Tward Named Inaugural Holder of Endowed Chair in Genitourinary Malignancies
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
The inaugural Vincent P. and Janet Mancini Presidential Endowed Chair is Jonathan Tward, MD, PhD. Dr. Tward serves as the lead physician on several operational committees and working groups within the Department of Radiation Oncology. He is a recognized authority in prostate, bladder, and penile cancer treatments.
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Blood and Marrow Transplant Nursing Team Receives National Award
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit has received national recognition for exceptional patient care and professional nursing practice from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses by being named a 2022 recipient of the Silver Beacon Award for Excellence.
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Breast Cancer Program Earns National Reaccreditation
UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
The breast cancer program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute has earned reaccreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC). The breast cancer program first received accreditation from NAPBC in 2011.
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Nuclear Medicine Garners National Recognition
Duke Cancer Institute
The Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging has designated the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotheranostics at Duke Health as a Comprehensive Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Center of Excellence. The division is currently one of only 14 centers in the U.S. to receive this recognition.
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UChicago Medicine Oncologists to Lead Committees for National Cooperative Clinical Trials Group
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Chicago Medicine oncologists Wendy Stock, MD, and Peter H. O'Donnell, MD, have been chosen to lead committees of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a clinical trials network sponsored by the National Cancer Institute that promotes collaboration among approximately 10,000 cancer specialists across the U.S. and Canada.
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Lung Cancer Hero Credits Team for National Award
UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute
When Pierre de Delva, MD, director of thoracic oncology and program director of thoracic surgery residency, flew to Chicago to accept a Lung Cancer Hero award, he was honored and humbled, but said he didn’t act alone.
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$78 Million Gift to Establish New Precision Oncology Institute
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
A $78 million commitment by Stuart Sloan and his wife Molly Sloan will establish the Stuart and Molly Sloan Precision Oncology Institute at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. The largest single gift in Fred Hutch’s 47-year history will go toward recruitment of an institute director, new scientific programs, and a laboratory building.
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$10 Million Grant Received to Study Lung Metastasis in Breast Cancer
Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center
The National Cancer Institute has awarded Jonathan Backer, MD, a five-year, $10 million team science (P01) grant to investigate the mechanisms regulating cancer cells that seed tumors in the lungs. The research will focus on lung metastases due to triple-negative breast cancer.
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Lung Cancer Detection Program Lands Grant Renewal
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
The National Cancer Institute has renewed funding for the Early Detection Research Network Lung Cancer Clinical Validation Center at Vanderbilt- Ingram Cancer Center to detect lung cancer at early stages utilizing biomarkers – an initiative that was started in 2010 and led by Pierre Massion, MD, who died in April 2021. The $5.2 million grant provides support to the program for the next five years.
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Grant Supports Research to Study Gastric Cancer Origins
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Eunyoung Choi, PhD, and James Goldenring, MD, PhD, have received $5 million in funding from a new initiative by the National Cancer Institute that aims to define how gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinomas form and evolve at the cellular level.
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Understanding Oral Health in HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Cancer in People With HIV
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Supported by a five-year, $3.9 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health, Lisa Flowers, MD, MPH, Canhua Xiao, PhD, RN, FAAN, and their research team plan to enroll 500 people in the study, "Oral microbiome and periodontal diseases in oral HPV infection among people living with HIV."
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ACS Awards $2.1 Million to Support Cancer Research and Tackle Inequities
Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has awarded Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center more than $2.1 million to support cancer research and reduce individual and systematic barriers that prevent people from accessing cancer care.
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Hollings Works To Expand Cancer Screenings in Underserved Communities
Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina
Gerard Silvestri, MD, and Marvella Ford, PhD, are co-leaders of a $1.2 million grant from The Duke Endowment, with ambitious goals to increase screening rates for five cancers and expand biomarker research trials in South Carolina.
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NIH Initiative to Systematically Investigate and Establish Function of Every Human
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
UCSFʻs Luke Gilbert, PhD, was among the recipients of Phase 1 funding for the Molecular Phenotypes of Null Alleles in Cells program, managed by the National Human Genome Research Institute. The program aims to systematically investigate the function of each gene through multiple phases that will each build upon the work of the previous one.
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V Foundation Awards Three Huntsman Researchers
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Three Huntsman Cancer Institute investigators received grants from the V Foundation for cancer research. Doug Grossman, MD, PhD, earned a grant through the Translational Award Program. Conan Kinsey, MD, PhD, received his award through the Clinical Scholar Program, and Keren Hilgendorf, PhD, a member of the Cell Response and Regulation Program at Huntsman, also obtained funding.
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Grant Awarded to Explore Therapeutic Approaches to KRAS Mutant Lung Tumors
The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai
Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, is team leader on a grant award from Stand Up To Cancer to investigate therapeutic options for lung cancer characterized by KRAS mutations. The researchers will aim to identify therapeutic combinations that build on the impact of JZP-815, a novel pan-RAF inhibitor that has been shown to boost the effect of other therapeutic agents used to treat non-small cell lung cancer with KRAS mutations.
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Ferrone Named Chair of Department of Surgery
Cedars-Sinai Cancer
Cedars-Sinai has appointed Cristina R. Ferrone, MD, as chair of the Department of Surgery. Currently a professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and director of the Office of Clinical Careers for Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Dr. Ferrone will assume her new position in January 2023.
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Mayes Appointed Associate Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Stanford Cancer Institute
The Stanford Cancer Institute has named Terrance Mayes, EdD, the inaugural associate director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. Mayes has served Stanford Medicine as associate dean for Equity and Strategic Initiatives and executive director of the Commission on Justice and Equity.
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Tiro Named Associate Director of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center
Jasmin A. Tiro, PhD, MPH, has joined the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center as the new associate director of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences. She was formerly professor of population and data sciences at Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center.
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Jagsi Named Chair of Radiation Oncology
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, will join Emory School of Medicine and Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University as chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, effective November 7.
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New Leaders Appointed in Key Areas of Clinical Operations, Administration
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has tapped three accomplished health care executives to oversee key clinical and operational areas. Ronald Andro, MS, BSN, was promoted to chief clinical operations officer, Catherine Cowan, RN, MSN, has joined Roswell Park as vice president of payer relations, and John Kuhns has been appointed as senior executive director of ambulatory services.
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Oliver Joins Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
Duke Cancer Institute
Trudy G. Oliver, PhD, has joined the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology. She was recruited from Huntsman Cancer Institute through the Duke Science & Technology initiative in partnership with Duke Cancer Institute. Her research focuses on subtypes of lung cancer, specifically squamous and small cell lung cancer.
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Welford Named Tumor Biology Research Program Co-Leader
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami
Scott M. Welford, PhD, is the new Tumor Biology Research Program co-leader at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He will lead the program with Wael El-Rifai, MD, PhD.
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Chang to Lead Department of Radiation Oncology
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
Daniel Chang, MD, was named chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Michigan Medicine. Dr. Chang will be the third chair in the department’s 38-year history. He replaces Theodore S. Lawrence, MD, PhD, who served as department chair since 1997.
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Pharmacology Researcher to Lead Cancer Diversity, Inclusion Program
Cedars-Sinai Cancer
James Turkson, PhD, professor in the Division of Medical Oncology in the Department of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, is uniquely positioned for a new role developed at Cedars-Sinai Cancer: director for Diversity, Inclusion and Strategy.
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Virus Researcher to Chair Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology
University of Virginia Cancer Center
The University of Virginia School of Medicine has recruited Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco, MD, PhD, an internationally recognized expert in virology and RNA biology, to lead its Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology. Dr. Garcia-Blanco joins UVA from the University of Texas Medical Branch.
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New Chief of Blood Disorders Named
Rutgers Cancer Institute
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJBarnabas Health have appointed Matthew Matasar, MD, MS, as chief of blood disorders. In this role, he will oversee the sections of hematologic malignancies; transplant and cell therapy; and benign hematology.
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New Cancer Control Co-Leader Brings Cancer Screening Focus
Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina
Ashish Deshmukh, PhD, is the new co-leader of the cancer control program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center and an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences. Dr. Deshmukh focuses on human papillomavirus and the cancers it can cause. He joins co-leader Matthew Carpenter, PhD, who focuses on tobacco control and behavioral medicine.
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Roswell Park Creates New Role Focused on Community Engagement and Social Responsibility
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
After nearly three decades of service-focused work in the fields of education, government, education, and nursing, Ellen Grant, PhD, LCSW-R, is returning to health care, joining Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in the newly created role of executive director for corporate social responsibility and community education.
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Singh Named Director of UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center
UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
Sunny R. K. Singh, MD, has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute as director of the UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center. The satellite cancer center is jointly operated by the Rockefeller Cancer Institute and Baptist Health.
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Advanced Melanoma Survival Improves Significantly When Immunotherapy is Given Before Targeted Therapy
Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
A clinical trial led by clinicians at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center showed a remarkable 20 percent advantage in the two-year overall survival rate for people with advanced melanoma who first received immunotherapy (72 percent survival rate) versus those who initially got targeted therapies (52 percent survival rate). Progression-free survival, where the cancer is stable or improving, was also trending in favor of those who started on immunotherapy.
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Full Genetic Architecture of RAS Cancer Gene Mutations in Human Tumors Uncovered
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
A four-year study of the RAS family by researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, three other cancer centers, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the frequency of mutant RAS genes differs among various tumor types, age, sex and racial groups, and co-mutation patterns among RAS genes and other genes potentially can result in different clinical outcomes or identify new areas for therapeutic intervention.
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The Obesity Paradox in Lung Cancer Diagnosis May Differ by Race
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Jefferson
Unlike most other cancer types, where higher body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased risk of cancer, research has established that, paradoxically, people with higher BMI have lower rates of lung cancer diagnosis. However, a recent study by Hee-Soon Juon, PhD, has called this paradox into question for African Americans.
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Stress Granules May Drive Obesity-Associated Pancreatic Cancer
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Jefferson
New research from the lab of Elda Grabocka, PhD, shows a new way that obesity may drive cancer formation in pancreatic cancer. Researchers found that stress granules are much more abundant in obesity-related pancreatic cancer compared to non-obese patients, and importantly, blocking their formation stopped cancer growth in animals.
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ADAURA Trial Results Provide New Hope for Patients With Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine
Newly released results from the Phase III ADAURA trial reveal that osimertinib yielded a 5.5-year median disease-free survival in the post-surgical treatment of patients with EGFR-mutated lung cancer, and nearly three in four patients treated with adjuvant osimertinib were disease-free at four years. The new results also indicated that the use of osimertinib reduced the risk of disease recurrence in the brain and spinal cord.
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Cost of Cancer Care Impacts Health of Low-Income Survivors
UK Markey Cancer Center
The cost of cancer treatment negatively impacts the physical and mental health of survivors who are living in poverty, according to a recent study co-authored by Lovoria Williams, PhD, UK Markey Cancer Center’s associate director of Cancer Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
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Looking Beyond DNA to Understand How We Stop Tumors
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Our cancer is written in our DNA. Or is it? By studying mutated cells that don’t turn cancerous researchers can discover how the body keeps mutated cells in line, and how to use these processes to treat, or even prevent, cancer.
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Organ-Development Discovery to Boost Battle Against Cancer
University of Virginia Cancer Center
A new discovery has shed light on how our digestive tract, lungs, and liver form, and that finding could have important implications for our understanding of cancer. Chongzhi Zang, PhD, and collaborators have found how genetic material called chromatin interacts with other factors to switch genes on and off to carry out this essential transformation.
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Molecular 'Musical Chairs'
University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center
Michelle Ozbun, PhD, and her team published a research article earlier this year in which they describe how protamine sulfate blocks HPV infection. They reported that protamine sulfate not only prevents HPV infection but also reduces the risk of infection even after cells have been exposed to the virus.
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Encouraging Immunotherapy Option Reported for Relapsed Myeloma Patients
The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai researchers have published results that show encouraging therapeutic options for patients with the blood cancer multiple myeloma after first-line treatment with bispecific antibodies fails.
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Researcher Finds a Diet High in 'Good' Fats Better for Head and Neck Cancer Patients
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
A recently published study showed better survival rates for patients who indicated they ate more unsaturated fats before they were diagnosed with cancer than those who did not. For people who consumed more of a certain type of unsaturated fat—Omega-3—the findings were even more positive.
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Simple Blood Test Predicts Neurotoxic Complications of CAR T Cell Therapy
Siteman Cancer Center
A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests a simple blood test—administered before CAR T cell treatment is initiated— may identify which patients are predisposed to developing neurotoxic side effects in the days and weeks after CAR T cell therapy.
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Researchers Discover New Drug Target for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center
A set of interacting molecules in immune cells of the gut is responsible for preventing the inflammation seen in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), UT Southwestern researchers report in a new study. The findings suggest a new drug target for treating IBD and related conditions.
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A Promising Approach to Mitigate Major Complications of Leukemia Treatment
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions have engineered immune cells to control two major life-threatening complications, namely graft-versus-host disease and cancer relapse, which typically emerge after treating leukemia with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
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Potential Biomarker Identified to Distinguish Two Aggressive Types of Brain Tumors in Children
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
It may soon be possible to identify Group 4 medulloblastomas from more aggressive Group 3 tumors. Research based on a little-explored part of RNA, which creates proteins, could lead to the development of better-targeted cancer treating drugs, according to investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
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Researchers Discover How Pancreatic Cancer Cells Manage to Survive in Poor Nutritional Environments
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health
In a recent study, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center demonstrated how cancer cells can survive in the body even when faced with a lack of sufficient nutrition, a finding that could be used as a potential indicator of disease status in the organs of pancreatic cancer patients.
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Study Shows Promising Pre-Clinical Results in Killing Cancer Cells Resistant to Current KRAS-Targeted Treatments
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
A new therapy pulls a mutated version of the protein KRAS to the surface of cancer cells, where the drug-KRAS complex acts as an "eat me" flag. Then, an immunotherapy can coax the immune system to effectively eliminate all cells bearing this flag.
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Breakthrough Brings Potential Glioblastoma Drug Into Focus
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Recent work by a Keck School of Medicine of USC-led team has demonstrated that circadian clock proteins, which help coordinate changes in the body’s functions over the course of a day, may play a key role in glioblastoma growth and proliferation after current standard treatments.
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Study: Molecular Tumor Boards Improve Outcomes for Patients With Advanced Cancer
UK Markey Cancer Center
In a recent UK Markey Cancer Center clinical trial, patients with advanced cancer experienced improved outcomes when their treatments were directed by a molecular tumor board.
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Incarceration Associated With Higher Cancer Mortality, Study Shows
Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine
New research from Yale Cancer Center reveals a higher risk of cancer mortality in incarcerated adults, as well as among those diagnosed with cancer in the first year after release from prison. The study compared data using a statewide link between tumor registry and correctional system data for adults in Connecticut diagnosed with invasive cancer from 2005 through 2016.
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Mathematics Enable Scientists to Understand Organization Within a Cell's Nucleus
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s third law says, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Indika Rajapakse, PhD, is a believer. The engineer and mathematician now finds himself a biologist. And he believes the beauty of blending these three disciplines is crucial to unraveling how cells work.
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Lynda Carter Altman Helping Fund Research at City of Hope and TGen
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
The City of Hope Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), has announced a partnership with actress, singer-songwriter, and advocate Lynda Carter Altman to accelerate diagnostics and treatments, including precision medicine approaches, for a deadly and difficult-to-treat form of blood cancer. She is providing a philanthropic gift to support this work, which honors her late husband of 37 years, Robert Altman.
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National Navigation Roundtable Supplement Highlights Importance of Patient Navigation
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health
In a recently published supplement, the American Cancer Society’s National Navigation Roundtable, which is co-chaired by a Fox Chase Cancer Center researcher, provided an extensive update on the state of patient navigation and its role in oncology care. The supplement features 13 articles covering such topics as professional standards, the successful implementation of patient navigation in cancer care, and the roles of patient navigators during COVID-19.
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Proclamation From Governor Recognizes Highest NCI Designation
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly proclaimed September "Comprehensive Cancer Centers Awareness Month" in recognition of The University of Kansas Cancer Center becoming designated as a "Comprehensive" cancer center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). AACI Immediate Past President Roy A. Jensen, MD, is the center's director.
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Siteman to Collaborate With University of Missouri on Cancer Research
Siteman Cancer Center
Cancer research will get a boost in Missouri through a new collaboration between Siteman Cancer Center and University of Missouri Health Care’s Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia. The aim is to improve cancer care throughout Missouri. Siteman is based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
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Putting It All Together
University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center
Colleen McCormick, MD, has a broad range of interests that include biochemistry, politics, and economics, but found a love for surgery. The UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center’s research mission and its robust clinical trials program made a great fit for Dr. McCormick’s expanding interests. "Gynecologic oncology fit perfectly with what I wanted to do," she said.
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