009 Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center has opened a new radiation oncology treatment suite featuring stereotactic radiosurgery, technology that provides more precise targeting of tumors and faster delivery of the correct dose of radiation for cancer patients. Vanderbilt-Ingram’s new Novalis Tx radiosurgery unit is the first of its kind in Middle Tennessee. The new technology delivers an accelerated radiation dose much faster than before and reduces required beam-on time by half. more... Massey Cancer Center 6/9/2009 Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researcher Steven Grant, MD, a professor of medicine and Massey’s associate director for translational research, and his research team have received a National Cancer Institute renewal grant of $1.25 million to develop a more selective approach to the treatment of multiple myeloma, an incurable, malignant disorder of the bone marrow involving plasma cells. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/8/2009 The chemotherapy medication fluorouracil appears to reduce potentially precancerous skin patches and improve the appearance of sun-damaged skin, according to a report by U-M associate professor of dermatology Dana L. Sachs, M.D., in the June issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the Journal of the American Medical Association/Archives journals. Fluorouracil stops the body from synthesizing thymine, a building block of DNA. This drug is used to treat cancers of the colon, head and neck, pancreas and other organs. more... Mayo Clinic Cancer Center 6/8/2009 The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) has awarded a MERIT award to Ed Leof, Ph.D., Professor , Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Medicine, Mayo College of Medicine. A member of the MCCC Senior Leadership team, Dr. Leof is the Associate Director of Basic Science Research in the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. Dr. Leof’s research interest focuses on transforming growth factor-b and its downstream pathways that contribute to cellular processes in cancer, fibrotic disorders, immune modulation, and wound healing. more... Nevada Cancer Institute 6/8/2009 A group of Nevada Cancer Institute physicians and scientists have demonstrated in a recent published study that among 11 blood tests, the CellSearch Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) assay and the LDH test provide the most prognostic information for prostate cancer patients starting a new line of therapy, particularly as it relates to survival. The study, titled “Circulating Tumor Cells in Patients with Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Baseline Values and Correlation with Prognostic Factors” was published in the June 2009 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. more... Huntsman Cancer Institute 6/8/2009 A new study from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah reveals that the father’s sperm delivers much more complex genetic material than previously thought. The findings could lead to a diagnostic test to help couples deal with infertility. Researchers discovered particular genes packaged in a special way within the sperm, and that may promote the development of the fetus. more... UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/7/2009 Hyman B. Muss, M.D., has joined the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Muss will be a professor of medicine and will develop and lead a new program in geriatric oncology. Muss joined UNC from the University of Vermont Cancer Center where he served as associate director of clinical research and division director of hematology/oncology. more... Masonic Cancer Center 6/6/2009 University of Minnesota researcher Dan Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D., a pioneer in deriving natural killer (NK) cells from human embryonic stem cells, has shown that such cells are effective in killing human leukemia in a mouse model. In addition, these human embryonic stem cell-derived tumor-killing cells are highly effective in killing breast cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and brain tumor cells in the laboratory, according to Kaufman’s work. more... The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center 6/6/2009 Many cancerous tumors possess a genetic mutation that disables a tumor suppressor called PTEN. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown why inactivation of PTEN allows tumors to resist radiation therapy. Mutations in PTEN are frequently found in prostate cancer and endometrial cancer, melanoma and certain aggressive brain tumors and tumors with PTEN mutations are often resistant to radiation therapy. more... UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/6/2009 UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) will establish a state-of-the-art 800 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center NMR Shared Facility with a grant of $2 million from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), part of the National Institutes of Health. N. Rama Krishna, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics at UAB and senior scientist in the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, is the principal investigator on the grant and will direct the facility. more... Nevada Cancer Institute 6/6/2009 Scientists have discovered exactly how some bacteria act to protect themselves when they are threatened or under attack. Scientists have figured out the mechanics of ‘channels’ in bacteria which stay shut if all is normal and are triggered to open if they need to mount a defense. The breakthrough finding published in the journal Structure paves the way for the development of new methods for tackling E.coli, salmonella, and brucella infections, as well as the bacteria Pseudomonas, which often colonize the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients and also cause infection in those whose immune systems are compromised. more... UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute 6/5/2009 Susan Desmond-Hellmann, a physician, pioneering cancer researcher and biotechnology industry executive who most recently served as president of product development for Genentech, was named chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco campus by the University of California Board of Regents. The appointment takes effect on Aug. 3. It was made on the recommendation of UC President Mark G. Yudof. more... UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center 6/4/2009 In 2004, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center announced a crucial discovery in the understanding of cellular aging. They found that as cells and tissues age, the expression of a key protein, called p16INK4a, dramatically increases in most mammalian organs. Because p16INK4a is a tumor suppressor protein, cancer researchers are interested in its role in cellular aging and cancer prevention. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 6/4/2009 Ohio State University cancer researchers have used computational and genomic methods to identify possible anti-cancer agents that may block a particular kind of tumor behavior. The agents target multiple genes associated with that behavior at one time. The researchers wanted to find agents that might reverse the gene changes associated with invasive liver cancer and perhaps stop liver tumors from spreading in the body. The findings are published online in the journal Cancer. “This is an exciting new way to find potentially useful anti-cancer agents,” says principal investigator Dr. Tushar Patel, director of hepatology and a researcher with Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 6/3/2009 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists’ discovery of a cancer-causing gene – the first in its family to be linked to cancer – demonstrates how the panoramic view of genomics and the close-up perspective of molecular biology are needed to determine which genes are involved in cancer and which are mere bystanders. The findings are reported in the June 25 issue of the journal Nature. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 6/2/2009 Fox Chase Cancer Center has promoted C-M Charlie Ma, Ph.D., to vice chairman of the department of radiation oncology. Ma, a resident of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., joined the staff at Fox Chase in 2001 and is currently the director of radiation physics at Fox Chase. Ma is an internationally recognized expert in the physics of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Under his leadership, the medical physics division of the department of radiation oncology at Fox Chase has developed into one of the premier groups in North America. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 6/1/2009 Researchers at Indiana University Melvin and Bren Cancer Center have developed a new breast cancer diagnostic marker that could enable physicians to determine which patients have a less aggressive form of the disease that may not require chemotherapy. Clarient Inc., a California-based diagnostics company plans to develop a commercial test based on the research by Harikrishna Nakshatri B.V.Sc., Ph.D., Marian J. Morrison, Professor of Breast Cancer Research at IU School of Medicine, and Sunil Badve, M.D., associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at IU School of Medicine. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 5/30/2009 By combining the art of origami with nanotechnology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers have folded sheets of DNA into multilayered objects with dimensions thousands of times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. These tiny structures could be forerunners of custom-made biomedical nanodevices such as "smart" delivery vehicles that would sneak drugs into patients’ cells, where they would dump their cargo on a specific molecular target. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 5/29/2009 Merrill Egorin, M.D., professor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), has received the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Translational Research Professorship for his work in improving cancer treatments and supporting the next generation of researchers. The award provides $100,000 annually for five years to further the training and career development of clinical oncologists for whom translational research is the primary or major component of their professional activities. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 5/27/2009 Research conducted by scientists at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute was featured during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Fla., May 29 to June 2. Among the Ohio State cancer researchers featured were Dr. William Blum for research into treatment of acute myeloid leukemia with decitabine, Dr. Don Benson for research into a new treatment for multiple myeloma and Dr. Leslie Andritsos for the evaluation of a new immunopharmaceutical molecule TRU-016 in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. more... Huntsman Cancer Institute 5/27/2009 Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah studied the events leading to colon cancer and found that an unexpected protein serves as the "spark" that triggers formation of colon polyps, the precursors to cancerous tumors. The study was published in the May 15 edition of the journal Cell. The study in zebrafish and human cells discovered that a protein, known as C-terminal binding protein 1, or CTBP1, was the spark that initiated colon polyp formation, not the protein beta-catenin, as previously thought. With this new information, future treatments that prevent tumor progression can be developed. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 5/26/2009 Roswell Park Cancer Institute nurses developed an accessible visual tool - an algorithm based on nursing experience and roadmaps - to enhance the delivery of chemotherapy. Darryl Somayaji, MSN, RN, CCRC, Department of Nursing at RPCI, discussed “Oncology Nurses Transforming Care: Rapid Response Steps to Success by Using a Chemotherapy Administration Process Improvement Algorithm,” at the Annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society, April 30 – May 3 in San Antonio, TX. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 5/26/2009 A study led by cancer researchers at The Ohio State University has validated a method for reliably measuring variations in certain proteins that may make good biomarkers in chronic leukemia patients. The study demonstrated that liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) measured variations in histones, proteins that help support and store DNA. The findings are published online in a recent issue of the journal Proteomics. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 5/26/2009 Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) patients are a high-risk patient group who, during lengthy hospital stays, often develop close personal relationships with their primary care team. The Department of Nursing at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) created a BMT Task Force to offer compassionate support services to the healthcare team as the team supports patients and their families at the end of life. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 5/26/2009 A review summing up current understanding of aspergillosis—an infection that can attack cancer patients and others with weakened immune systems—by Brahm H. Segal, MD, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. As Dr. Segal notes in the Journal’s April 30 issue, aspergillosis is the umbrella term for illnesses caused by spores of Aspergillus, a common fungus. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 5/26/2009 Chad A. Mirkin, the world’s top-cited researcher in nanomedicine and one of the most widely cited chemists, has been named to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). President Barack Obama announced the names of the 20 members in a speech at the National Academy of Sciences on April 27, 2009. “This council represents leaders from many scientific disciplines who will bring a diversity of experience and views,” said President Obama. “I will charge PCAST with advising me about national strategies to nurture and sustain a culture of scientific innovation.” more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 5/26/2009 Mentoring the Next Generation of BMT Oncology Nurses Experienced nurse leaders are building a foundation for the next generation of oncology nurses in the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Center at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI). In this intense, innovative program, experienced nurses provided hands-on learning sessions to those beginning their careers. The newly organized orientation program matched 16 new graduate nurses with 25 experienced nurses and centered a curriculum designed specifically to meet the needs of the transplant patient. The results of the program were shared with nurses from across the nation during the annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), April 30 – May 3 in San Antonio, TX. more... Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center 5/26/2009 Childhood cancer specialist Donald Small, MD, PhD, received the Frank A. Oski Award from the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology on April 24, during its annual meeting in San Diego. The award honors clinicians and basic science investigators in pediatric hematology and oncology who have made significant research contributions to the field. Small and his team were the first to clone the human FLT3 receptor gene, which is the most frequently mutated gene in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 5/25/2009 Patients undergoing treatment for advanced head and neck cancers may respond well to the addition of gefinitib to chemotherapy, according to a study sponsored by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and chaired by Ethan Argiris, M.D., associate professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and co-leader of the Head and Neck Cancer Program of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 5/25/2009 Research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has found that a less toxic, solvent-free chemotherapy drug more effectively prevents the progression of metastatic breast cancer and has fewer side effects than a commonly used solvent-based drug. A national study led by William Gradishar, M.D., director of breast medical oncology at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, found that the drug Abraxane prolonged progression-free survival by almost seven months compared with Taxotere, which is part of a class of solvent-based drugs called taxanes. The study was published May 26 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. more... The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center 5/25/2009 Dr. David Rowley received the American Urological Association’s John K. Lattimer Award at the organization’s recent annual meeting in Chicago. Rowley is a professor of molecular and cellular biology and urology at BCM and a co-leader of the prostate cancer program in the NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine. "Dr. Rowley and his laboratory have made substantial contributions to our understanding of the factors that promote prostate cancer," said Dr. Michael Coburn, interim chair and professor in the Scott Department of Urology at Baylor College of Medicine. more... Friends of Cancer Research 5/25/2009 Friends of Cancer Research hosted a forum on May 13, 2009 on Capitol Hill attended by a large audience of researchers, advocates, House and Senate staff members, employees of the FDA, AHRQ, NIH, NCI and HHS, as well as the general public. This event was held in conjunction with the release of a white paper authored by an independent committee of 25 leading advocates, researchers and physicians, titled: Improving Medical Decisions Through Comparative Effectiveness Research: Cancer as a Case Study. The report describes the experiences of the clinical and research oncology communities with conducting Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) in the United States. more... University of New Mexico Cancer Center 5/25/2009 The Nancy Floyd Haworth Foundation (NFHF) has selected Dr. Melanie Royce of the University of New Mexico Cancer Center to receive the Foundation’s 2009 Spirit of Hope Award. The Spirit of Hope is the NFHF’s signature award, and since 1992, has been awarded to individuals who have made a significant difference in the lives of those affected by breast cancer. The award is based on research, advancing education, treatment and community support. Royce was recruited to the UNM Cancer Center from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in 2004 and directs both the Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Program and the Hereditary Cancer Assessment Program at the UNM Cancer Center. more... The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center 5/25/2009 David J. Tweardy, MD and his colleagues looked for a way to block the activity of the cancer gene Stat3 using new programs and fast computers. This enabled Tweardy and his colleagues to compare millions of molecules to that of Stat3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription) oncogene in fairly short order, said the professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine researcher in a report that appeared in the online journal PLoS One (Public Library of Science ONE). It was a monumental task, but worth the effort, said Tweardy, also professor of molecular and cellular biology and chief of the division of infectious diseases at BCM. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 5/24/2009 The chemotherapy medication fluorouracil appears to reduce potentially precancerous skin patches and improve the appearance of sun-damaged skin, according to a report by U-M associate professor of dermatology Dana L. Sachs, M.D., in the June issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the Journal of the American Medical Association/Archives journals. Fluorouracil stops the body from synthesizing thymine, a building block of DNA. This drug is used to treat cancers of the colon, head and neck, pancreas and other organs. In studies of cancer patients undergoing treatment with fluorouracil, clinicians noticed changes in skin appearance, which led to the development of a topical therapy to treat skin lesions that may develop into skin cancer. more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 5/24/2009 Researchers from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have uncovered a remarkable property of the contractile ring, a structure required for cell division. Understanding how the contractile ring works to divide the cell may facilitate development of therapies to prevent uncontrolled cell division in cancer. The researchers show that – even though both cell volume and the length of the contractile ring are reduced during successive rounds of embryonic cell division – the duration or timing of cell division remains the same. Their study was published in the May 29 issue of the journalCell. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 5/23/2009 Hoping to develop more effective long-term attacks on cancer, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have conducted the first human tests of a breast cancer drug regimen that includes a compound meant to force cancer cells to grow old and die. The early stage clinical tests are an attempt to block a mechanism cancer cells use to avoid the aging process that affects most normal cells. If successful, the new therapy could enhance the effects of other cancer treatments. more... University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 5/22/2009 In a small, early clinical trial, researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center have found that combining eight ounces of grapefruit juice with the drug rapamycin can increase drug levels, allowing lower doses of the drug to be given. They also showed that the combination can be effective in treating various types of cancer. For two decades, pharmacists have pasted do-not-take-with-grapefruit-juice stickers on various pill bottles because it can interfere with the enzymes that break down and eliminate certain drugs. This interference makes the drugs more potent. more... NYU Cancer Institute 5/21/2009 A new study published online in Nature Immunology has found that homologous immunoglobulin (lg) alleles pair up in the nucleus at stages that coincide with V(D)J recombination of the heavy and light chain (Igh and Igk) loci. Researchers led by Jane A. Skok Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pathology at NYU School of Medicine and a member of the NYU Cancer Institute, showed that the V(D)J recombinase, which consists of the RAG1 and RAG2 proteins, mediates this pairing and helps ensure that only one allele undergoes recombination at a time (a process known as allelic exclusion). more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 5/21/2009 Patients with certain oral cancers that contain the human papillomavirus (HPV) have better outcomes than similar patients with tumors that lack the virus, according to the largest and most definitive study of its kind to date. The research involved 323 patients with stage III or IV oropharyngeal cancer (cancers of the upper throat) who were part of a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group clinical trial. Of these patients, 206 had HPV-positive tumors and 117 had HPV-negative tumors. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 5/20/2009 Researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Penn State College of Medicine have been awarded a multi-million dollar grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to study how the immune system controls viral infections. Their studies will focus on ectromelia virus, a mouse virus that causes mousepox (i.e., mouse smallpox) and serves as a research model for human smallpox. The studies will provide a better understanding of how the mammalian immune system copes with viral infection. more... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 5/20/2009 Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center has launched The Hope Connection, a free confidential support program for adult cancer patients and their families. The Hope Connection provides one-to-one telephone support from caring, compassionate volunteers who have personally experienced the challenges and complex issues of a cancer diagnosis. The volunteers are cancer survivors and caregivers who are willing to listen, provide guidance and offer support before, during and after cancer treatment. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 5/19/2009 Knowing prior to surgery whether a patient’s thyroid cancer harbors a specific gene mutation leads to tailored treatments and improved outcomes, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Results of the study were presented at the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons annual meeting in Madison, Wisconsin. According to Linwah Yip, MD, a surgical oncologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s (UPMC) Multidisciplinary Thyroid Center, malignant thyroid tumors containing a mutation in a gene known as BRAF are more likely to recur. more... University of Virginia Cancer Center 5/19/2009 Harry D. Bear, M.D., Ph.D., a leading physician-researcher with Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, received the Distinguished Investigator Lifetime Achievement Award from the NSABP Foundation, Inc. During the past two decades, Dr. Bear, a researcher and surgeon, has led international trials that have resulted in major changes in the treatment of breast cancer and dramatically increased the chance for breast conservation among women with breast cancer. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 5/19/2009 Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is the first center in New York State to install the newly designed Gamma Knife Perfexion. This cutting-edge radiosurgery technology reduces treatment times and provides more comfort to patients being treated for brain disorders. Gamma Knife Perfexion allows physicians to treat brain tumors and lesions as well as other conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease. more... Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson 5/19/2009 Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have implicated the loss of a stromal protein called caveolin-1 as a major new prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer, as reported online by the American Journal of Pathology. Caveolin-1 predicted early disease recurrence, metastasis and breast cancer patient survival. The absence of caveolin-1 in the stroma also appeared to be a marker for drug resistance in patients receiving tamoxifen, according to Michael Lisanti, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the departments of Cancer Biology, Medical Oncology and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 5/19/2009 The pain that can accompany cancer-both ongoing pain and short but sometimes violent bursts of pain-tends to be worse among non-whites than among white patients, researchers from the University of Michigan Health System have found. Researchers prospectively analyzed data from surveying 96 people with advanced cancer: stage III or IV breast, prostate, colorectal or lung cancer, or stage II to IV multiple myeloma over six months. Non-white participants reported much more severe consistent pain and “breakthrough” pain-flares of moderate to severe pain-than whites. The study appears in The Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 5/19/2009 The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) was the primary site for a clinical trial of ABT-888; this drug has been proven to improve chemotherapy’s effectiveness by lowering cancer cells’ resistance to treatment. This trial examined ABT-888 as a single agent for patients with cancers related to BRCA 1 or 2 genetic mutations, which predispose patients to breast and ovarian cancers. According to the study’s principal investigator, Shannon Puhalla, MD, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and breast oncologist at Magee-Womens Cancer Program of UPMC Cancer Centers, ABT-888 targets the polymerase (PARP) family of enzymes responsible for a wide variety of cellular processes in cancer cells. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 5/19/2009 Thanks to a $1 million research grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure tissue bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center will continue its unique mission to collect and share healthy breast tissue specimens with researchers worldwide to help understand how breast cells turn cancerous. The grant will enable the tissue bank – the nation’s first and only healthy tissue bank – to add to its tissue collection from more than 450 women and blood samples from more than 4,500. more... University of New Mexico Cancer Center 5/19/2009 A team of researchers at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center have discovered a new compound that regulates cell responses to estrogen, which could have exciting implications in the fight against breast, uterine, endometrial and ovarian cancers. The report, published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, builds on previous findings by the UNM Cancer Center team, and furthers our understanding about estrogen’s role in cancer development more... The Wistar Institute 5/18/2009 Russel E. Kaufman, M.D., president and CEO of The Wistar Institute, today was formally inducted into the Fellowship of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia – the nation’s oldest professional medical organization. “It’s a tremendous honor to join this prestigious society, the birthplace of American medicine,” said Kaufman. “I look forward to working with my College Fellows in pursuit of our shared mission to improve public health by holding ourselves to the highest professional standards within our chosen fields.” more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 5/18/2009 A study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified two proteins in the blood that could become important prognostic markers for long-term survival in breast cancer patients. The proteins are associated with chronic inflammation, which is known to contribute to cancer development and progression. Cornelia Ulrich, Ph.D., and colleagues measured the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) in 734 breast cancer patients at 31 months after diagnosis. They found that elevated levels of CRP and SAA are associated with reduced overall survival, regardless of patient age, tumor stage, race and body mass index. more... Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University 5/17/2009 A new study examining treatment decision-making by older women with early stage breast cancer showed that 45 percent of women would choose to get chemotherapy after surgery -- a figure higher than the national average of women getting the additional treatment. “This was an unexpected finding," said the study’s lead investigator, Jeanne Mandelblatt, MD, MPH, associate director for population sciences at GUMC’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and professor of oncology and medicine at GUMC. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 5/17/2009 Research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has found that a less toxic, solvent-free chemotherapy drug more effectively prevents the progression of metastatic breast cancer and has fewer side effects than a commonly used solvent-based drug. A national study led by William Gradishar, M.D., director of breast medical oncology at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, found that the drug Abraxane prolonged progression-free survival by almost seven months compared with Taxotere, which is part of a class of solvent-based drugs called taxanes. "It nearly doubled progression-free survival," said Gradishar, who also is a professor of medicine at Northwestern’s Feinberg School and a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 5/17/2009 Sections of proteins previously thought to be disordered may in fact have an unexpected biological role — providing certain proteins room to move — according to a study published by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in this month’s issue of the journal Structure (Cell Press). The researchers published the first comprehensive structural study of the protein NHERF1 is representative of a large class of proteins with an array of biological roles, including signaling pathways implicated in diseases such as cystic fibrosis and breast cancer. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 5/17/2009 Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) have identified eight genes that help predict a melanoma patient’s response to treatment. The new findings are being presented at the 45th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), May 29 to June 2, in Orlando, Fla. Principal investigator Hussein Tawbi, M.D., M.Sc., assistant professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and with UPCI’s Melanoma Program stated that “this form of cancer is aggressive and often resistant to chemotherapy. We wanted to see if there was a way to predict which patients would respond to treatment and which ones would not." more... Winship Cancer Institute 5/16/2009 Pancreatic cancer has a devastatingly low survival rate (less than five percent after five years) because it is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. The initial symptoms, such as pain, jaundice or weight loss, often prevent the disease from being caught early enough for surgery and chemotherapy to be effective. Emory researchers have created tools for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer by attaching a molecule that binds specifically to pancreatic cancer cells to tiny "nanoparticles" made of iron oxide. The iron makes the particles clearly visible under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 5/16/2009 Donald L. Trump, MD, FACP, President & CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), has been elected to membership in the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. He was inducted into the Society on Wednesday, May 20, and recognized during commencement exercises on May 21 in Baltimore, MD. The highly prestigious, highly selective Society of Scholars, created by the Johns Hopkins University in 1967, is the first of its kind in the nation − honoring distinguished former postdoctoral fellows and junior or visiting faculty of the University who have gained marked distinction in their fields. more... Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University 5/15/2009 Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Northeast Ohio has announced that it is contributing $1.5 million to 25 organizations throughout the area for projects that support its promise to end breast cancer forever. These grants set a new record for Komen -both in the dollars funded and in the number of agencies it has been able to support. These grants will enable thousands of women across Northeast Ohio to receive life saving screening, while also enhancing breast cancer education programs and survivor support. Local agencies from several counties were chosen for their innovative breast cancer programs, with a specific focus on those that assist underinsured, uninsured or women living at the poverty line. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 5/14/2009 Actress Bonnie Hunt, mistress of ceremonies for the seventh annual Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation (CBTF) Benefit held in Manhattan on May 13th, presented Stewart Goldman, MD, with the Foundation’s Pioneer Award for outstanding contributions in pediatric neuro-oncology and brain tumor research. Goldman is medical director of neuro-oncology at Children’s Memorial Hospital, director of the Center for Clinical Trials Research for the Children’s Memorial Research Center, associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. more... University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 5/13/2009 African American women in Chicago are 116 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than their white counterparts. This stunning fact came out of a study that the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force undertook in 2008, as did the finding that this shocking disparity is increasing every year. These findings motivated Olufunmilayo Olopade, a breast cancer specialist who has been working with patients at the University Medical Center since 1987, and Rachel Lindsey, dean of arts and sciences at Chicago State University, to coordinate a conference titled “Uniting to Address Breast Cancer Disparities in Chicago: Past Progress, Future Direction.” more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 5/13/2009 Dr. Don Benson, a hematologist and oncologist specializing in researching and treating multiple myeloma at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, received a three-year, $200,000 Career Development Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Cancer Foundation. ASCO presents career development awards to physicians who are in their second, third or fourth year as full-time faculty members in a university setting. Benson is one of 11 physicians who received the award during ASCO’s annual meeting May 29-June 2 in Orlando, Fla. more... Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute 5/12/2009 The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) named genetics educator and physician Kent McKelvey, M.D., the inaugural recipient of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Chair in Clinical Genetics. The endowed chair and genetics clinic was established with a donation from Lisenne Rockefeller, wife of the late Arkansas Lt. Gov. Winthrop P. Rockefeller. A founding member of the new UAMS Division of Genetics, McKelvey is director of Cancer Genetics Services at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. more... Masonic Cancer Center 5/12/2009 University of Minnesota researcher Dan Kaufman, M.D., Ph.D., a pioneer in deriving natural killer (NK) cells from human embryonic stem cells, has proven the effectiveness of those NK cells in killing human leukemia in a mouse model. Furthermore, he has shown that these human embryonic stem cell-derived tumor-killing cells are highly effective in killing breast cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and brain tumor cells in the laboratory. Natural killer (NK) cells are a naturally occurring type of cell that works as part of the human immune system to protect the body from invaders, such as viruses or tumors. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 5/11/2009 Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in Buffalo, New York, are strongly advocating a national discussion about the need to vaccinate both young men and women against HPV 16 to prevent head & neck cancers. The call comes amid growing evidence that certain cancers of the head and neck are strongly linked to HPV 16, a specific strain of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 5/10/2009 Bryan Schneider, M.D., assistant professor in the Division Hematology/Oncology at the Indiana University of Medicine School of Medicine and a physician/researcher with the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, recently received $5.8 million Promise Grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure for his research that attempts to predict who will benefit from the powerful breast-cancer fighting drug bevacizumab (Avastin). more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 5/10/2009 The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute has hired R. Michael Townsend as chief information officer, with responsibility for all cancer information management, including strategic planning and execution of informatics projects that support operational and strategic goals. Townsend also will work closely with The Ohio State University Medical Center’s Information Technology division. He earned dual bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and chemistry from Syracuse University and holds a doctorate in theoretical chemistry from the University of Chicago. more... Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute 5/10/2009 A $3.75 million gift from the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation allowed the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to match the $36 million designated by the Arkansas Legislature for construction of the Institute’s new tower. “Pat Walker’s legacy of support for UAMS is unmatched,” said Peter Emanuel, M.D., Cancer Institute director. more... University of New Mexico Cancer Center 5/10/2009 A team of researchers at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center have discovered a new compound that regulates cell responses to estrogen, which could have exciting implications in the fight against breast, uterine, endometrial and ovarian cancers. The report, published today in the online version of the journal Nature Chemical Biology, builds on previous findings by the UNM Cancer Center team, and furthers our understanding about estrogen’s role in cancer development. Estrogen is believed to play a role in cancer’s uncontrolled cell growth and a better understanding of estrogen-regulated cell function has long been a goal of researchers. more... The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center 5/9/2009 Targeted therapies for endometrial cancer, the fourth most common cancer of U.S. women, have lagged behind that of many other cancers, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. But the researchers have taken an important step toward changing that by identifying a genetic marker for high-risk endometrial cancer, opening the door for more directed and risk-appropriate treatments. In the May 26 advance online issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the scientists report that genetic mutation of the ATR gene in tumors raises the risk of cancer recurrence and death in patients with the most prevalent kind of endometrial cancer, endometrioid endometrial cancer. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 5/7/2009 The combination of chemotherapies 5FU and oxaliplatin compared to 5FU alone after surgery for colon cancer decreases colon cancer recurrence and promotes longer survival for patients under 70 -- but not for those who are older, according to Mayo Clinic and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists who presented their findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. "By combining information about many patients from a collection of studies, our analysis determined that the more aggressive combination chemotherapy does not benefit older colon cancer patients as it does for those who are younger," said Nadine Jackson McCleary, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber gastrointestinal oncologist and the lead author on the study. more... The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center 5/5/2009 A procedure that uses heat generated by radio waves to treat Barrett’s esophagus, a condition caused by acid reflux (severe heartburn), can eliminate signs of the potentially cancer-causing disorder and reduce the risk that the disease will progress. Findings from the first multicenter trial of the procedure, called radiofrequency ablation, could mean patients have an alternative to surgery for treating Barrett’s esophagus. The procedure uses a scope inserted through the mouth to destroy the abnormal tissue. The investigators at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reported their findings in the May 28 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 5/5/2009 A phase III study has shown that adding an antibody-based therapy that harnesses the body’s immune system resulted in a 20 percent increase in the number of children living disease-free for at least two years with neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma, a hard-to-treat cancer arising from nervous system cells, is responsible for 15 percent of cancer-related deaths in children. The researchers reported their findings – the first to show that immunotherapy could be effective against childhood cancer – online May 14, 2009 on the American Society of Clinical Oncology website. more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 5/2/2009 In studying the preventive effects of vitamin D, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, have proposed a new model of cancer development that hinges on a loss of cancer cells’ ability to stick together. The model, dubbed DINOMIT, differs substantially from the current model of cancer development, which suggests genetic mutations as the earliest driving forces behind cancer. “The first event in cancer is loss of communication among cells due to, among other things, low vitamin D and calcium levels,” said epidemiologist Cedric Garland, DrPH, professor of family and preventive medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, who led the work. more... Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute 4/30/2009 Andre Konski, MD, MBA, has accepted the position as Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology for the Wayne State University School of Medicine and Service Chief for Radiation Oncology at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center. Dr. Konski comes to Wayne State and Karmanos from the renowned Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pa., where he serves as chief medical officer for the center’s Partners Program. He will assume his new responsibilities by the end of March. “We are fortunate to have an individual like Dr. Konski to lead the department,” said Robert M. Mentzer, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine and senior advisor to the president for medical affairs. “I am steadfastly committed to supporting Dr. Konksi’s vision for a world class Radiation Oncology program for the School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. That vision, coupled with his inherent drive for cancer treatment research, care for patients, and business acumen, is consistent with the Karmanos Cancer Center’s mission and commitment to providing outstanding comprehensive cancer care.” more... NYU Cancer Institute 4/29/2009 Two researchers from NYU School of Medicine have been named Early Career Scientists by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The honorees, Iannis Aifantis, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology and co-director of the Cancer Stem Cell Program at the NYU Cancer Institute and Jeremy S. Dasen, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology and neuroscience at NYU School of Medicine are among 50 of the nation’s top scientists being honored by HHMI under this new initiative to establish, develop and grow unique research programs. more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 4/28/2009 Scientists at the University of California, San Diego and the Moores UCSD Cancer Center have evidence of a potential new biomarker to predict the aggressiveness of an often difficult-to-treat form of leukemia. They found that high levels of a particular enzyme in the blood are an indicator that chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) – the most common form of adult leukemia – will be aggressive and in need of immediate treatment. The researchers, led by Paul A. Insel, MD, professor of pharmacology and medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, say that the enzyme, PDE7B, is also critical to the development of CLL and a potential target for drugs against the disease. They presented their results April 19 at the AACR 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver. more... Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University 4/28/2009 The National Academy of Sciences has announced the election of V. Craig Jordan, OBE, PhD, DSc, incoming scientific director and vice chairman of the department of oncology at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center. Election to the NAS is considered one of the highest honors for a scientist or engineer. The Academy said the election, held this morning, recognizes “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” Jordan is an internationally recognized breast cancer scientist whose research focuses on the response of breast cancer cells to preventive and treatment agents. A pharmacologist, Jordan is recognized by many as the "father" the anti-cancer drug tamoxifen, a drug that blocks estrogen from fueling some breast cancers. Millions of women around the world continue to be treated with tamoxifen. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 4/28/2009 A drug currently under development at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine protects cells from the damaging effects of radiation exposure, a new study suggests. Results of the study were presented at the 100th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), April 18 to 22 in Denver. The study, led by Joel Greenberger, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Pitt, is overseen by Pitt’s Center for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation. The center is dedicated to identifying and developing small molecule radiation protectors and mitigators that can be easily accessed and administered in the event of a large-scale radiological or nuclear emergency. more... Masonic Cancer Center 4/27/2009 A University of Minnesota cancer surgeon and researcher has found a dramatic increase in the number of women diagnosed with the earliest stage of breast cancer choosing to have both breasts surgically removed. The rate of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) surgery among U.S. women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) increased by 188 percent between 1998 and 2005, according to Todd Tuttle, M.D., lead researcher on this study. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/25/2009 Higher doses of radiation combined with chemotherapy improve survival in patients with stage III lung cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Standard treatment for this stage of lung cancer -- when the tumor is likely too large to be removed through surgery -- involves a combination of radiation therapy with chemotherapy. But, this new study finds, giving chemotherapy at the same time as the radiation enhances the effect of both. Further, increasing the dose of radiation over the course of treatment also increased survival. more... Arizona Cancer Center 4/25/2009 Arizona Cancer Center physician/scientist Karen Weihs, MD, has been awarded a $3,682,256 research project grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study emotion and depression in breast cancer survivorship. This is Dr. Weihs’ first R01 grant. The five-year study will enroll 450 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer starting in 2010 and will monitor them closely through their treatment and survivorship. The goal of the study is to determine what biologic, psychological and social characteristics may protect the patients from clinical depression, says Dr. Weihs, medical director of psychosocial oncology at the Arizona Cancer Center and an associate professor of psychiatry at The University of Arizona. She also practices psychiatry, providing individual and family psychotherapy, as well as pharmacotherapy services to cancer patients. “Our patients will be assessed for genetic factors that may combine with stress to increase the risk for depression. We are particularly interested in differences in the overall stress of these patients’ lives and the ways they cope with the emotional turmoil of the first year after breast cancer. We want to understand how close relationships may buffer the effects of stress,” Dr. Weihs says. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 4/25/2009 Among their many roles as message couriers and gene regulators, microRNA molecules also help control the repair of damaged DNA within cells, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School scientists report in the May issue of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. The finding not only demonstrates the unexpected versatility of microRNA (miRNAs) in the life of cells but also may lead to new tests for determining a tumor’s aggressiveness and likely response to different therapies. Because radiation and chemotherapy kill cancer cells by damaging their genetic material, knowledge of the DNA repair mechanism may suggest novel solutions to the problem of drug resistance, in which tumors develop the ability to withstand drugs that initially were effective against them. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/25/2009 The Lurie Cancer Center’s Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) in prostate cancer, one of just 11 in the country, will receive $11.5 million over the next five years from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The SPORE brings together a multidisciplinary team of basic scientists, epidemiologists, urologists, oncologists, pathologists and statisticians, who are working together to develop innovative approaches to prostate cancer research. First funded in 2001, the Northwestern-based SPORE represents a consortium of investigators from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, The University of Chicago, and NorthShore University Health System (formerly Evanston Northwestern Healthcare). The principal investigator is Chung Lee, PhD, the John Grayhack Professor of Urology, Feinberg. Co-principal investigators are William Catalona, MD, Professor of Urology, Feinberg, and Walter Stadler, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago. The scientific administrator is Robin Leikin, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Feinberg, and Scientific Program Director, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/24/2009 How does a human cell remember its past and decide its future? A research team including stem cell transplant clinicians in the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplant at Children’s Memorial Hospital and researchers in the Developmental Biology Program of Children’s Memorial Research Center. studied this six million dollar question that biomedical researchers have long sought to answer in their attempts to control cell fate and develop better cellular therapy. Team leader William T. Tse, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. more... UC Davis Cancer Center 4/23/2009 The Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness Research and Training (AANCART) has been honored by the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities with its Health Disparities Leadership Award. The recognition was announced during an awards banquet in National Harbor, Md., recently, held in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health Disparities. more... The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center 4/22/2009 A multicenter study has found two new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. The study was conducted by the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) initiative and reported through advance online publication this week in Nature Genetics. "Each of these markers independently increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer," says one of the study’s investigators, Graham Colditz, M.D., Dr.PH., associate director of prevention and control at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "The increased risk is fairly small — comparable to the increased risk represented by such factors as being overweight or lacking physical activity." more... University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 4/22/2009 The Cancer Research Foundation (CRF) has generously provided the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center (UCCRC) with an initial grant of $3 million to catalyze a multidisciplinary systems biology and genomics approach to study therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML). (The CRF is an Illinois 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, operating in Chicago, and committed to funding innovative laboratory and clinical cancer research projects in Chicago medical centers.) Founded by the late Maurice Goldblatt and today led by his son, Stanford J. Goldblatt and daughter, Merle Goldblatt Cohen, the CRF has provided over $20 million to the University of Chicago cancer programs since its inception in the 1950s. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/20/2009 James Ferrara, M.D., director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, recently received two prestigious awards. One is an honorary doctorate, Doctor of Medicine, from the University of Regensburg in Germany. This is only the second time in nearly 15 years that the University of Regensburg has given this award. Ferrara is one of the world’s leading experts in the area of bone marrow transplantation. For 10 years, as the director of U-M’s Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, he has worked toward building and promoting one of the few competence centers in Europe located at the University of Regensburg. In addition, Ferrara received The Hartwell Foundation’s Individual Biomedical Research Award, which provides funding to individual researchers at eligible research institutions in the United States. more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 4/20/2009 New research published in this month’s edition of Obstetrics & Gynecology(Vol. 113, Issue 4), by a team of investigators from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) shows better survival outcomes for women who have cancer of the ovaries and endometrial lining of the uterus at the same time (synchronous) than those who only have one tumor in the ovaries. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 4/19/2009 A new study by Ohio State University cancer researchers shows that boosting the level of a molecule called miR-29b in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells can reverse gene changes that trap the cells in an immature, fast growing state of development. The study discovered how the miR reactivates silenced genes, which enables the leukemic cells to differentiate and mature, important steps that precede their death. The findings suggest that miR-29b could be a potent treatment for AML. more... Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University 4/19/2009 Qing Yin Zheng, MD, assistant professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Genetics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been awarded a five year $1.66 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Project Grant Program (R01) to explore the impact of several molecular pathways on inner ear dysfunction in Ushers syndrome. Usher Syndrome (USH) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by congenital deafness and retinitis pigmentosa. It is the most common cause of deafness accompanied by blindness. *There are about 10-15,000 people with Usher syndrome in the United States today and it accounts for 6 percent of the congenitally deaf population and more than 50 percent of the deaf- blind population. While there is currently no medical treatment for Usher syndrome, cochlear implants have been found to be very affective in patients with severe or profound hearing loss. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/19/2009 Carole LaBonne, the Soretta and Henry Shapiro Research Professor in Molecular Biology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, has been named to the board of directors of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). She has been co-leader of the Tumor Invasion, Metastasis and Angiogenesis Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University since 2005. The FASEB, the largest U.S. coalition of biomedical research associations, advances biological science through collaborative advocacy for research policies that promote scientific progress and education and lead to improvements in human health. Currently, the FASEB is involved with the proposed increases to the National Institutes of Health budget before Congress. LaBonne is a developmental biologist who studies how complex body plans develop from a single cell, the fertilized egg. She has become a world leader in studies of the neural crest, a group of migratory invasive stem cells established early in vertebrate development that eventually form the peripheral nervous system and contribute to many other tissues. Formation of these cells was a key step in the evolution of the vertebrates, including humans. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 4/18/2009 The Howard Hughes Medical Research Institute today announced that two researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are among 50 scientists nationwide to be appointed HHMI Early Career Scientists. Harmit Singh Malik, Ph.D., an associate member of the Center’s Basic Sciences Division, and Toshiyasu Taniguchi, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant member in the Center’s Human Biology and Public Health Sciences divisions, each will receive a six-year appointment to the HHMI and, along with it, the freedom to explore his or her best ideas without worrying about where to find the money to fund the work. Each will receive $1.5 million over the six-year appointment. The Institute will also cover other expenses, including research space and the purchase of critical equipment. more... Winship Cancer Institute 4/18/2009 Brian Leyland-Jones, MD, PhD, director of Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute announced that Ruth O’Regan, MD, has been named to the Louisa and Rand Glenn Family Chair in Breast Cancer Research. O’Regan is associate professor of hematology and medical oncology and director of Emory Winship’s translational breast cancer research program. A Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar, O’Regan joined Emory from Northwestern University in Chicago. She is widely published in peer reviewed scientific journals and frequently cited on topics related to breast cancer, including the use of hormonal and targeted therapies. more... Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute 4/16/2009 Michael Harbut, M.D., MPH, co-director of the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers (NCVAC) at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, MI, and chief of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine Wayne State University, announced the use of a new technology to aid in the diagnosis of asbestos-related lung disease. The announcement was made at the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s annual conference. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/16/2009 Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University member, Dean Ho, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering in Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation. more... Winship Cancer Institute 4/16/2009 Tian Liu, PhD, has joined the Emory University School of Medicine’s Department of Radiation Oncology as associate professor. Liu joins Emory from Columbia University Medical Center where she was assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology. Liu’s research is currently funded by both the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense. She is one of a small number of clinical physicists who has successfully competed for peer-reviewed federal funding. “She will collaborate with faculty within our department, as well as the departments of radiology, urology, and surgery” says Curran. “We place great value on multidisciplinary teamwork, and Dr. Liu is certainly a welcome addition to our team.” more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 4/16/2009 A new study shows that the SAVI™ applicator, a small, expandable device inserted inside the breast to deliver partial breast irradiation, carries a low infection risk, a potential complication of such devices. The research, led by radiation oncologists and surgeons at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center and Fort Myers, Florida-based 21st Century Oncology, also indicates that other complications – such as seromas, pockets of fluid that build with the use of internal radiation devices – are unlikely to occur. That’s good news for those women with early-stage breast cancer who opt to have such devices inserted for their radiation therapy after breast-sparing lumpectomy surgery, said Cate Yashar, MD, associate professor of radiation oncology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and chief of breast and gynecological radiation services at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Their use is increasing, she added, noting that the Moores UCSD Cancer Center was one of the first medical facilities in the country to offer SAVI. more... Winship Cancer Institute 4/15/2009 Like doctors making house calls, some DNA repair enzymes can relocate to the part of the cell that needs their help, a collaborative team of scientists at Emory University School of Medicine has found. The signal that prompts relocation is oxidative stress, an imbalance of cellular metabolism connected with several human diseases. more... Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute 4/15/2009 The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute announces that Terrance Albrecht, Ph.D., has been named interim associate center director for Population Sciences and interim program leader for Population Studies and Prevention. She takes over the two positions from Ann Schwartz, Ph.D, MPH, who was named interim president and chief executive officer last month. Dr. Albrecht joined Karmanos in 2003 and most recently led the Communication and Behavioral Oncology program. She also served as co-leader of the Population Studies and Prevention program. During her time at Karmanos, she has conducted in-depth analyses of the way oncologists communicate with patients to make the work of researchers and scientists even more effective. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 4/15/2009 Here’s one piece of luggage that shouldn’t get lost – a take-home health message from Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) for Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BNIA) travelers. Now, airport travelers will find tips and advice on how to reduce their risk for cancer while they wait for their luggage. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/15/2009 Navdeep Chandel, PhD, associate professor of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Biology at Northwestern’s University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and member, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, received the inaugural Lung Cancer Promise of Tomorrow Award, made to researchers conducting groundbreaking work in lung cancer. The award will support Dr. Chandel’s investigation of a unique cellular signaling system, which may indicate the development of adenocarcinoma. Understanding how the system works may lead to development of new therapies and treatments for the disease. more... University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 4/14/2009 In a recent clinical test using a drug called Naltrexone (which has regulatory approval for the treatment of dependency on alcohol) it was observed that the drug had a positive effect on helping people to quit smoking. The results showed that heavy drinkers who were also smokers not only reduced the amount of drinking that they did over an eight week treatment period but they also were significantly more likely to quit smoking than the drinkers who were taking a placebo. This research is interesting because smokers who drink on a regular basis are known to be particularly ‘treatment resistant’ when it comes to smoking cessation. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 4/13/2009 Does a person’s insurance coverage affect their access to quality cancer care? According to researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center, insurance coverage may not only affect a patient’s access to health care, but also the quality of care they receive. Research findings, presented today at the American Urological Association’s Annual Meeting, may have implications for a national debate on healthcare reform. “We discovered a discrepancy in the type of surgical treatment patients are offered based on their health insurance,” says Robert G. Uzzo, MD, chairman of the department of surgery at Fox Chase and the study’s lead author. His research evaluated differences in surgical treatment for kidney cancer based on a patient’s health insurance carrier. The study explored this question in one specific area of medicine, but the results may have implications for other areas of medicine as well. The study results showed that kidney cancer patients with Medicare as their primary payer were more likely to have their kidney surgically removed entirely (radical nephrectomy) whereas those with private insurance were offered surgery to preserve organ function (partial nephrectomy). more... NYU Cancer Institute 4/13/2009 The NYU School of Medicine Biotechnology Study Center recognized three outstanding pioneers in the field of biotechnology at its annual awards symposium in April. Mark S. Ptashne, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, for his pioneering work on the lamda phage repressor, key to a molecular switch that controls gene transcription, a discovery that forms the basis for much of modern biotechnology. Leonard P. Guarente, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his discovery of sirtuins, key regulators of longevity in living creatures. Activation of sirtuins by resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, has led to trials of its analogues as scientists search for the key to a longer life. more... Stanford Cancer Center 4/12/2009 Sally L. Glaser, PhD, a 19-year veteran at the Northern California Cancer Center (NCCC), has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the organization, which is the only center in the country conducting research dedicated solely to cancer prevention. NCCC employs 135 staff members and has a $14 million operating budget. Dr. Glaser, a research scientist, will continue to direct NCCC’s Greater Bay Area Cancer Registry, which collects cancer data for its nine-county catchment area to better understand patterns of cancer occurrence, treatment and survival. Previously, Dr. Glaser served as Director of Surveillance Research at NCCC. She earned an A.B. from Harvard University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley. NCCC is a partner in population-based research with Stanford Cancer Center. more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 4/12/2009 An international team of scientists from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, the University of North Carolina and several institutions in China have explained how a gene alteration can lead to the development of a type of brain cancer, and they have identified a compound that could staunch the cancer’s growth. The researchers, led by Kun-Liang Guan, PhD, professor of pharmacology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, have shown that when a mutated enzyme fails to do its job, the development of tumor-feeding blood vessels increases, allowing more nutrients and oxygen to fuel cancer growth. They have also shown in the laboratory that they could reverse the mutant enzyme’s effects, effectively blocking this process, called angiogenesis, and provide a potential future treatment strategy against some types of brain tumors. They reported their findings in the current issue of the journal Science. more... Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University 4/12/2009 The Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center and the Steven A. Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at the American Legacy Foundation announce the establishment of the Schroeder/Lombardi Cancer Control Consortium. The consortium seeks to advance tobacco-related research, policy and education, utilizing the shared knowledge and expertise of these two leading research organizations. more... NYU Cancer Institute 4/11/2009 Richard B. Hayes, D.D.S., Ph.D. has been appointed associate director for population sciences at The Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center, with a dual appointment at the NYU School of Medicine as director of the Division of Epidemiology within the Department of Environmental Medicine. In this new role, Dr. Hayes will lead the development of a comprehensive research program focused on cancer prevention that will employ a multi-faceted approach to identifying both genetic and environmental causes of cancer as well as a program to identify prevention strategies through risk profiling, early detection and behavioral changes. “One of our highest priorities is to ensure that every member of our community benefits equally from breakthroughs in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment,” stated William L. Carroll, M.D., the Julie and Edward Minskoff professor of Pediatrics and director of the Cancer Institute. “Dr. Hayes will help us reach our goal of understanding the economic, social and cultural obstacles to effective cancer care.” more... Masonic Cancer Center 4/11/2009 A new drug, which was studied in clinical trials at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota and has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, may help some patients with advanced kidney cancer live longer. Arkadiusz (Arek) Dudek, M.D., medical oncologist specializing in kidney cancer research and treatment at the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School, led the phase III clinical trial at the University to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug in patients. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/10/2009 Head and neck cancer patients who smoked, drank, didn’t exercise or didn’t eat enough fruit when they were diagnosed had worse survival outcomes than those with better health habits, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. "While there has been a recent emphasis on biomarkers and genes that might be linked to cancer survival, the health habits a person has at diagnosis play a major role in his or her survival," says study author Sonia Duffy, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor of nursing at the U-M School of Nursing, research assistant professor of otolaryngology at the U-M Medical School, and research scientist at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. more... UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/10/2009 UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center will celebrate the opening of the new North Carolina Cancer Hospital on September 15, 2009. The 320,000 square foot, state-of-the-art structure will triple the current space and include numerous upgrades, including teleconferencing facilities to connect UNC physicians with the state’s community-based physicians for diagnostic and therapeutic consultations and specially designed imaging capabilities to provide accurate diagnoses and guide, and treatment. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 4/10/2009 Members and staff of central Ohio’s Congressional delegation, along with National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Dr. John Niederhuber, learned of the importance of maintaining sufficient cancer research funding during an April 16 tour of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. The Bench to Bedside: Clinical Cancer Research Pathway Comes to Life invitation-only event, co-sponsored by Ohio State’s cancer program and the American Cancer Society (ACS) Ohio Division, showcased significant research successes at The James made possible through funding by ACS and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including NCI. The tour of the 10-story Biomedical Research Tower at Ohio State University Medical Center and Clinical Treatment Unit at The James highlighted emerging and innovative therapies that emphasized the need to continue sufficient funding. more... Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson 4/9/2009 A protein called Mcl-1 plays a critical role in melanoma cell resistance to a form of apoptosis called anoikis, according to research published this week in Molecular Cancer Research. The presence of Mcl-1 causes cell resistance to anoikis. This resistance to anoikis enables the melanoma cells to metastasize and survive at sites distant from the primary tumor, according to Andrew Aplin, Ph.D., an associate professor of Cancer Biology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, and a member of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. The research was conducted at Albany Medical College in New York by Dr. Aplin and colleagues. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/9/2009 Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University member, Seema Khan, MD, Bluhm Family Research Professor of Breast Cancer and professor of surgery at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and co-leader of the Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Center and director of the Bluhm Family Program for Breast Cancer Early Detection and Prevention, was elected to join the Board of Directors of the American Society of Breast Disease, a professional medical society in the U.S. that brings together physicians and allied professionals committed to an interdisciplinary team approach to breast disease management, prevention, early detection, treatment and research. more... The Burnham Institute 4/9/2009 Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have demonstrated that attacks on the mitochondrial protein Drp1 by the free radical nitric oxide—which causes a chemical reaction called S-nitrosylation—mediates neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to this study, the mechanism by which beta-amyloid protein caused synaptic damage to neurons in Alzheimer’s disease was unknown. These findings suggest that preventing S-nitrosylation of Drp1 may reduce or even prevent neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s patients. The paper was published in the April 3 issue of the journal Science. more... Nevada Cancer Institute 4/8/2009 Thanks to months of hard work, thoughtful planning, visionary new leadership and a generous donation from The Lincy Foundation, outpatient oncology services will once again be offered at University Medical Center (UMC). The renewed partnership between UMC and Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI) will allow patients to receive a full complement of cancer services starting in early 2010. Since the announcement of the closure of outpatient oncology services in late 2008, Clark County Commissioners have been meeting with UMC and NVCI leadership as well as other medical providers in the community to solve this issue. The $3 million donation from The Lincy Foundation will be used to renovate space at UMC to build a state-of-the-art clinic for outpatient services, including medical oncology and radiation oncology. more... Moffitt Cancer Center 4/8/2009 The National Functional Genomics Center, funded through an assistance agreement that is awarded and administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research & Materiel Command (USAMRMC) and the Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), will be conducting a multi-institutional collaborative project in ovarian cancer. “Consortia such as these will greatly accelerate our pace of discovery, such that genomic medicine may become a reality in the near term. We will take advantage of specialized expertise and unique resources at multiple centers to rapidly translate basic scientific findings into clinically useful tools that may help women with ovarian cancer as soon as possible,” said Lancaster, director of The Center for Women’s Oncology at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, who is leading the NFGC Ovarian Cancer consortium. more... Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital 4/7/2009 Michael Dyer, PhD, of the Department of Developmental Neurobiology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, has been selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Early Career Scientist. Dyer is one of 50 scientists nationwide selected for the 2009 HHMI Early Career Scientist program, a competition recognizing outstanding scientists who have demonstrated originality and productivity during the earliest stage of their career and show exceptional promise for future research contributions. More than 2,000 individuals applied for early career scientist appointments. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 4/7/2009 Roswell Park scientists investigated a new combination of drugs for colorectal cancer patients who have become intolerant or resistant to standard therapies. Marwan Fakih, MD, Department of Medicine at Roswell Park Cancer Institute present the results of a phase I clinical study at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2009 annual meeting, May 29 – June 2, in Orlando, FL. Aggressive colorectal cancers can develop resistance to standard therapy of 5- fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin, and progress. Vorinostat is a chemotherapy drug that modifies the structure of chromatin and therefore modifies the expression of various important genes that are implied in cancer growth. Dr. Fakih, the lead investigator on this study, and colleagues evaluated the effectiveness of 5-FU and vorinostat in 27 patients with solid tumors who had failed standard therapies. The investigators administered vorinostat three times a week in combination with biweekly administration of 5-FU. Of the 24 colorectal cancer patients who were drug-resistant, one had a partial response lasting more than one year, and 12 patients had stable disease. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 4/6/2009 An international study led by Ohio State University neuroscience researchers describes one of the missing triggers that controls calcium inside cells, a process important for muscle contraction, nerve-cell transmission, insulin release and other essential functions. The research was posted online April 22 in the journal Nature. The researchers believe the findings will enhance the understanding of how calcium signals are regulated in cells and shed light on new ways to treat many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, immune diseases, metabolic diseases, cancer, and brain disorders. more... Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA 4/5/2009 Oncologists often have to wait months before they can determine whether a treatment is working. Using a non-invasive method, researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have shown that they can determine after a single cycle of chemotherapy whether the toxic drugs are killing the cancer or not. Using a combination Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scanner, researchers monitored 50 patients undergoing treatment for high-grade soft tissue sarcomas. The patients were receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy treatments to shrink their tumors prior to surgery. The study found that response could be determined about a week after the first dose of chemotherapy drugs. Typically, patients are scanned at about three months into chemotherapy to determine whether the treatment is working. more... UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/5/2009 Kimberly Kasow, D.O., has joined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as director of the UNC Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation program. Kasow is an associate professor of pediatrics and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. She comes to UNC from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where she served as director of the autologous transplant program and transplant quality officer. Stuart Gold, M.D., professor of pediatrics and chief of the division of pediatric hematology/oncology, said, “Dr. Kasow is a wonderful addition to our bone marrow transplant program. With the experience she brings from St. Jude she will be an incredible asset to the growth of our program. more... Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson 4/3/2009 The therapeutic effects of the blockbuster leukemia drug imatinib may be enhanced when given along with a drug that inhibits a cell process called autophagy, researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The cell-death effect of imatinib (Gleevec) was potentiated when chloroquine, an autophagy inhibitor, was given with imatinib for the in vitro treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells including the CML stem cells, according to Bruno Calabretta, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Cancer Biology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 4/3/2009 Compassion fatigue in nurses, doctors and other front line cancer-care providers significantly impacts how they interact with patients, with patient families, with other healthcare workers, and with their own family, according to analysis by Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute researchers published in the March issue of the Journal of Health Psychology. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 4/2/2009 Fox Chase Cancer Center is the first hospital in North America to offer an MRI guided biopsy to detect prostate cancer using Invivo Equipment in a clinical hospital setting. Pioneering new techniques for MRI-guided prostate interventions, Fox Chase is offering a new procedure for men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels who have had at least two negative transrectal ultrasound guided (TRUS) biopsies and whose doctors suspect cancer. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 4/2/2009 As early as one week after beginning treatment for brain tumors, a new imaging analysis method was able to predict which patients would live longer, researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found. The method uses a standard magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, protocol to monitor changes over time in tumor blood volume within individual voxels of the image, rather than a composite view of average change within the tumor. This parametric response map allowed researchers to see specific areas in which tumor blood volume increased or decreased, that may have canceled each other out when looking at the changes as an average. Results of the study appear in Nature Medicine. “What we have potentially is a generalized analytical approach that we can use to quantify treatment intervention in patients,” says study author Brian Ross, Ph.D., professor of radiology and biological chemistry at the U-M Medical School and co-director of the Molecular Imaging Program at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. more... University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 3/29/2009 Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), received the inaugural Margaret Kripke Legend Award from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The Kripke Legend award recognizes scientific and medical leaders who have made extraordinary efforts to hire a diverse workforce, promote women to leadership roles, nominate women for awards and otherwise advance their careers. The award was established in honor of Margaret Kripke, Ph.D., a distinguished scientist who achieved many firsts for women at M. D. Anderson, culminating in her promotion to executive vice president and chief academic officer. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/29/2009 Carol R. Bradford, M.D., FACS, professor and chair of Otolaryngology -Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School, was recently awarded the Castle Connolly National Physician of the Year Award, which recognizes clinical excellence in medicine. Bradford was one of three recipients in the nation to receive the prestigious award. The National Physician of the Year Award recognizes both physicians and leaders in health care whose dedication, talents and skills have improved the lives of countless thousands of people throughout the world. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 3/29/2009 A consortium of researchers, including those from Ohio State University Medical Center, are the first to assess genome-wide gene expression at the tissue level in patients with sarcoidosis. The study’s findings appear online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. “Our study provides novel insights into diseases pathogenesis and identifies novel prognostic biomarkers,” says Dr. Elliott Crouser, first author of the study and a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at OSU Medical Center. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/29/2009 Northwestern University trustee and philanthropist Ann Lurie has received the 2009 Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Award for Humanitarian Contributions to the Health of Humankind by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. The award was presented at an awards ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City, Arlington, VA. “Ann’s life is an exceptional story of one person’s commitment to helping people through worldwide professional, civic and philanthropic endeavors,” said Northwestern University President Henry S. Bienen. Ms. Lurie was nominated for the award by Bienen and former U.S. Congressman John Edward Porter. more... Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA 3/28/2009 UCLA has launched a first-of-its-kind, patient-centered institute dedicated to developing leading-edge therapies for the treatment of kidney, bladder, testicular and prostate cancers. The Institute of Urologic Oncology at UCLA challenges the traditional model of academic departments operating independently of each other, bringing a multi-disciplinary team of scientists and physicians together as part of one cohesive organization. Their goal is to expedite the development of new therapies for patients with genitourinary cancers. more... Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA 3/28/2009 Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed an assay that may be used to help identify new genes that can predict a predisposition to cancer. The study, published in the April issue of Radiation Research, was done in yeast and mammalian cells. Cancer cells show persistent genetic instability and the researchers, led by Robert Schiestl, have discovered a mechanism that switches on that genetic instability. If they can uncover and understand the molecular pathways at work in promoting genetic instability, they may be able to develop ways to switch that mechanism off, restoring stability. more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 3/28/2009 New research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (Vol. 27, No. 9) shows a treatment combination used in breast and lung cancers to be effective against Hodgkin’s disease in pre-teens and young adults. Richard Drachtman, MD, the interim chief and medical director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is a member of the author team. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. more... UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/27/2009 Donald L. Rosenstein, MD, joins the University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center as Director of the new UNC Comprehensive Cancer Support Program. Rosenstein, who will be a professor in the UNC School of Medicine department of psychiatry, comes to UNC from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) where he directed the clinical program as well as serving as chief of the National Institutes of Health psychiatry consultation-liaison service. NIMH is a component of the NIH. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 3/26/2009 Researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center have discovered a novel strategy for reducing the growth and spread of breast cancer tumors by slowing the metastasis or spread of tumor-associated inflammatory cells. “We found that we could ‘re-educate’ macrophages within the tumor so that rather than promote new blood vessel formation they will block it,” says Dr. Clay B. Marsh, director of Ohio State Medical Center’s Center for Critical Care and senior author of the study, which appears this month in the journal Cancer Research. more... City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute 3/26/2009 Sandra Bolton, R.N., J.D., a health care executive, legal advocate and nurse, has joined City of Hope as vice president of professional services. In this new position, Bolton works with the chief medical officer to facilitate and develop clinical care and medical center programs. She also will work with the City of Hope Medical Group on physician recruitment and training, and will help to facilitate graduate medical training and continuing medical education programs. more... Arizona Cancer Center 3/26/2009 Researchers at the Arizona Cancer Center have been awarded a $404,709 grant from the Susan B. Komen Foundation to fund a post-graduate training program that will study breast cancer disparities in Mexican and Mexican-American women. Hispanic women are often diagnosed at an earlier age and with more aggressive tumors that result in a higher mortality rate. But little population-specific information exists on their risk or susceptibility factors, or if those factors are related to the types of breast tumors they get. The lack of knowledge about breast cancer in this population results in a poor understanding of how to treat it and thus poor outcomes for patients. “The ELLA Binational Breast Cancer Study is a first-of-its kind to compare the breast cancer in women of Mexican ancestry on both sides of the US/Mexico border. We hope to understand more about what puts these women at risk for specific types of breast cancer,” said Elena Martínez, principal investigator. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/25/2009 A top researcher on how to measure outcomes among cancer patients and the quality of life for patients in medical clinical trials has been named chair of a newly created Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. David Cella, 53, will head the new department, which will focus on health measurement, quality of life measures, outcomes science and statistical tools used to support clinical research, said Dr. J. Larry Jameson, Northwestern vice president for medical affairs and the Lewis Landsberg Dean of Feinberg. more... George Washington Cancer Institute 3/25/2009 The George Washington University Medical Center announces the appointment of Rakesh Kumar, PhD, as Professor and the Catharine Birch McCormick Endowed Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. A renowned researcher in the fields of cancer biochemistry and molecular biology, Dr. Kumar brings a wealth of research, teaching, and mentorship experience to his new post. Dr. Kumar joins the GW Medical Center from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where he served as the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation Chair; deputy chairman of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology; professor of molecular and cellular oncology; and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. In addition, he served as professor of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences at The University of Texas, Houston. He remains an adjunct professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine, and adjunct professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 3/24/2009 Researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center are conducting a novel clinical trial that may reverse the resistance that frequently develops to the most common drug for treating recurrent ovarian cancer. Over time, many ovarian cancer patients can become resistant to the drug carboplatin, which is the best treatment option for recurrent disease. Daniela Matei, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a researcher with the IU Simon Cancer Center, is looking into ways to make patients with recurrent ovarian cancer that have developed a resistance to the platinum-based carboplatin sensitive again to platinum. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 3/23/2009 One year after she and her husband, Richard, lost their five-year-old daughter, Katherine, to cancer in 1989, Buffalonian Anne Gioia and her sister-in-law, Donna Gioia, turned a family tragedy into a crusade to save lives. Now 20 years later, they have been honored by the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) with the James Ewing Layman Award for their tireless leadership raising awareness and funds for the cancer cause. more... City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute 3/23/2009 Researchers at City of Hope discovered that suppressing a specific protein activated in many types of cancer is critical to how effectively a new kidney cancer drug works. Until recently, kidney cancer patients, especially those with later stage tumors, had few options for treatment. The discovery of new drugs such as sunitinib and temsirolimus, which interfere with the way tumor cells grow and supply themselves, have changed the way kidney cancer is treated. Sunitinib blocks growth factor receptors that grow blood vessels to nourish tumors and chemical signals that instruct the tumors to continue growing. Numerous clinical trials with sunitinib have indicated that it works well on tissue samples, but does not perform as well or as consistently in patients. The results of City of Hope’s study to better understand how sunitinib works are published in the March 15 edition of the American Association for Cancer Research Journal Cancer Research. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 3/22/2009 Terminally ill patients and their family caregivers often feel abandoned by their doctors and feel a sense of “unfinished business” with them, according to a new study by an oncologist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. The study results, published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine, identified two themes: before death, abandonment worries related to loss of continuity of communication between patient and physician; and at the time death or after, the patient’s family’s feelings of abandonment from a lack of closure with the physician. more... University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 3/22/2009 The University of Chicago Cancer Research Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Everett E. Vokes, MD, an international authority on the treatment of head and neck cancer, lung cancer, and drug development, as Chairman of the Department of Medicine. He has had a distinguished career in clinical and translational research, most recently as Director of the Section of Hematology/Oncology, the John E. Ultmann Professor in Medicine and the Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology. He is also Deputy Director of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center and vice-chairman for clinical research in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Vokes’ innovative approach to cancer care is an inspiring example of how clinical work can frame research questions, leading to new ways to treat patients. He is ideally suited to lead us as we pursue new discoveries and unparalleled patient care. more... The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center 3/21/2009 A $4 million Era of Hope Scholar Award has been given to Jason Weber, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Weber will study potential new ways to control breast cancer cell growth. Surprisingly, that’s an area of research that has been relatively neglected. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/21/2009 Richard B. Silverman, the John Evans Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, has been awarded the Perkin Medal by the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). The prestigious international award, the highest honor given for outstanding applied chemistry in the United States, is named for Sir William Henry Perkin (1838-1907) who created the world’s first synthetic aniline dye, which revolutionized color chemistry and opened up new possibilities for a range of industries, notably textiles and clothing. SCI, with members in more than 70 countries, furthers the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit. Much of Silverman’s research has been in the area of epilepsy, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His interdisciplinary group investigates the molecular mechanisms of drug action, rational design and syntheses of medicinal agents that primarily inhibit enzymes, and the mechanisms of enzymes. more... The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center 3/20/2009 Detectives on television shows often spray crime scenes with a compound called luminol to make blood glow. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have applied the same compound to much smaller crime scenes: sites where the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. The authors report in Nature Medicine that injected luminol glows blue at sites of active immune inflammation in living mice, and that they can detect this glow from outside the mice with scientific cameras. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/20/2009 David M. Engman, professor of pathology and microbiology-immunology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, has been elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology. He is among 72 microbiologists selected as fellows this year. Engman has been on the Northwestern University faculty since 1990 and is also an attending pathologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He has been director of the Medical Scientist Training Program since 1995 and is a member of several of the University’s research centers, including the Center for Genetic Medicine, the Center for Drug Discovery and Chemical Biology and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 3/19/2009 For some cancer patients, the soles of their feet and the palms of their hands burn or tingle, while others may become forgetful because of some types of chemotherapy. Patients’ family members also can feel anxious and concerned about their loved one’s well-being. Both share a need for quick answers or more detailed information about a broad range of topics involving diagnosis, treatments, or unexpected symptoms. more... Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University 3/19/2009 The Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center announces the appointment of Narayan Shivapurkar as an assistant professor in the department of oncology. Shivapurkar joined Lombardi in January. His work focuses on the role of microRNA in oncogenic and tumor suppressor pathways. Shivapurkar is particularly interested in identifying molecular targets for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. Shivapukar holds a doctorate degree in biochemistry from the University of Bombay in India. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. Prior to joining Lombardi, Shivapurkar was an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Tex. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 3/17/2009 Cancer treatment leaves patients with weakened immune systems. So it would seem obvious that an outpatient cancer clinic would be a prime breeding ground for infections because of the constantly revolving door of patients, visitors and staff, all of whom could be exposed to bacteria and viruses at home or in the community. After all, infections are among the most common causes of illness and death among cancer patients. However, an aggressive infection control program at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance that mixes common sense measures with medical informatics has drastically reduced the number and rate of infection-caused illness since its inception three years ago. “Our rates of infection appear to be several fold lower than those seen at comparable institutions,” said Corey Casper, M.D., M.P.H., medical director of the infection control program. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 3/17/2009 Scientists have identified the first gene that pulls the plug on ailing nerve cell branches from within the nerve cell, possibly helping to trigger the painful condition known as neuropathy. The condition is a side effect of some forms of chemotherapy and can also afflict patients with cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, viral infections, neurodegenerative disorders and other ailments. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis showed that blocking the dual leucine zipper kinase (DLK) gene inhibits degeneration of ailing nerve cell branches, possibly preventing neuropathy more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 3/17/2009 Researchers with the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center want to find a way to speed up the growth of new cells following umbilical cord blood transplants in adult patients with blood cancers. The researchers seek adult patients who have had an umbilical cord blood transplant to enroll in a phase II clinical trial to determine ways to make the treatment more effective. more... NYU Cancer Institute 3/16/2009 A new study has found for the first time that maintenance therapy with the novel antibody, rituximab (MR) following cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisone (CVP) therapy improves progression-free survival in patients with stage III-IV indolent lymphoma, according to Howard S. Hochster, M.D. of NYU Langone Medical Center, lead author of a recent study published online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. more... University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 3/16/2009 A multi-center study of prostate cancer patients appearing in the Journal of Urology recommends that for some men diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer, opting not to initially receive treatment can be safe if they are closely monitored. Study author Scott Eggener, MD, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center, notes there are no widely-accepted recommendations on which patients are appropriate candidates for active surveillance or when to perform second or "restaging" biopsies. The authors show that a restaging biopsy provides doctors with additional information regarding the cancer and is the best way to ensure the short-term success of active surveillance. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 3/16/2009 George W. Sledge Jr., MD, a pioneer in the development of novel therapies for breast cancer, has been elected to become President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for a one-year term beginning in June 2010. He will take office as President-Elect during ASCO’s 45th Annual Meeting in Orlando in June 2009. Additionally, six new members were elected to the ASCO Board of Directors and two new members to the ASCO Nominating Committee, all for three-year terms beginning in June 2009. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 3/16/2009 The largest study of its kind to evaluate the effect of red versus white wine on breast-cancer risk concludes that both are equal offenders when it comes to increasing breast-cancer risk. The results of the study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, were published in the March issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 3/15/2009 Electra Paskett, associate director of Population Sciences at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, has been elected president of the American Society of Preventive Oncology. The society promotes cancer prevention and control research. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 3/15/2009 A survey of physicians has found broad support for the position that parents should not bank their newborns’ umbilical cord blood in a private blood bank unless another member of the family is at risk for a blood disease that will require a stem cell transplant. The results of the survey are reported by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and their colleagues in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics. Their findings are in general accord with the recommendations of medical organizations that have previously weighed in on the issue. more... University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center 3/14/2009 Curt I. Civin, MD, a pioneer in cancer research who is known for developing a way to isolate stem cells from other blood cells, has joined the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Civin will become a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, as well as associate dean for research and the founding director of the new University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 3/14/2009 Annual screenings for prostate cancer led to more diagnoses of the disease, but no fewer prostate cancer deaths, according to a major new report from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) is one of 10 sites that enrolled participants into the PLCO, which was designed to assess the effectiveness of prostate cancer screening. “Prostate cancer screening in the trial increased detection of early prostate cancer,” said Joel L. Weissfeld, M.D., M.P.H., principal investigator for the UPCI PLCO Cancer Screening Center. “However, over the first seven to 10 years of follow-up, we have not yet seen a corresponding decrease in deaths from prostate cancer.” more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 3/13/2009 Pioneering cancer public health and community advocate Georgia Robins Sadler, PhD, MBA, was recently awarded the Margaret Hay Edwards Achievement Medal from the American Association for Cancer Education (AACE) for her outstanding contributions to cancer education. Sadler is clinical professor of surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and an associate director of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, where she leads the Cancer Center’s community outreach programs. Sadler is also the immediate past president of the California chapter of the American Cancer Society. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/13/2009 Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a gene that is over expressed in 90 percent of pancreatic cancers, the most deadly type of cancer. Expression of the gene, Ataxia Telangiectasia Group D Complementing gene, called ATDC, is on average 20 times higher in pancreatic cancer cells than in cells from a normal pancreas. What’s more, the gene appears to make pancreatic cancer cells resistant to current therapies. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 3/13/2009 Researchers from Ohio State University Medical Center recently published a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences modeling how cells become cancerous. Scientists used a mathematical approach to predict the regulatory function of a specific microRNA cluster, a group of small non-coding RNA molecules that control protein expression, and their role in tumor development. Prior to this study, it was unclear why this particular group of microRNA acted as an oncogene, or tumor promoter, under certain conditions and a tumor suppressor under other circumstances. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 3/13/2009 A handful of proteins, detected in incredibly tiny amounts, may one day help doctors distinguish between a harmless lesion in the pancreas and a potentially deadly one, say researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. The researchers believe that these protein biomarkers, if confirmed in subsequent studies, could represent reliable indicators of pancreatic cancer or precancerous pancreatic lesions, which would allow for earlier, perhaps more successful, treatment. Their findings appear in the March issue of the journal Pancreas, available online now. more... Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University 3/12/2009 Men and women who consume two or more alcoholic drinks a day could increase their risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Previous studies have been unable to confirm the association between drinking and the risk of pancreatic cancer, but most studies depended on a person’s recall of alcohol intake. Still, many hypothesize about the relationship between alcohol and pancreatic cancer because drinking is associated with the risk of pancreatitis and diabetes, and both of these conditions are known risk factors for developing the disease. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - 3/11/2009 A National Cancer Institute researcher who specializes in “jumping genes” has been recruited to The Ohio State University. Dr. David E. Symer, who will be a member of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, is an assistant professor and researcher in the Ohio State’s Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics. He also is a practicing physician in the division of hematology and oncology; and an adjunct member of the department of biomedical informatics. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 3/11/2009 The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded a five-year, $2,176,043 research grant to Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) to examine mechanisms of acute inflammation. Brahm H. Segal, MD, Chief of Infectious Diseases at RPCI, is the principal investigator. “Inflammation helps the body defend against infections, such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. Just as it is important to stimulate inflammation to control infections, it is also necessary to turn off the inflammatory response to avoid tissue injury and allergy. Excessive inflammation is associated with a broad range of diseases, including cancer, diabetes and autoimmune diseases,” said Dr. Segal. more... Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania 3/10/2009 For years, researchers have known that under normal conditions, the breast cancer protein BRCA1 orchestrates the repair of damaged DNA, but the details of just how BRCA1 moves to the damaged site and recruits the right nuclear repairmen for DNA restoration remains a mystery. Now, a new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has identified genes associated with the BRCA1 protein and their involvement in the DNA repair pathway, helping to clear the way for researchers to better understand what goes wrong when the BRCA1 gene is mutated and the repair pathway goes haywire. Identifying patients with mutations in these BRCA1-associated genes may help better fight breast cancer. The new study appears in the most recent issue of Genes & Development. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 3/10/2009 Few physicians are eager to discuss end-of-life care with their patients. Yet such conversations may result in better quality of life for patients and could lower national healthcare expenditures for cancer care alone by tens of millions dollars each year, according to a study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. As reported in the March 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, investigators interviewed 603 advanced cancer patients about whether they had an end-of-life (EOL) conversation with their physician. The researchers calculated the final week health-care costs of patients who reported such conversations and compared them to those of patients who did not. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 3/9/2009 Offering a novel clue about the basic biology of pancreatic cancer, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have confirmed a decades-old discovery of a link between blood type and the risk of developing the disease. The finding, published online by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on March 10, is based on an analysis of blood type and pancreatic cancer occurrence in participants of two large health-tracking studies, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/9/2009 David H. Sherman, Ph.D., is one of 10 scientists from across the country to receive the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society. The Cope awards recognize and encourage excellence in organic chemistry. Each Cope Scholar Award consists of $5,000, a certificate, and an unrestricted research grant of $40,000. The awards are sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund. "Moving from the organic chemistry lab of Gilbert Stork at Columbia University to a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology was quite unusual in 1982," admits Sherman, 51, Hans W. Vahlteich Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy and a member of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. more... University of Chicago Cancer Research Center 3/9/2009 In older prostate cancer patients with a biochemical recurrence, cancer anxiety predicts earlier use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), new research shows. This finding is important since early ADT may not improve survival but could impinge on quality of life, William Dale, MD, PhD, from the University of Chicago, and colleagues point out. As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the researchers used the Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer (MAX-PC) to assess the emotional status of 67 older men (average age of 68 years) with a biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. more... Winship Cancer Institute 3/8/2009 Metastasis to the brain is one of the most feared complications of cancer, accounting for a fifth of cancer deaths in the United States. A brain metastasis is a cancer that originates elsewhere in the body and travels through circulation to establish itself in the brain. Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute emphasizes a team approach to treating patients with brain metastases, including neurosurgery, precise radiation treatment and chemotherapy. “At many cancer centers, there has been little attention directed toward developing new therapies and clinical trial strategies for these patients,” says Walter Curran Jr., MD, Lawrence Davis professor and chairman of radiation oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. “We have established Winship as a multidisciplinary referral center that can meet brain metastasis patients’ specialized care needs.” more... Nevada Cancer Institute 3/7/2009 Congresswoman Dina Titus, along with Commissioners Rory Reid and Susan Brager, joined Vons Foundation representatives to present a $250,000 check to Nevada Cancer Institute - the official cancer institute for the State of Nevada. The donation was the result of the grocery chain’s annual October fundraising campaign, which encourages customers to make checkstand donations at any of their 21 southern Nevada stores. The Institute plans on using the funds to support a variety of innovative breast cancer research and awareness initiatives more... City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute 3/7/2009 City of Hope researchers presented data from more than 30 studies on cancer biology, treatment and survivorship at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Orlando, which ran from May 29 through June 2. Data was presented on new approaches in combination therapy, geriatric cancer care and prostate cancer mortality. Some of the research highlights included the use of Dasatinib and Capecitabine as a new combination treatment for breast cancer and the differential survival after prostate cancer by race. more... UNMC Eppley Cancer Center 3/7/2009 If it weren’t for the treatment she received for breast cancer, 78-year-old Mary Ann Tonjes of Hooper, Neb., doesn’t think she’d get to do the things she loves right now such as travel and watch her grandchildren play basketball. Tonjes also believes that she benefited from a breast cancer vaccine study she participated in at UNMC where she received the vaccine following eight rounds of chemotherapy and 28 radiation treatments about four years ago. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/5/2009 Optical technology developed by a Northwestern University professor of biomedical engineering has been shown to be effective in detecting the presence of pancreatic cancer through analysis of neighboring tissue in the duodenum, according to clinical trial results published in the journal Disease Markers. The promising new technology -- which researchers hope could help raise the extremely low survival rate of pancreatic cancer patients by aiding early detection -- uses novel light-scattering techniques to analyze extremely subtle changes in the cells of the duodenum, part of the small intestine neighboring the pancreas. The cells are obtained through a minimally invasive endoscopy. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 3/5/2009 To accommodate future growth in the United Kingdom and Ireland, UPMC has announced new roles for two executives in its International and Commercial Services Division. Starting May 1, Michael Costelloe will assume the role of managing director for the U.K. and Ireland. In this new position, he will oversee government relations, contracting and legal affairs for UPMC’s growing investments in the development of hospitals and cancer centers in both countries. Mr. Costelloe previously was the president and chief executive officer of Beacon Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, which has been managed by UPMC since February 2008. Before assuming his management role in Ireland in 2005, Mr. Costelloe was the director general of UPMC’s well-regarded transplantation hospital in Palermo, Italy. more... Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania 3/5/2009 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a master switch that might prevent cancer cells from metastasizing from a primary tumor to other organs. The switch is a protein that, when in the “on” position, maintains the normal character of cells that line the surface of organs and body cavities. These epithelial cells are the type of cell from which most solid tumors arise. However, when the switch is turned “off” or absent, epithelial cells acquire characteristics of another cell type, called mesenchymal cells, and gain the ability to migrate and move away from the primary tumor. The researchers report their findings in this month’s issue of Molecular Cell. Understanding how this switch works may one day lead to a drug that controls cancer cell metastasis and tissue fibrosis. more... Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute 3/4/2009 The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Karmanos Cancer Center boards of directors today announced that effective immediately Ann G. Schwartz, Ph.D. has been appointed Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, and Paul Broughton has been appointed Interim Chief Operating Officer. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 3/4/2009 In a new study of terminally ill cancer patients, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that those who draw on religion to cope with their illness are more likely to receive intensive, life-prolonging medical care as death approaches –– treatment that often entails a lower quality of life in patients’ final days. Previous research has shown that more religious patients often prefer aggressive end-of-life (EOL) treatment. The new study –– to be published in the March 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association –– examined whether these patients actually receive such care. The study’s findings suggest that physicians tend to comply with religious patients’ wishes for more aggressive care. more... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 3/4/2009 A chemical component of licorice may offer a new approach to preventing colorectal cancer without the adverse side effects of other preventive therapies, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers report. In the study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Raymond Harris, M.D., Ming-Zhi Zhang, M.D., and colleagues show that inhibiting the enzyme 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11bHSD2) – either by treatment with a natural compound found in licorice or by silencing the 11bHSD2 gene – prevents colorectal cancer progression in mice predisposed to the disease. more... NYU Cancer Institute 3/3/2009 A new study shows for the first time that a microRNA-based diagnostic test can objectively identify squamous lung cancer with 96% sensitivity, according to Harvey Pass, M.D. of the NYU Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center, one of the authors of the study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. more... The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center 3/3/2009 Research in a new field called oncofertility has advanced the ability of doctors to preserve the reproductive health of women, men and children who are diagnosed with cancer. Yet, many oncologists aren’t familiar with these new strategies to help their patients. A leading oncofertility researcher and a breast surgical oncologist from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have written a guide to help doctors navigate their patients through the new technologies to preserve their fertility and understand the fertility threats posed by cancer treatments. The guide, based on the latest research, offers strategies based on each kind of cancer, age and gender of the patient. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 3/3/2009 The prostate cancer screening tests that have become an annual ritual for many men don’t appear to reduce deaths from the disease among those with a limited life-expectancy, according to early results of a major U.S. study involving 75,000 men. Results released today from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial show that six years of aggressive, annual screening for prostate cancer led to more diagnoses of prostate tumors but not to fewer deaths from the disease. The study, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and conducted at 10 sites, appeared in the March 26New England Journal of Medicine. "The important message is that for men with a life expectancy of seven to 10 years or less, it is probably not necessary to be screened for prostate cancer," says the study’s lead author and principal investigator Gerald Andriole, M.D., chief urologic surgeon at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. more... Winship Cancer Institute 3/2/2009 Emory University Hospital has earned a commendation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC). Only one in four hospitals that treat cancer patients receives this special approval. “The Commission on Cancer conducted a thorough review of our cancer services,” says Rein Saral, chairman of Emory University Hospital’s cancer committee and senior associate director of the Emory Winship Cancer Institute. “A commendation from the CoC highlights the level of commitment we have made to the care of patients with cancer.” more... Masonic Cancer Center 3/2/2009 Scientists at the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School report remarkable laboratory findings – 17 new genes that could cause colorectal cancer and 15 new genes linked to liver cancer – using the Sleeping Beauty method. The findings help pave the way for development of individualized, genetically based treatments for patients with these cancers. Identifying genes associated with cancer is key to preventing some cancers and diagnosing others earlier in order to more successfully treat patients. The unique method used to make these new discoveries in laboratory animals relies on DNA transposons, commonly known as “jumping genes.” The specific transposon used, called Sleeping Beauty, is able to insert itself into or near genes to either activate or inactivate a gene’s normal function. This method was developed by University of Minnesota scientists and is proving to be a faster, more accurate and efficient method for identifying groups of genes associated with specific cancers. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center 2/28/2009 The largest study of its kind concludes that long-term multivitamin use has no impact on the risk of common cancers, cardiovascular disease or overall mortality in postmenopausal women. The results of the Women’s Health Initiative study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, were published in the Feb. 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. more... The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center 2/28/2009 The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center announced that Antoinette Wozniak, M.D., has been named Associate Center Director for Education. This newly created position will provide oversight to the Graduate Medical Education Program for residents and fellows, as well as provide oversight to the various medical and graduate student educational programs at Karmanos and Wayne State University School of Medicine. This ensures that the clinical and scientific activities of the Karmanos Cancer Center are enhanced by ongoing medical education opportunities. Dr. Wozniak has extensive experience in educational programming, having served as the leader of Karmanos’ Medical Oncology Fellowship Program for many years. She is also the current president of Karmanos’ Medical Staff and a professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Due to her new position, Dr. Wozniak will step down as leader of the Thoracic Multidisciplinary Team. Replacing Dr. Wozniak as the Thoracic team leader is Shirish Gadgeel, M.D. more... Roswell Park Cancer Center 2/28/2009 In the most extensive review of cancer patterns among an American Indian tribal group, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) researchers analyzed cancer patterns within the Seneca Nation of Indians for the period from 1955 through 2004. The study, led by Arthur Michalek, PhD, FACE, Senior Vice President for Educational Affairs, and Martin C. Mahoney, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Oncology, Departments of Medicine and Health Behavior, RPCI, was published in a recent issue of The Cancer Journal. more... Roswell Park Cancer Center 2/27/2009 Bladder cancer patients treated with state-of-the-art robot-assisted surgery at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) report that their quality of life returned to normal within six months, according to a study conducted by Khurshid A. Guru, MD, Director of Robotic Surgery at RPCI, and published in the current issue of the British Journal of Urology International. Pioneered at Roswell Park, robot-assisted cystectomy (removal of the bladder) provides patients with a less-invasive treatment option that has several potential advantages over traditional open surgery, including less post-operative pain and fewer days in the hospital. This prospective study is the first to examine the quality-of-life benefits of this surgical technique. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 2/27/2009 Computer-based systems that allow clinicians to prescribe drugs electronically are designed to automatically warn of potential medication errors, but a new study reveals clinicians often override the alerts and rely instead on their own judgment. The study, led by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), suggests that most clinicians find the current medication alerts more of an annoyance than a valuable tool. The authors conclude that if electronic prescribing is to effectively enhance patient safety, significant improvements are necessary. The study’s findings appear in the Feb. 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. more... Vanderbilt Medical Center 2/27/2009 The umbilical cord is the gateway for nourishment to babies in the womb. Now the remnants of that gateway can serve as a convenient exit ramp for unwanted tumors and organs. S. Duke Herrell, M.D., associate professor of Urologic Surgery, has performed Vanderbilt Medical Center’s first kidney removal through a single laparoscopic incision in a patient’s navel. more... Indiana University Simon Cancer Center 2/27/2009 A diagnosis of cancer is devastating at any age, but for teens it occurs at a time of critical physical, individual and interpersonal development and other often anxiety-provoking changes. “Teens are at the threshold of life, increasingly separating from parents, developing close peer and romantic relationships, and thinking about the future -- about thing like college and jobs. But when confronted with a life threatening diagnosis, along with that diagnosis comes the often need to surrender a growing independence and rely upon their parents once again,” said Melissa Carpentier, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and associate member of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center. more... Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 2/25/2009 Physicians, veterinarians and other scientists from around the world will gather at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Oct. 15-16 for the biennial meeting of The International Association for Comparative Research on Leukemia and Related Diseases, which promotes research to improve outcomes in leukemia and related diseases worldwide. “Symposium XXIV: Molecular Approaches to Leukemia in the 21st Century: Biology, Outcome Prediction and Personalized Therapy” will feature lectures by a distinguished group of internationally renowned scientists and is expected to attract hundreds of participants. An accompanying mini-symposium on “Comparative Animal Models of Leukemia” will be held Oct. 14 at Ohio State. more... Northwestern University and NorthShore University HealthSystem 2/25/2009 A team of researchers in Chicago has developed a way to examine cell biopsies and detect never-before-seen signs of early-stage pancreatic cancer, according to a new paper in the journal Optics Letters. Though the new technique has not yet proven effective in double-blind clinical trials, it may one day help diagnose cancers of the pancreas and, potentially, other organs at their earliest and most treatable stages, before they spread. more... Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 2/24/2009 Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber), Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported the identification of human monoclonal antibodies (mAb) that neutralize an unprecedented range of influenza A viruses, including avian influenza A (H5N1) virus, previous pandemic influenza viruses, and some seasonal influenza viruses. more... The National Space Biomedical Research Institute 2/23/2009 The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) has selected Daniela Trani, PhD, of Georgetown University Medical Center as one of four young investigators in the nation for its 2008-2010 Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Trani is a postdoctoral fellow in Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology. In the NSBRI, the Fellows’ research projects address areas of interest to exploration missions and include investigating methods to maintain bone health and stimulate bone rebuilding. Additionally, the Fellows examine the acute effects of space radiation exposure to determine whether there are adverse as well as radioprotective changes in cells following proton exposure. more... University of Chicago Medical Center 2/23/2009 The shift from earlier 4- 8- or 16-slice scanners to 64-slice scanners, introduced in 2005, changed the way radiologists look at CT scans. In the past, they examined individual slices. They now generate two- three- and four-dimensional views. Speed and precision not only improve image quality, but also show dynamic processes. About sixty percent of CT scans at the Medical Center are for cancer patients. “Instead of just monitoring changes in tumor size, we can watch the perfusion of a contrast agent as it moves toward, around, and through a tumor,” said Dr. Vannier. “This can provide an early view of how a patient is responding to therapy. It helps us measure and predict, rather than simply describe responses to treatment.” more... Moores UCSD Cancer Center 2/22/2009 Researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego are taking advantage of a five-year, $7.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and sophisticated imaging technologies at the newly established In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Center (ICMIC) – one of only eight in the country – to develop new ways to detect early cancers that require treatment and monitor the effectiveness of new molecular-based cancer therapies. more... The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center 2/22/2009 A new discovery by the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine points the way to critically important treatment possibilities for patients with advanced prostate cancer in whom chemotherapy and hormone therapy have failed. Patients with advanced prostate cancer who do not respond to hormone therapy, or in whom it stops working altogether, are commonly treated with docetaxel. However, that therapy commonly loses its effectiveness six to eight months into treatment, and in a significant number of patients, never works at all. Rakesh Singal, M.D., associate professor of medicine and member of the Prostate, Bladder and Kidney Cancers Site Disease Group at Sylvester, led the study and is conducting the only clinical trial surrounding the discovery. Dr. Singal has been studying methylation-mediated transcriptional regulation in prostate and other cancers. In many cancers, malignant cells are able to proliferate by shutting down the body’s natural defenses, which include apoptosis or cell death and DNA repair. Repression of genes involved in ‘apoptotic’ or ‘cell death’ pathway may result from ’DNA methylation’. DNA methylation refers to a modification of DNA without a change to the original DNA sequence, resulting in alteration in gene expression. more... Kimmel Cancer Center 2/22/2009 Findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University show that the presence of a biomarker in regional lymph nodes is an independent predictor of disease recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer. Detection of the biomarker, guanylyl cyclase 2C (GUCY2C), indicates the presence of occult metastases in lymph nodes that may not have been identified by current cancer staging methods, according to Scott Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. According to Dr. Waldman, who is also the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Professor of Clinical Pharmacology in the Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College, colorectal cancer that has metastasized, or spread, to the regional lymph nodes carries a worse prognosis and a higher risk for recurrence. However, these metastases are often missed, and the cancer is understaged. more... Moores UCSD Cancer Center 2/22/2009 Scientists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, Stanford University School of Medicine and other centers have identified a mechanism by which a chronic form of leukemia can progress into a deadlier stage of the disease. The findings may provide physicians with an indicator of when this type of cancer - chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) - is progressing, enabling them to make more accurate prognoses for the disease and improved treatment choices. "If we can predict when a patient is moving from the chronic phase in CML to the blast crisis stage, then we can hopefully intervene before it’s too late," said Catriona H.M. Jamieson, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Director for Stem Cell Research at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. more... University of Chicago Medical Center 2/21/2009 At least one in 25 older adults, about 2.2 million people in the United States, take multiple drugs in combinations that can produce a harmful drug-drug interaction, and half of these interactions involve a non-prescription medication, researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center report in the Dec. 24/31, 2008, issue of JAMA. more... Moffitt Cancer Center 2/21/2009 Cancer patients participating in the Survivor Celebration at the 2009 Florida Bank Miles for Moffitt have an ally in a Tampa-based international steel producer and recycler. Gerdau Ameristeel has become the official sponsor of the 2009 Survivor Celebration, an event that caps off this community race held annually on the campus of the University of South Florida. Since its inception in 2006, Miles for Moffitt has raised more than $230,000 for cancer research programs at Moffitt Cancer Center. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 2/20/2009 A tactic that sidelines stem cells with damaged DNA, holding them as backup until later in life, may yield new ideas for cancer therapy and prevention. Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) researcher Steven C. Pruitt, PhD, suggests that the somatic stem cells repairing and maintaining our tissues may "remember" injuries to their own DNA. DNA damage response memory (DDRM) would explain why lifelong genetic wear-and-tear seldom causes problems until middle age. more... Emory Winship Cancer Institute 2/20/2009 Mylin Torres, MD, has joined the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology as assistant professor specializing in the treatment of breast cancer. “Dr. Torres brings a patient-centered approach to care as well as excellent experience as a collaborative investigator to our department,” says Walter Curran, MD, chairman of Radiation Oncology and medical director of the Emory Winship Cancer Institute. “We are delighted to have recruited a physician of her caliber to Emory.” more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 2/20/2009 Dr. Clara D. Bloomfield has accepted an invitation to serve as the American Society of Clinical Oncology representative on the Scientific Committee for the 2009 and 2010 Annual Meetings on Molecular Markers in Cancer. Patrick Green, director of the Center for Retrovirus Research and co-leader of the Viral Oncology Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been elected as a fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology, the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Electra Paskett, associate director of Population Sciences at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, has been elected chair of the American Public Health Association’s newly formed Cancer Forum. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 2/19/2009 William G. Cance, MD, has been appointed Chair of the Department of Surgical Oncology and Surgeon-In-Chief at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI). “We welcome Dr. Cance, a nationally respected oncologist whose leadership and vision will further strengthen the clinical, research and teaching capabilities of Roswell Park. These strengths will expand our multidisciplinary programs in each of these areas which are so critical to Roswell Park’s mission,” said Donald L. Trump, MD, President & CEO, RPCI. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 2/19/2009 Jennifer Carlson, director of government relations at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, has been elected to the executive board of Ohio Partners for Cancer Control. Carlson’s two-year term on the board extends through 2010. This statewide consortium was formed in 2000 to reduce the cancer burden in Ohio through a collaborative and comprehensive approach, bringing together representatives of organizations that have cancer prevention and control as a focus of their mission, including hospitals, universities, cancer centers, and government agencies. more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 2/19/2009 A new robotic surgical technique developed at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) for the removal of all or part of the prostate gland is showing what investigators call a “dramatic improvement” in a male’s sexual potency rate. The results were recently presented at the 26th World Congress Endourology meeting in Shanghai, China. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and has also developed a Center of Excellence for robotic surgery. more... U of M and Masonic Cancer Institute 2/19/2009 The University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, in conjunction with the University’s Masonic Cancer Center, is has established a new Animal Cancer Care and Research (ACCR) program. This collaboration is unique in the United States because it incorporates the ACCR program into the Masonic Cancer Center, one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States. more... Washington University School of Medicine 2/18/2009 Brain cells long lumped into the same category have hidden differences that may contribute to the formation of tumors, according to a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Scientists showed that brain cells known as astrocytes make use of different genes depending on what region of the mouse brain they came from. These differences are too subtle to overtly mark them as distinct cell types, but substantial enough to make it easier for the cells to multiply more in response to genetic changes that increase cancer risk. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 2/18/2009 William G. Cance, MD, has been appointed Chair of the Department of Surgical Oncology and Surgeon-In-Chief at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI). “We welcome Dr. Cance, a nationally respected oncologist whose leadership and vision will further strengthen the clinical, research and teaching capabilities of Roswell Park. These strengths will expand our multidisciplinary programs in each of these areas which are so critical to Roswell Park’s mission,” said Donald L. Trump, MD, President & CEO, RPCI. At RPCI, Dr. Cance will lead the Department of Surgical Oncology and provide administrative oversight for the operating room and surgical services. He also will serve as RPCI’s principal investigator of a training grant in surgical oncology. more... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 2/17/2009 A team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators has developed a group of chemical compounds that could represent a new class of drugs for treating cancer. The compounds are the first selective inhibitors of the protein phospholipase D (PLD), an enzyme that has been implicated in multiple human cancers including breast, renal, gastric and colorectal. The new inhibitors, reported in the February issue of Nature Chemical Biology, block the invasive migration of breast cancer cells, supporting their further development as antimetastatic agents. They will also be useful tools for understanding the complex roles of PLD in cellular physiology, said H. Alex Brown, Ph.D., professor of Pharmacology and one of the team leaders. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 2/16/2009 A tactic that sidelines stem cells with damaged DNA, holding them as backup until later in life, may yield new ideas for cancer therapy and prevention. Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) researcher Steven C. Pruitt, PhD, suggests that the somatic stem cells repairing and maintaining our tissues may remember injuries to their own DNA. DNA damage response memory (DDRM) would explain why lifelong genetic wear-and-tear seldom causes problems until middle age. more... Masonic Cancer Center 2/16/2009 The University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, in conjunction with the University’s Masonic Cancer Center, has established a new Animal Cancer Care and Research (ACCR) program. This collaboration is unique in the United States because it incorporates the ACCR program into the Masonic Cancer Center, one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States. more... University of Chicago Medical Center 2/15/2009 Learning how leukemia takes over privileged "niches" within the bone marrow is helping researchers develop treatment strategies that could protect healthy blood-forming stem cells and improve the outcomes of bone marrow transplantation for leukemia and other types of cancer. In a paper in the journal Science, available early online Dec. 19, 2008, researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center show that by blocking one of the chemical signals that leukemic cells release, they could help prevent the cells that mature to become red and white blood cells from being shut down by the cancerous invader. more... Moores UCSD Cancer Center 2/15/2009 On Thursday, Feb. 5, surgeons at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center removed a patient’s diseased kidney through one incision hidden in the belly button. No other incisions were used. This groundbreaking procedure is the 15th in a series of single-incision clinical trial surgeries performed by the UC San Diego Center for the Future of Surgery. "The successful removal of a kidney containing a seven centimeter tumor, with a single incision, is a pivotal advancement in cancer care," said Ithaar H. Derweesh, MD, associate professor of surgery for the Division of Urology and urologic oncologist at UC San Diego Medical Center and Moores UCSD Cancer Center. more... Nevada Cancer Institute 2/15/2009 Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI) researcher and oncologist Kenneth A. Foon, M.D., had a paper published in the Feb. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology regarding a new, highly effective novel therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Dr. Foon, heads NVCI’s leukemia section. As a clinical investigator, Dr. Foon brings the latest therapies from the lab to the patient. more... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 2/15/2009 Vandana Gupta Abramson, M.D., has joined Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center as an assistant professor of Medicine. Abramson will be opening a practice for breast cancer patients in addition to her research in clinical and translational studies of novel agents in the treatment of breast cancer. Abramson comes to Vanderbilt-Ingram from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was an instructor in Hematology/Oncology. more... Northwestern University 2/15/2009 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Northwestern University a $1.9 million grant to purchase a 300 kV (kilovolt) cryoelectron microscope. The JEOL 3200FS field-emission electron microscope will be one of less than a dozen of its kind in the United States. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 2/14/2009 The largest study of its kind concludes that long-term multivitamin use has no impact on the risk of common cancers, cardiovascular disease or overall mortality in postmenopausal women. The results of the Women’s Health Initiative study, led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, were published in the Feb. 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 2/14/2009 Does shift work predispose you to cancer by altering the body’s response to hormones? And if so, can a dietary supplement help? Those are the questions researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) hope to answer through a new study, which recently received $600,000 in funding from The V Foundation for Cancer Research. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 2/13/2009 Mary Jo Hudson, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, will address more than 800 cancer researchers during a scientific meeting sponsored by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Hudson is scheduled to speak at 12:15 p.m. Friday (2/20) at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Hudson will discuss funding opportunities available through the federal economic stimulus package, including additional support for health information technology and greater coverage for patients involved in translational research. Reporters are invited to attend the event, which is closed to the public. more... UCLA 2/13/2009 Stem cells scientists at UCLA showed for the first time that human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be differentiated into electrically active motor neurons, a discovery that may aid in studying and treating neurological disorders. Additionally, the motor neurons derived from the iPS cells appeared to be similar in function and efficiency to those derived from human embryonic stem cells, although further testing needs to be done to confirm that. If the similarities are confirmed, the discovery may open the door for new treatments for neurological disorders using patient-specific cells. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 2/13/2009 Patients with endometrial cancer who have minimally invasive robotic-assisted hysterectomies tend to have quicker surgeries and shorter hospital stays compared with patients who have similar laparoscopic surgical procedures, according to new research from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Until now, little data existed to confirm the benefit of minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery for patients with endometrial cancer, also known as uterine cancer. The findings are published online in the journal Gynecologic Oncology, and also will be presented during a national meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists Feb. 5-8 in San Antonio, Texas. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 2/13/2009 Fox Chase Cancer Center, the first acute care hospital in Pennsylvania and specialty hospital in the country to receive Magnet status, has been designated for the third time in a row — now making it the first hospital in Pennsylvania to have achieved two successful Magnet renewals. This designation is the nation’s highest form of recognition for nursing excellence and is one of the benchmarks used to measure the quality of care patients receive. more... City of Hope 2/13/2009 Two of the nation’s most respected and influential research nurses — City of Hope’s Marcia Grant and Rose Virani, both in the Division of Nursing Research and Education — have been honored by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). more... City of Hope 2/12/2009 Rahul Jandial, M.D., Ph.D., has been named section head of the spine program in City of Hope’s Division of Neurosurgery. He manages the neurological treatment of brain and spine cancers, focusing on the removal of tumors along the spine and reconstruction of the affected area. Primary tumors in and around the spine are rare, but cells from metastasized cancers elsewhere can often establish new tumors in that area. Jandial will also conduct research into neural stem cells and their role as possible origins of brain tumors. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 2/12/2009 Survivors of early-stage lung cancer who take part in regular physical activity have a better quality of life, according to a study in the February issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, available online now. Patients who are more physically active report better mood, more vigor, and greater physical functioning, the study shows. more... Communities as Partners in Cancer Clinical Trials 2/11/2009 Communities as Partners in Cancer Clinical Trials is pleased to announce that it has awarded grants to five cancer research organizations to improve cancer clinical trial participation through innovative community engagement strategies. The five organizations, known as “implementation partners,” were selected from a nationwide pool of 43 applicants seeking to implement recommendations from the recently released national report, Communities as Partners in Cancer Clinical Trials: Changing Research, Practice and Policy (available at www.communitiesaspartners.org ). The five selected Implementation Partners are the University of North Carolina’s Carolina Community Network, Chapel Hill, NC; Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN; Grand Rapids Clinical Oncology Program, Grand Rapids, MI; Columbia St. Mary’s Health System, Milwaukee, WI; and the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG), Durham, NC. more... Siteman Cancer Center 2/11/2009 An ambitious new study has added considerable weight to the claim that exercise can lower the risk for colon cancer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Harvard University combined and analyzed several decades worth of data from past studies on how exercise affects colon cancer risk. They found that people who exercised the most were 24 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who exercised the least. "What’s really compelling is that we see the association between exercise and lower colon cancer risk regardless of how physical activity was measured in the studies," says lead study author Kathleen Y. Wolin, Sc.D., a cancer prevention and control expert with the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University. more... University of Chicago Medical Center 2/11/2009 Large-scale data mining of gene networks in fruit flies has led researchers to a sensitive and specific diagnostic biomarker for human renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. In the journal Science, published early online January 22, a team based at the University of Chicago shows that the biomarker known as SPOP is produced by 99 percent of clear cell renal cell carcinomas but not by normal kidney tissue. more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 2/10/2009 According to the National Cancer Policy Board, it is estimated that by the year 2050 there will be more cancer survivors in the United States than those newly diagnosed with the disease. That is why researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) are taking a closer look at the specific needs of cancer survivors as they transition from specialty care back to their primary care provider. CINJ is a center of excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. more... Siteman Cancer Center 2/9/2009 Neurobiologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified pathways that allow microscopic worms to survive in a low-oxygen, or hypoxic, environment. They believe the finding could have implications for conditions such as stroke, heart attack and cancer. Sensitivity to low oxygen helps determine how damaging those medical conditions can be. The researchers reported their findings in the Jan. 30 issue of the journal Science. more... The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center 2/8/2009 Patients with pancreatic cancer can now see all their physicians and receive the results of tests on the same day in the same place with the recent opening of the multidisciplinary clinic at the Elkins Pancreas Center in the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "Pancreatic cancer is a very complex disease. There are a lot of medical issues and decisions that come with the diagnosis," said Dr. William E. Fisher, director of the Elkins Pancreas Center and associate professor of surgery at BCM. "Do you administer the chemotherapy and radiation first, then have surgery to remove the tumor, or do you have surgery first and then chemotherapy and radiation? Physicians who work as a group to treat these patients need to discuss, plan and work together in order to provide the best possible treatment for each individual patient." more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 2/8/2009 A new robotic surgical technique developed at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) for the removal of all or part of the prostate gland is showing what investigators call a “dramatic improvement” in a male’s sexual potency rate. The results were recently presented at the 26th World Congress Endourology meeting in Shanghai, China. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and has also developed a Center of Excellence for robotic surgery. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 2/8/2009 Biology exists in a physical world. That’s a fact cancer researchers are beginning to recognize as they look to include concepts of physics and mathematics in their efforts to understand how cancer develops -- and how to stop it. The movement, led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, has come to a head with a new section in one of the top cancer research journals and a new grant program from the National Cancer Institute. more... Fox Chase Cancer Center 2/7/2009 Fox Chase Cancer Center investigators reported that a two-drug blockade of mTOR signaling appears safe in metastatic kidney cancer in a phase I trial. Early data suggests that a combination of temsirolimus and bryostatin may be active in patients with rare forms of renal cell cancer, which are less likely to respond to other targeted therapies. Elizabeth Plimack, M.D., M.S., a medical oncologist and attending physician at Fox Chase will report the trial results on Sunday, May 31 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, FL. “We have certainly seen sustained responses with this combination which are encouraging,” Plimack says. more... Arizona Cancer Center 2/6/2009 A $1 million gift from the Alan and Janice Levin family to The University of Arizona Foundation will fund the Alan and Janice Levin Family Endowed Chair for Excellence in Cancer Research at the Arizona Cancer Center. Clara Curiel, MD, director of the Pigmented Lesion Clinic and the Multidisciplinary Cutaneous Oncology Program at the Arizona Cancer Center’s Skin Cancer Institute, and assistant professor of dermatology at The University of Arizona College of Medicine, has been appointed to fill the Levin Family Endowed Chair. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 2/6/2009 Nationally recognized medical oncologist Roberto Pili, MD has been appointed Professor of Oncology, Chief of the Genitourinary Section and Co-Leader of the Genitourinary Program at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI). Dr. Pili comes to RPCI from The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, where he served as Associate Professor of Oncology and Urology. more... Siteman Cancer Center 2/5/2009 A set of 50 genes can be used to reliably identify the four known types of breast cancer, according to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions. Using this 50-gene set, oncologists can potentially predict the most effective therapy for each breast tumor type and thereby personalize breast cancer treatment for all patients. "Unlike a widely used genomic test that applies only to lymph-node negative, estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer, this new genomic test is broadly applicable for all women diagnosed with breast cancer," says breast cancer specialist Matthew Ellis, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University. more... Moores UCSD Cancer Center 2/5/2009 A team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Moores UCSD Cancer Center have developed a rapid, automated image screening process to distinguish breast cancer cells from normal cells. The technique, which is based on the density of cells seen on a microscope slide, may eventually lead to better ways for surgeons to determine if they have removed all of the cancer during breast-conserving cancer surgery and cut down on the number of needed second operations. more... Emory Winship Cancer Institute 2/5/2009 Mylin Torres, MD, has joined the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology as assistant professor specializing in the treatment of breast cancer. “Dr. Torres brings a patient-centered approach to care as well as excellent experience as a collaborative investigator to our department,” says Walter Curran, MD, chairman of Radiation Oncology and medical director of the Emory Winship Cancer Institute. “We are delighted to have recruited a physician of her caliber to Emory.” more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 2/4/2009 The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded a five-year, $10.2 million grant to Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in support of its pioneering studies in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Roswell Park is known around the world for the development of PDT, which uses red laser light to trigger a photosensitizing drug that collects in tumor cells. When activated by the laser, the drug kills the cancer cells. RPCI has received uninterrupted NCI funding for its PDT program since 1992 - a remarkable achievement. more... Masonic Cancer Center 2/4/2009 To further the goal of eliminating smoking as the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S., twenty six of the nation’s leading tobacco control researchers and policy experts today called for regulatory control of all tobacco products. They also called for policies that encourage current tobacco users to reduce their health risks by switching from the most to the least harmful nicotine-containing products. more... City of Hope 2/4/2009 Alexandra M. Levine, M.D., chief medical officer of City of Hope and an internationally known expert in lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and AIDS-related malignancies, has been elected to the prestigious level of Master of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the nation’s largest medical specialty organization. Mastership is the highest level of ACP membership and involves a highly competitive nomination process. Levine was one of only 48 physicians selected this year from across the nation. Masters comprise a small of group of distinguished physicians recognized for their practice or research, honored positions or significant contributions to medical science. The honor will be conferred on April 23 during the ACP’s Internal Medicine Conference in Philadelphia. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 2/4/2009 Frequent and/or long-term marijuana use may significantly increase a man’s risk of developing the most aggressive type of testicular cancer, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The study results were published in the journal Cancer. The researchers found that being a marijuana smoker at the time of diagnosis was associated with a 70 percent increased risk of testicular cancer. The risk was particularly elevated (about twice that of those who never smoked marijuana) for those who used marijuana at least weekly and/or who had long-term exposure to the substance beginning in adolescence. more... Moores USCD Cancer Center 2/3/2009 A new minimally-invasive option for treating liver tumors, called microwave ablation, is now available at UC San Diego Medical Center and Moores UCSD Cancer Center, the only hospitals in the region to offer this technology to patients. “A liver tumor can be removed in many ways,” said Marquis Hart, MD, transplant surgeon at UC San Diego Medical Center. “Now, patients at UC San Diego have a new option called ‘microwave ablation.’ Simply put, we zap and destroy liver tumors with heat derived from microwave energy. This is an important alternative, especially since the majority of liver cancers cannot be partially removed and not all patients are transplant candidates.” more... Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center 2/3/2009 William Pao, M.D., Ph.D., has accepted a new post as associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Cancer Biology and Pathology. He also has been named assistant director of Personalized Cancer Medicine and an Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research. William Tansey, Ph.D., joins VICC as professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and co-leader of the Genome Maintenance Program. more... University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center 2/2/2009 One-fifth of women who should receive radiation after a mastectomy are not getting this potentially lifesaving treatment, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study looked at 396 women who were treated with a mastectomy for breast cancer. The researchers found that 19 percent of women who fell clearly within guidelines recommending radiation treatment after the mastectomy did not receive that treatment. more... City of Hope 2/2/2009 Much to the dismay of patients and physicians, cancer stem cells—tiny powerhouses that generate and maintain tumor growth in many types of cancers—are relatively resistant to the ionizing radiation often used as therapy for these conditions. Part of the reason, say researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine and City of Hope National Medical Center, is the presence of a protective pathway meant to shield normal stem cells from DNA damage. When the researchers blocked this pathway, the cells became more susceptible to radiation. more... The Cancer Institute of New Jersey 2/2/2009 Does shift work predispose you to cancer by altering the body’s response to hormones? And if so, can a dietary supplement help? Those are the questions researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) hope to answer through a new study, which recently received $600,000 in funding from The V Foundation for Cancer Research. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. more... James P. Wilmot Cancer Center 1/31/2009 The University of Rochester has received a $3.18 million first-year government contract, with an option to increase to $10.4 million over the next three years, to investigate a “post-radiation pill” in the event of an accident or act of terrorism with nuclear or radiological devices. Rochester researchers, led by principal investigator Yuhchyau Chen, M.D., Ph.D., will test eltrombopag* for its ability to replenish blood platelets following injury from radiation. “Our primary objective is to establish a medical countermeasure that is safe, effective and simple to take, in the event we experience a shortage of medical personnel for the first 24 to 48 hours,” said Chen, a professor of Radiation Oncology at the University’s James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. “A post-radiation pill would be tremendously helpful.” more... Masonic Cancer Institute 1/30/2009 Age alone should not determine whether a patient receives a blood and marrow stem cell transplantation for treatment of acute leukemia and diseases that can lead to the blood cancer, according to a large-scale study from the University of Minnesota’s Medical School and Masonic Cancer Center. Researchers found that patients older than 65 fared as well from a transplant as patients in their 40s and 50s. more... Huntsman Cancer Institute 1/30/2009 Researchers have discovered two enzymes that, when combined, could be involved in the earliest stages of cancer. Manipulating these enzymes genetically might lead to targeted therapies aimed at slowing or preventing the onset of tumors. "We could conceivably reactivate a completely normal gene in a tumor cell - a gene that could prevent the growth of a tumor if reactivated," says David Jones, Ph.D., professor of oncological sciences at the University of Utah and senior director of early translational research at the university’s Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). "We believe this could be one of the earliest processes to go wrong in cancer," he adds. By manipulating these enzymes, we could possibly prevent or slow the onset of tumors." more... The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center 1/29/2009 The annual Landon-American Association for Cancer Research Prizes took a big step forward this year in recognizing key cancer research by adding two new awards. The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine hosted the Seventh Annual Landon-AACR Prize Lectures on Friday, January 23, during which four scientists were recognized for their research. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 1/29/2009 Cancer researchers at The Ohio State University have found a way to slow the proliferation of cells that drive the growth of one type of brain tumor. The finding suggests a new strategy for treating glioblastomas, a usually fatal cancer. The study found that boosting the levels of a particular molecule – called microRNA-128 – in those tumor cells slows their growth by 80 percent and may make them vulnerable to treatment. “Our findings suggest that if we can get microRNA-128 into tumor cells of patients, we might help control tumor growth and improve the response to therapy,” said Sean Lawler, a research assistant professor of neurological surgery and an investigator with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. more... The Wistar Institute 1/29/2009 The Wistar Institute launched the 34th annual Nikon Small World exhibition of visually stunning photographs taken through the microscope. An image produced in Wistar’s microscopy facility earned honorable mention as an “Image of Distinction” in this year’s competition, and is included in Wistar’s exhibit. The Nikon Small World competition celebrates the complexity and beauty of the world as captured in photographs taken through the microscope. The winning images combine originality, informational content, technical proficiency, and visual impact. Specimens in this year’s exhibit reflect a range of subjects including lily of the valley, Japanese specialty paper, a micro leaf beetle, recrystallized vitamin C, and more. The exhibit is arranged in groups according photographic technique, educating visitors about how each image was created. more... Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University 1/28/2009 Chad A. Mirkin, the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and professor of medicine, biological and chemical engineering, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering at Northwestern University, has received two prestigious awards. A member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Mirkin is world-renowned for his invention and development of biological and chemical diagnostic systems based upon nanomaterials. One is the Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest from the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The other is the Havinga Medal 2009 from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. more... The George Washington University Medical Center 1/27/2009 Dr. Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen have committed $10 million to advance a wide range of cancer initiatives at The George Washington University and its medical center. “I am deeply grateful for this historic leadership gift from a native Washingtonian family that has been personally affected by this devastating disease,” said GW President Steven Knapp. “The Katzen’s generosity will greatly accelerate our ability to conduct the kind of research that can truly make a difference to cancer prevention and treatment.” more... UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center 1/27/2009 Ian Buchanan, M.D., has been appointed associate vice president for UNC Health Care’s oncology service line and John Rockwell has been appointed administrative director of business and financial operations for the North Carolina Clinical Cancer Center at UNC Hospitals. Buchanan earned his medical degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, was a resident physician at UNC and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in UNC’s Department of Surgery. He also earned a master of public health degree from the UNC School of Public Health. more... Ireland Cancer Center 1/26/2009 Research from the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center has found that the vast majority of triple negative breast cancers express the MUC-1 target. This first-of-its-kind finding, presented today at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, has paved the way for an upcoming vaccine trial for patients with early stage triple negative breast cancer that could potentially prevent recurrence of this aggressive type of breast cancer. more... The Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center 1/25/2009 Prostate cancer – and perhaps other cancers – promotes the growth of new nerves and the branching axons that carry their messages, a finding associated with more aggressive tumors, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in the first report of the phenomenon that appears today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. Previous research showed that prostate cancer follows the growth of nerves, but this is the first time that scientists have demonstrated that the tumors actually promote nerve growth. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 1/24/2009 The American Cancer Society’s 2009 Luther L. Terry Award for Outstanding Research Contribution will be presented to K. Michael Cummings, PhD, Chair of the Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) during a special ceremony at the 14th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, March 11, 2009. The international award recognizes Dr. Cummings’ distinct contributions to tobacco science research which have significantly impacted tobacco control policy and advocacy. The ACS announcement said, “Dr. Cummings is a dedicated researcher with the ability to translate sound science into terms that decision makers can understand and turn into action.” more... Masonic Cancer Center 1/23/2009 James McCarthy, Ph.D., a scientist and professor with the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School, has been awarded a $2.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He will use the grant to lead a laboratory research team that will work to identify new tumor targets that can be used to stop the growth and spread of prostate cancer in patients diagnosed with the disease. more... Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University 1/22/2009 Human cancers from breast and lung have a common pattern of genes vulnerable to silencing by DNA methylation, researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have found. The results are published in the January issue of Cancer Research. On their way to becoming tumors, cells have to somehow inactivate several “tumor suppressor” genes that usually prevent cancer formation. Methylation is a subtle punctuation-like modification of the DNA that marks genes for silencing, meaning that they are inactive and don’t make RNA or proteins. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 1/22/2009 One in 35 people with colon cancer carry a hereditary form of the disease, according to the second of two studies led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Based on the finding, researchers recommend screening all colon-cancer patients for Lynch syndrome, the most common inherited form of colon cancer. The studies involved 1,566 colon-cancer patients who were tested for mutations in one of the four genes responsible for the condition. Lynch syndrome gene mutations were found in 44 patients, and each of these had an average of three family members who also had inherited one of the mutations but had not yet developed cancer. more... University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 1/21/2009 Susan G. Komen for the Cure has awarded Jean Johanna Latimer, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), a grant to develop biomarkers that will help identify which forms of a common, noninvasive cancer will metastasize. The research, focusing in part on DCIS in African-American women, may eventually spare patients from unnecessary treatments. DCIS represents over 50,000, or 20 percent, of new breast cancer cases each year. While DCIS is considered a stage zero form of cancer because it doesn’t spread beyond the milk ducts, it can be a precursor to other invasive breast cancers. more... UNM Cancer Center 1/20/2009 Dr. Marianne Berwick, epidemiologist at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center, was recently recognized by the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) for her groundbreaking skin cancer research. In November 2008, Berwick attended the Annual Scientific Meeting in Australia, where she was awarded the prestigious COSA Marryalyan Award. The award was given to only eight researchers worldwide, hailing from prominent institutions around the world. The three-day COSA Annual Scientific Meeting is the most significant national multidisciplinary cancer meeting in Australia, with representation from all aspects of professional cancer care, including medicine, surgery, radiation, nursing, pharmacy, research, psychology and other disciplines. Berwick’s research efforts are concentrated in population health sciences, cancer health disparities and cancer control, with an emphasis on melanoma. The importance COSA’s endorsement of Berwick’s skin cancer research efforts cannot be understated. more... Moffitt Cancer Center 1/18/2009 Dr. Eric Haura, newly appointed program leader of Experimental Therapeutics at Moffitt Cancer Center, has received the 2008 Caine Halter Hope Now Award for Lung Cancer Research. The one-year, $25,000 award recognizes Haura and his team for their “demonstrated progress in seeking to develop novel treatment options for lung cancer survivors,” according to Joan’s Legacy: Uniting Against Lung Cancer, a New York-based foundation that funds innovative lung cancer research around the United States. more... Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center 1/18/2009 Low-income men are more likely to present with advanced prostate cancers, probably because because they don’t receive screening services shown to reduce the diagnosis of later-stage cancers, a UCLA study found. The study focused on a group of disadvantaged men enrolled in the state’s IMPACT (Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer) program, which provides high-quality care to poor, underinsured and uninsured men. Researchers found that of the 570 men studied, 19 percent had metastatic cancer at diagnosis, compared to 4 percent of men from the general population who were followed in other studies. more... Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center 1/17/2009 San Diego State University (SDSU) and the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) are joining forces to help explain and eliminate cancer disparities. The five-year combined $15 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health will fund research, education and community outreach programs in the San Diego region with the goal of reducing differences in cancer incidence and deaths in the population. more... Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 1/16/2009 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists Denise Galloway, Ph.D., a microbiologist, and Gerald Smith, Ph.D., a geneticist and microbiologist, have been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow. Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, by their peers. more... Emory Winship Cancer Institute 1/13/2009 Relatively recently, researchers have become keenly interested in exploring which food compounds are beneficial in treating and preventing serious diseases such as cancer and osteoporosis. Omer Kucuk, MD, is one of those researchers. Kucuk, a professor of hematology and medical oncology at Emory Winship Cancer Institute, studies specific food compounds and their effect on cancer prevention and treatment. Evidence indicates that some food compounds, such as soy isoflavones and curcumin, can increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. more... The Moores UCSD Cancer Center 1/12/2009 Molecules of sugar sitting on the surface of cancer cells are keys to the development of a new vaccine aimed at both treating and stopping the spread of certain types of cancers called carcinomas, which include prostate, breast, ovarian and lung, among others. Armed with a new two-year grant for $600,000 from the Gateway for Cancer Research, an Illinois-based philanthropic foundation, immunologist Alessandra Franco, M.D., Ph.D., and her co-workers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego are hoping to develop a low-cost immunotherapy for prostate carcinoma that may also have use against a variety of other carcinomas as well. more... University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center 1/11/2009 Nathan Levitan, MD, MBA, has been appointed President of the University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center (ICC) and Senior Vice President, System Cancer Services. In his new role, Dr. Levitan is responsible for cancer-related clinical program development, quality outcomes, strategic planning, and the ongoing integration of clinical trials into the ICC model of care. While working in close collaboration with Stanton Gerson, MD, Director of the Ireland Cancer Center, Dr. Levitan will oversee the continued growth of our ICC Regional Network as well as the consolidation of cancer services at UH Case Medical Center into the new UH Cancer Hospital that is scheduled to open in 2010. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 1/10/2009 The drug tamoxifen is widely used to treat breast cancer patients, but 30 percent of people do not respond or become resistant to it. A study by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center explains why this happens, and it may lead to a test that identifies resistant patients. The study found that abnormally high levels of two small molecules, called microRNA-221 (miR-221) and microRNA-222 (miR-222), contribute significantly to this problem. MicroRNAs are a family of small molecules that control the number and type of proteins that cells make. The researchers note that these two particular microRNAs may be potential markers of tamoxifen-resistant tumors. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 1/10/2009 Roswell Park Cancer Institute is the recipient of a $199,998 award from The Breast Cancer Research Foundation to study the link between vitamin D and the occurrence of breast cancer in white and African-American women. The study, led by Christine Ambrosone, PhD, Chair, Cancer Prevention and Control, and entitled "Basal-like breast cancers in black and white women: role for Vitamin D?" is seeking to better understand the link between vitamin D levels in women and rates and severity of cancer diagnoses. more... The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 1/8/2009 Combining a well-known biologic agent with a new targeted anticancer drug triggers the death of melanoma cells that are resistant to therapy, according to an animal and laboratory study by Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers. This research shows that combining the biologic therapy interferon-alpha (IFNa) with the drug bortezomib causes melanoma cells to self-destruct by the biochemical process of apoptosis. The drug combination significantly increased survival in a mouse-tumor model, and it cut the growth of transplanted human tumors by half in a second model. The study marks the first time the two drugs have been used together for this disease. more... University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center 1/6/2009 Researchers at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota have discovered that a gene involved in the often fatal infant leukemia is also associated with an aggressive form of brain cancer, called glioblastoma. This discovery provides evidence that cancers may be interlinked. Ashish Kumar, M.D., Ph.D., scientist and assistant professor with the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School, led the laboratory research team that made this discovery. Their finding was selected for the Presidential Symposium/Best of American Society of Hematology (ASH) discussion at the 50th annual meeting of ASH in San Francisco. ASH is the largest professional meeting in the world of physicians and researchers involved in research and treatment of cancer and other diseases of the blood and bone marrow. Of the nearly 4,000 research abstracts presented, fewer than 40 were selected for the Best of ASH honor. more... Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson 1/5/2009 African-American patients with colorectal cancer were more likely to present with worse pathological features at diagnosis and to have a worse five-year survival rate compared to Caucasian patients, according to a study conducted by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University. The results are being presented at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. The study was led by Edith Mitchell, M.D., a clinical professor in the Department of Medical Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Mitchell is also associate director of Diversity Programs for the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. more... Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center 1/5/2009 Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered that a molecule implicated in leukemia and lung cancer is also important in muscle repair and in a muscle cancer that strikes mainly children. The study shows that immature muscle cells require the molecule, called miR-29, to become mature, and that the molecule is nearly missing in cells from rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer caused by the proliferation of immature muscle cells. Cells from human rhabdomyosarcoma tumors showed levels of the molecule that were 10 percent or less of those in normal muscle cells. Artificially raising the level of the molecule in the cancer cells cut their growth by half and caused them to begin maturing, slowing down tumor growth. more... Roswell Park Cancer Institute 1/3/2009 Roswell Park Cancer Institute has been accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP). The voluntary accreditation demonstrates that Roswell Park meets the highest standards for protection of participants in clinical research and provides safeguards which exceed federal regulations. Only three other National Comprehensive Cancer Centers have earned this designation. “This significant accomplishment is a direct result of the dedication and diligence of Roswell Park’s Institutional Review Boards, Office of Research Subject Protection and Clinical Research Services, as well as the support of our principal investigators and their staffs, and the senior leadership team,” said Camille P. Wicher, Esq., RN, MSN, Vice President of Corporate Ethics and Research Subject Protection. more... Moores Cancer Center 1/2/2009 A secondary analysis of a large, multicenter clinical trial has shown that a diet loaded with fruits, vegetables and fiber and somewhat lower in fat compared to standard federal dietary recommendations cuts the risk of recurrence in a subgroup of early-stage breast cancer survivors – women who didn’t have hot flashes – by approximately 31 percent. These patients typically have higher recurrence and lower survival rates than breast cancer patients who have hot flashes. The study team, led by researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, along with six other sites, including the University of California, Davis, reported its results online December 15, 2008, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. more... Membership Directory Annual Report Public Issues AACI Update September 2010 Issue