Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Colleen Tetzlaff, MHS, PA-C, an advanced practice clinician at Fox Chase Cancer Center, was recently named president of the Association of Physician Assistants in Oncology for 2020-2021. Read More

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Press Ganey has recognized Fox Chase Cancer Center with its 2020 Guardian of Excellence Award for providing outstanding clinical performance for patients in its outpatient clinics. The award honors organizations who continually perform in the top five percent for patient experience, engagement, or clinical quality performance throughout each quarter of the award year. Read More

Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center The Walther Cancer Foundation will invest $11 million to advance collaborative cancer research at Indiana University and Purdue University by supporting scientists through bioinformatics. Income from the new fund will continuously support bioinformatics personnel, technology, and other tools shared by the cancer research programs at both universities. IU and Purdue will also make their own investments into the fund. …

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Cedars-Sinai has been awarded a five-year, $8.3 million grant by the National Cancer Institute to study the diversity and determinants of the immune-inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Using comprehensive longitudinal data collection and analyses, the research will focus on the ethnically and racially diverse population served by the Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles. Read More

The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will receive more than $7.3 million from the National Cancer Institute as part of its new Serological Sciences Network, one of the largest coordinated national efforts to study immunology and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center With a new $7.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, Rogel Cancer Center researchers and their national collaborators will test whether blocking inflammatory processes could protect cells and potentially prevent some cancers. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute OSUCCC – James and the Ohio State College of Pharmacy have been awarded a five-year, $7 million grant renewal from the National Cancer Institute. This grant will allow research to continue on potential anticancer drug leads based on compounds from tropical plants, coastal lichens, cultured cyanobacteria, and filamentous fungi. Read More

Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Researchers with the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center have secured $4 million in funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to establish an HIV-associated Malignancy Research Center focused on lung cancer in East Africa. Read More

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey has received a $1.6 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to support the Rutgers Youth Enjoy Science (RUYES) Program. RUYES seeks to increase the diversity of the biomedical, cancer research workforce in order to reduce cancer disparities in both New Jersey and across the United States. Read More

Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine The National Institutes of Health has awarded a Research Project Cooperative Agreement grant to Yale Cancer Center. The two-year, $1.4 million U01 award will fund immuno-serological assays for monitoring COVID-19 in patients with hematologic malignancies. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Dean W. Felsher, MD, PhD, is a 2020 recipient of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Outstanding Investigator Award. His lab will target the MYC oncogene pathway to treat human cancer using recent fundamental insights into how MYC initiates and maintains tumorigenesis. Read More

Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson David Gius, MD, PhD, a breast cancer and radiation researcher, has joined the Mays Cancer Center. He was recruited from the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University with a $6 million senior investigator recruitment grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Read More

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center A new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has discovered that mutations found in cancers do not accumulate randomly, but are found in distinct patterns that vary based on the three-dimensional organization of the genome in the cell as well as the underlying factors causing the mutations. Read More

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University A study from Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University has the potential to change how patients whose prostate cancer recurs after prostatectomy are treated. The Emory Molecular Prostate Imaging for Radiotherapy Enhancement, or EMPIRE-1, trial is the first randomized trial of men with prostate cancer with recurring cancer to show that treatment based on advanced molecular imaging can improve disease-free survival rates. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center University of Florida Health researchers Sumita Bhaduri-McIntosh, MD, PhD, and Michael McIntosh, PhD, and their collaborators have published new research showing a class of drugs used to treat a limited set of breast and ovarian cancers are also effective against cancers linked to the Epstein-Barr virus when tested on human cells. Read More

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have genetically modified human Natural Killer T (NKT) cells with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that enables them to specifically recognize and attack neuroblastoma. Expressed with the CAR is interleukin-15 (IL-15), a natural protein that supports NKT cell survival. Read More

Moffitt Cancer Center For patients with non-small cell lung cancer, two major treatment strategies have emerged: tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors. However, choosing the right therapy isn’t always an easy decision, as biomarkers can change during therapy rendering that treatment ineffective. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers are developing a noninvasive, accurate method to analyze a patient’s tumor mutations and biomarkers to determine the best course of treatme…

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that a drug that activates the body’s natural defenses by behaving like a virus may also make certain stealthy melanoma tumors visible to the immune system, allowing them to be better targeted by immunotherapy. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center A new study by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has quantified the impact of repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), which enables 18- to 25-year-olds to remain on their parents insurance plans, including cancer patients who require long-term medical follow-up. The study builds on previous UCSF research showing that children covered by private health insurance have better outcomes than…

University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center Peng Mao, PhD, and his team have discovered an intricate series of events that cells use to repair DNA, finding that in transcription-coupled DNA repair, RNA polymerases change shape when one type of protein binds and dislodges other proteins. The shape change switches RNA polymerase from transcribing DNA to repairing. Read More

AACI is pleased to announce Tech Gold, a new membership category designed especially for technology companies whose products and services benefit cancer centers. This membership provides a forum for AACI cancer centers and these companies to exchange ideas and imagine new possibilities for enhancing oncology through technology. The 2024 Tech Gold members are Caris Life Sciences, Cognizant, and Yunu. Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing two changes to the current research data request and access policies. CMS has issued a request for information (RFI) from stakeholders to assist with planning and implementing this policy change. The RFI is open for comment until May 15, 2024. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center University of Florida researchers have found that OpenAI’s GPT-4 performed better than the student average on seven of nine graduate-level exams in the biomedical sciences. But they found its performance on the free-text assessments was limited for some types of complex questions, raising concerns about irrelevant data and plagiarism. Read More

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health While sociodemographic, clinical, and pathological factors may affect racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, non-Hispanic Black patients consistently saw less favorable treatment outcomes independent of those factors, according to a Fox Chase Cancer Center study. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute A new cancer treatment that uses a person’s own immune cells has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Now this form of cellular therapy (tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte, or TIL, therapy) is showing promise in advanced lung cancers through clinical trials underway at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer C…

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center A new study has revealed a key genetic variant contributing towards the increased risk, as well as details about the biological basis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Researchers identified a variant found at a relatively high frequency in people of Hispanic/Latino origin that increases ALL risk by around 1.4 times. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute A Stanford Medicine study identifies an easily measured biophysical property that can identify Type 2 diabetics at increased risk for liver cancer who don’t meet current screening guidelines. Read More

The University of Arizona Cancer Center The results of a recent study co-led by a University of Arizona Cancer Center researcher suggest that novel therapeutic molecules known as proteolysis targeting chimeras, or PROTACs, could help overcome resistance to a class of anti-cancer drugs that are used to treat a wide range of cancers. Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center A recent UK Markey Cancer Center study uncovers a critical pathway involved in immune evasion by breast cancer cells. The study addresses a crucial gap in the understanding of how breast cancer fosters immune evasion and offers a new potential target for cancer therapies. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Some oropharynx cancer patients may qualify for fewer radiation treatments, according to a new study from experts at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center. Oropharynx cancer was historically related to smoking and alcohol use, but now most cases diagnosed in the United States are caused by the human papillomavirus. Read More

The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai A novel treatment for polycythemia vera, a potentially fatal blood cancer, demonstrated the ability to control overproduction of red blood cells, the hallmark of this malignancy and many of its debilitating symptoms, in a multi-center clinical trial led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Read More

In January 2024, the Biden Cancer Moonshot delivered six codes to report navigation services for payment. The Cancer Moonshot team recently hosted a Q&A during which several resources were shared with further information on the Principal Illness Navigation (PIN) codes. AACI has compiled highlights of these resources for our cancer center members. Read More

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University The Champions and Friends of Dunwoody Country Club have given $1 million in new gifts to Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University to endow a new professorship in prostate cancer. Read More

Stony Brook Cancer Center A team of Stony Brook University researchers developed a new method for image-guided radionuclide therapy that uses a two-step process with specially-modified antibodies to target the cancerous tumors, followed by a radioligand designed to bind specifically to the modified antibody. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center Six UF Health Cancer Center researchers have received funding from the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund for research projects that promote cancer innovation, research, and lifesaving care. Awardees include Paul Okunieff, MD, who received a $1 million grant to study a plasma biomarker for the early detection of cancer treatment response and resistance. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Monitoring levels of DNA shed by tumors and circulating in the bloodstream could help doctors accurately assess how gastroesophageal cancers are responding to treatment, and potentially predict future prognosis, suggests a new study led by the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. Read More

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC used a new statistical method to pinpoint the genetic underpinnings of the link between red and processed meat intake and colorectal cancer risk in nearly 70,000 people. Read More

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine’s Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center and Human Genome Sequencing Center investigated the extent to which forms of genetic variation called germline or inherited structural variation influence gene expression in human cancers. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Experts at University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have conducted the first study evaluating the effectiveness of a targeted drug for patients with salivary gland cancers (SGC). There are currently no approved treatments for recurrent and/or metastatic cases of SGCs. The most common type is adenoid cystic carcinoma, which when untreated increases in size within three months. Read More

Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Children's Research Hospital New research by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital clarifies the genomic landscape of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. The work offers novel insight into this cancer’s causes and unique biological characteristics. Read More

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center City of Hope has announced results from a pioneering Phase I CAR T cell therapy trial for the treatment of glioblastoma. This is the largest trial to date evaluating CAR T therapy for solid tumors. Read More

University of Illinois Cancer Center University of Illinois Cancer Center member Ameen Salahudeen, MD, PhD, was recently named to the third cohort of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Early Investigator Advancement Program (EIAP). Dr. Salahudeen is part of a 25-member cohort in the program designed to support the development of early-stage and new investigators in cancer and cancer health disparities research. Read More

The University of Kansas Cancer Center Benyi Li, MD, PhD, has received a nearly $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to develop a short peptide-based therapy for prostate cancer patients. It is Dr. Li’s eighth prostate cancer project to be funded by the DoD in the last 20 years. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Roswell Park's latest slate of promotions includes Julia Faller, DO, as chief medical officer. Aleodor "Doru" Andea, MD, MBA, is chief of dermatopathology and director of molecular dermatopathology; Kenan Onel, MD, PhD, is chief of clinical genomics and founding director of the Center for Precision Oncology; Jenny Romero, MD, is chief of head & neck/plastic & reconstructive surgery and general medical oncology; and, Zhongbo "Jerry" Yang, M…

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center A new treatment approach that combines a targeted therapy drug with hormone therapy significantly increased the amount of time a person with stage 2 or 3 HR-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer lives without the cancer returning, according to a new study co-led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators. Read More

LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center The Gulf South Clinical Trials Network has been named a spoke in the ARPA-H Customer Experience Hub, one of three regional hubs that comprise ARPANET-H—a nationwide health innovation network—and is dedicated to the needs of people. Read More

The University of Arizona Cancer Center Through a single-arm study of 141 cancer patients, supported by a grant from the Merck Foundation Alliance to Advance Patient-Centered Cancer Care, University of Arizona Cancer Center researchers found that engaging a diverse population of cancer patients in a 12-week depression program, with a four-session minimum, provided a 65 percent improvement in their depression and quality of life. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center The results from a research partnership between GE HealthCare and Vanderbilt University Medical Center utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to enable safer and more precise cancer immunotherapies show that the models they developed predict patient responses with 70-80 percent accuracy. Read More

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Prior research has shown that delays in initiating cancer therapy are increasing, and these delays can lead to not only worse outcomes for patients, but also increased psychological distress. However, a new study published by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center has found that patients’ worry and fear can also contribute to their intentionally delaying the start of treatment. Read More

UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute received a five-year, $11.48 million federal grant to create the Center for Molecular Interactions in Cancer. It will study the molecular features of biomolecules that drive cancer using structural biology and high-resolution imaging with precise, quantitative analysis.   Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Soft tissue sarcomas are rare and difficult to treat. Machine-learning tools designed at Stanford Medicine uncover distinct cellular communities that correlate with prognosis, immunotherapy success. Read More

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is at the helm of a new clinical trials consortium, the Cancer Screening Research Network, or CSRN, created by the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to advance President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot by improving early detection of cancers. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Combining the anticancer drugs enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab led to significantly improved survival rates among patients with advanced urothelial cancer compared with standard chemotherapy, according to results of a large international clinical trial involving 185 sites in 25 countries, including the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center’s Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute. Read More

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) received $75 million from the Utah Legislature toward a cancer research and academic building in Utah County. This building is part of the first phase of HCI’s plan to establish a second comprehensive cancer center in Utah. Read More

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health A team of nursing researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center and Temple Health has received a $564,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to fund research into increasing clinical trial enrollment of underrepresented kidney cancer patients by making it easier for them to participate in such trials. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center A new study shows that oncogenic metabolic rewiring is an essential adaptation for the high energy demand of abnormal, dysplastic cells. In a mouse model, researchers introduced the KRAS oncogene in gastric chief cells to drive a sequential carcinogenic cascade of gastric cancer and identified the metabolic reprogramming that leads to dysplastic progression by turning on altered fatty acid metabolism. Read More

Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists improved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T–cell immunotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), demonstrating better efficacy in the lab. To overcome common problems with CAR T cells, the researchers created an additional means for the therapy to find and eliminate cancer cells, using a small peptide. Read More

Cedars-Sinai Cancer The Department of Radiation Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer has earned accreditation from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Accreditation Program for Excellence. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute A Stanford-led study found that inosine supplementation in the CAR T-cell manufacturing process induced profound metabolic reprogramming, diminishing glycolysis, increasing mitochondrial and glycolytic capacity, glutaminolysis and polyamine synthesis; and reprogrammed the epigenome toward greater stemness. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute A kidney cancer clinical trial combined the experimental drug guadecitabine with the drug durvalumab, which works to stimulate the immune system. In phase Ib of the trial, scientists found this drug combination to be safe with tolerable side effects among six patients. Read More

Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Children's Research Hospital A recent study revealed two common biomarkers of cardiac function and damage that could better predict cardiomyopathy within five years compared to routine clinical exams in certain childhood cancer survivors. Utilizing these two biomarkers may lead to earlier treatment to prevent and protect against further heart damage. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Older people may be at greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer and have poorer prognoses because of age-related changes in cells in the pancreas called fibroblasts, according to research by Johns Hopkins investigators. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center University of Florida College of Pharmacy researchers have pinpointed the genetic blueprints behind dolastatin 10, a marine natural product that has led to six FDA-approved cancer drugs since 2011. The discovery could unlock the potential for new cancer therapeutics. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Using a chip to process blood samples, doctors can monitor the amount of cancer cells in a patient’s blood to determine how well a treatment is working by the fourth week, according to a new study by University of Michigan researchers. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center In work newly published in Blood Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, a team of collaborators from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and Moffitt Cancer Center report the first strategy for identifying before treatment which patients are at risk for poor outcomes from CAR T-cell therapy, pointing to opportunities to improve the safety and efficacy of this fast-growing class of cancer immunotherapies. …

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center Regardless of socioeconomic factors and tumor variables, Black women with triple negative breast cancer have a significantly poorer response to chemotherapy than white women, researchers at Duke Cancer Institute report. Read More

The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center A team of UChicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have examined the contribution of biological, social, and economic factors on outcomes among adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Their findings suggest that improved access to multidisciplinary medical care, coupled with essential supportive care services offered at centers experienced in ALL care, may alleviate socioeconomic disparities i…

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Lymphatic fluid from surgical drains, which is usually tossed in the trash, is a treasure in the hands of University of Pittsburgh and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis researchers who found that this liquid could inform more precise treatments for patients with head and neck cancer caused by human papillomavirus. Read More

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center Newly published research demonstrates that older adults with blood cancers who receive reduced intensity chemotherapy before a stem cell transplant with donor cells that are resistant to HIV may be cured of HIV infection. Read More

The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Institute researchers discovered that a certain type of chemotherapy improves the immune system’s ability to fight off bladder cancer, particularly when combined with immunotherapy, according to a new study. Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center A new UK Markey Cancer Center study demonstrates a feasible way to expand germline genetic testing for patients with cancer. In the study, Markey's molecular tumor board reviewed germline research test results from a group of patients with various cancers. Findings were then communicated to patients' oncologists, along with recommendations for genetic counseling and confirmatory testing. Read More

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey has modified its leadership structure, elevating two associate director functions to deputy director positions. Andrew M. Evens, DO, MBA, MSc, is deputy director for clinical services; Linda Tanzer is deputy director for administration and planning and chief financial and administrative officer; and Eileen White, PhD, will continue in the roles of deputy director and chief scientific officer. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute A study led by Stanford researchers found that an RNA-targeting CRISPR platform could tune immune cell metabolism without permanent genetic changes, potentially unveiling a relatively low-risk way to upgrade existing cell therapies for cancer. Read More

Cedars-Sinai Cancer To help protect the hearts of cancer patients, Cedars-Sinai investigators have created a three-dimensional "heart-on-a-chip" to evaluate chemotherapy and other cancer drug safety. In a new study, they show that the heart-on-a-chip, created using stem cells, accurately predicts the effects of drugs on human heart cells. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center A study led by scientists at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center details evidence on the therapeutic efficacy of a compound that targets a key genetic feature of pancreatic cancer. The work illustrates potential clinical applications for the novel anticancer agent MRTX1133 and outlines its effect on both the tumor and the surrounding environment. Read More

University of Virginia Cancer Center University of Virginia Cancer Center researchers have developed a new way to identify high-risk patients with acute myeloid leukemia, which could one day lead to more tailored treatments and improved patient outcomes for patients with the blood cancer. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center A team of UF Health Cancer Center researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind compound that could open a new avenue for using immunotherapy to treat various types of cancer. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center A multidisciplinary Vanderbilt research team has discovered a new way to kill a tumor by disrupting its acidic "microenvironment" without harming normal tissue. The target of this unorthodox approach is hydroxyapatite, a naturally occurring mineral that is a major component of bone and teeth, but which also is produced by some tumors. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University A novel three-drug combination achieved notable responses in patients with advanced HER2-negative breast cancer, according to new research directed by investigators from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. The treatment included a histone deacetylase inhibitor with two types of checkpoint inhibitors. Read More

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Carl and Renée Behnke have donated $15 million to help launch a fundraising campaign and accelerate precision oncology research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. In recognition of the gift, an 80-unit building that offers affordable short-term lodging to patients is being renamed the Behnke Family House. Read More

Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa UI Health Care is the first medical center in North America—and the second in the world—to cross over into the next phase of MR-Linac technology, offering even more precise real-time targeting of soft tissue tumors with radiation therapy. Read More

UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) met its $30 million fundraising goal for the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s campaign to achieve National Cancer Institute designation. The fundraising milestone was achieved with a $5 million gift from the Chris Fowler family. In total, 8,700 philanthropic gifts have been received from Arkansans and donors across the U.S. to support this campaign. Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center More than 134,000 cancer cases went undiagnosed in the U.S. during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new UK Markey Cancer Center study. The report provides the first estimates of missed cancer diagnoses in 2020 using nationwide surveillance data. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Scientists at UC San Francisco and Northwestern Medicine, who are studying mutations in malignant T cells that cause lymphoma, have zeroed in on one that imparted exceptional potency to engineered T cells, which was able to kill solid tumors derived from skin, lung, and stomach tissues in mice. Read More

Association of American Cancer Institutes AACI invites you to promote your cancer center or business by purchasing an ad in the AACI Update. Your newsletter ad may highlight a conference or a new initiative. Supporters may include links to their website and any upcoming events. Ads can be purchased monthly or in one of several packages. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute The OSUCCC – James, in collaboration with Nationwide Children’s Hospital, recently celebrated the opening of a $100 million, 55,000-square-foot Proton Therapy Center, the first treatment facility in central Ohio to offer this highly targeted radiation therapy for treating complex tumors. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center A new study led by a University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions researcher finds that people with chronic inflammation living in poverty have more than double the risk of dying from heart disease and nearly triple the risk of dying from cancer within the next 15 years. The findings are based on data representing 95 million Americans ages 40 and over. Read More

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine In a new study, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions report the development of a kinase inhibitor pulldown assay (KiP) that can optimally enrich and quantify the small amounts of kinases present in biopsy samples in combination with mass-spectrometry techniques. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute Digital pathology has both sped up and increased the accuracy of cancer diagnosis over the past 10 years, and now artificial intelligence (AI) could improve these tools even more. Most people think of AI as someone teaching a computer to recognize and respond to perform a specific task automatically (known as "supervised learning"); "unsupervised learning" involves teaching the com…

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health Researchers at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health (SKCC) are working to better understand neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), a particularly aggressive form of the disease that arises after the initial treatment of prostate cancer. The team was led by Lucia R. Languino, PhD, professor of cancer biology, director of the Genetics, Genomics, and Cancer Biology PhD program at Thomas Jefferson University, and member of SKCC’s Tra…

UK Markey Cancer Center About 15 to 20 percent of women will develop an ovarian cyst during their lifetime. They are usually non-cancerous and about 85 percent resolve within five years. Recent UK Markey Cancer Center research reveals patient characteristics associated with cysts that resolve on their own and suggests that the time it takes can vary depending on several variables. The findings, published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, provide valuable guidance for doctors regarding how …

LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center A research team from LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center has been awarded more than $1.5 million to eliminate barriers from cervical cancer prevention. The five-year program combines a $1.2 million grant from the American Cancer Society and an investment of $75,000 a year for five years from LSU Health New Orleans. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Care for patients with human papillomavirus-related squamous cell cancers of the oropharynx is shifting toward community cancer centers, but patients treated in this setting may be less likely to survive, according to new research by investigators from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Head and Neck Cancer Center. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Stanford Cancer Institute members Jennifer Caswell-Jin, MD, Sylvia Plevritis, PhD, and Allison Kurian, MD, MSc, are senior authors on an analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finding that treatment of metastatic disease is responsible for nearly one-third of the decrease in annual deaths from breast cancer from 1975 to 2019. Read More

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified a genetic mechanism that can make small cell lung cancer tumors vulnerable to attack by the immune system. The discovery could be used to develop drugs that would make immunotherapy effective in small cell lung cancer for the first time. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center In the latest development in precision medicine approaches to treating pediatric leukemia, UF Health researchers have developed a genetic score to predict patient outcomes with a promising targeted drug treatment. Read More

UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently received two awards totaling $2.23 million for the continuing examination of therapies to treat multiple myeloma. The projects are funded by a $1.73 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) U54 grant and a $500,000 Myeloma Solutions Fund award. Baylor College of Medicine and Duke University are collaborating on the NIH grant. The Myeloma Solutions Fund award inc…

The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai Researchers have identified an allergy pathway that, when blocked, unleashes antitumor immunity in mouse models of non-small cell lung cancer. And in an early parallel study in humans, combining immunotherapy with dupilumab—an Interleukin-4 (IL-4) receptor-blocking antibody widely used for treating allergies and asthma—boosted patients' immune systems, with one out of the six experiencing significant tumor reduction. Read More

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center According to preclinical research, scientists have discovered that a type of immune cell in the human body known to be important for allergy and other immune responses can also attack cancer. Furthermore, these cells, called human type 2 innate lymphoid cells, can be expanded outside of the body and applied in larger numbers to overpower a tumor’s defenses and eliminate malignant cells in mouse models with cancer. Read More

University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center The UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center completed the first allogeneic stem cell transplant in the state. The team also recently completed a haploidentical transplant. Such transplants make treatment possible for many New Mexican patients, who may not find matched donors in the registries of unrelated donors. Matthew Fero, MD, leads the stem cell transplantation team. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Stanford Cancer Institute member Michelle Monje, MD, PhD, is the lead author on a study finding that the maximum tolerated dose of panobinostat in children is 10 mg/m2/dose 3 times a week for 3 weeks on/3 weeks off in children with progressive DIPG/DMG and 22 mg/m2/dose administered 3 times per week for 1 week on/1 week off when administered in a similar population preprogression. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have identified a mechanism that causes severe gastrointestinal problems with immune-based cancer treatment. They also found a way to deliver immunotherapy’s cancer-killing impact without the unwelcome side effect. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center A UCSF-led clinical trial shows improved benefit of combination drug therapy without worse side effects. Combining testosterone-blocking drugs in patients with prostate cancer relapse prevents the spread of cancer better than treatment with a single drug, a multi-institution, Phase III clinical trial has found. Read More

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University Results of the IDEA clinical trial suggest that omitting radiation may be safe in certain postmenopausal patients aged 50-69 years with stage I hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer. The five-year follow-up of the IDEA clinical trial, presented at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and simultaneously published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, reveals that almost all patients who opted out of adjuvant radiotherapy after bre…

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center A new study led by researchers from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that using high doses of radiation while integrating an ablative radiotherapy technique called stereotactic ablative radiotherapy concurrently with chemotherapy is safe and effective in treating people with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer that is not suitable for surgery. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Soy compounds called isoflavones are among the plant-derived compounds that may significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence or death, according to a new meta-analysis co-directed by investigators from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Read More

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center While the risks of drug use, smoking, and drinking during pregnancy are widely accepted, a new survey of parents has identified clear associations between certain types of childhood cancers and gestational substance use, notably cannabis. The study, which appears in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, was led by Duke Cancer Institute member Kyle Walsh, PhD, associate professor in the departments of Neurosurger…

Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University Karmanos Cancer Institute has announced that it will be the first provider in the country to offer patients the new FDA-approved TheraBionic P1 device for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The TheraBionic P1 emits low levels of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields that block the growth of tumor cells without affecting healthy tissue. Read More

American Society of Clinical Oncology A new call-to-action published in the journal Cancer details practical steps for the oncology research and clinical care communities to expand access to clinical trials and enable patients to participate closer to their homes. The paper, authored by members of an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Task Force, illuminates the importance of enabling patients to receive trial related testing and care near their homes, rather than requiring pat…

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society Leadership in Oncology Navigation (ACS LION) is a standardized training and credentialing program that helps patient navigators deliver essential nonclinical support to individuals, caregivers, and families facing cancer. The goal of the program is to help build a standardized professional knowledge base and positively impact oncology patients by expanding access to high-quality navigation programs and services. Standardized training wi…

Association of American Cancer Institutes AACI and the Catchment Area Research Data Science (CARDS) listserv community announce a series of webinars dedicated to discussions around cancer center data collection, analysis, and utilization. The CARDS listserv and webinars are aimed at individuals at AACI cancer centers working in community outreach, biostatistics, and cancer informatics. The first CARDS webinar, "Unveiling Insights: Using Data to Guide Catchment Area Strategy," will be hel…

WVU Cancer Institute The WVU Cancer Institute continues to work toward National Cancer Institute designation as it begins making investments in cancer care and research utilizing the $50 million commitment from the State of West Virginia announced last summer. Two new School of Medicine departments—the Department of Hematology and Oncology and the Department of Cancer Prevention and Control—will have a unique mission and focus that leaders say will set WVU apart from peer institutions. …

AACI invites you to promote your cancer center or business by purchasing an ad in the AACI Update. Your newsletter ad may highlight a conference or a new initiative. Supporters may include links to their website and any upcoming events. Ads can be purchased monthly or in several packages. Read More

The Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act (H.R. 4189/S.2016) was initially introduced in 2016. Reintroduced in 2023, the comprehensive, bicameral, and widely supported bill aims to expand the telehealth services covered by Medicare and to maintain and bolster the progress made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Vanderbilt researchers led a clinical trial combining atezolizumab, an immunotherapy, in combination with chemotherapy in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer to both evaluate the efficacy of the treatment combination and to understand biomarkers of response to immunotherapy. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center A single infusion of the CAR T cell therapy ciltacabtagene autoleucel produced deep, durable responses in multiple myeloma patients whose disease had progressed less than a year after autologous stem cell transplant or who experienced relapse after receiving up to three lines of initial therapy, as seen in the latest follow-up data for two cohorts of participants in the Phase II clinical trial CARTITUDE-2. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Ash Alizadeh, MD, PhD, and Maximilian Diehn, MD, PhD, are senior authors on a study finding that circulating tumor DNA can identify which Hodgkin lymphoma patients are responding well to treatment and which are likely to have a disease recurrence. It also revealed that Hodgkin lymphoma can be divided into two groups with different genetic changes and prognoses. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center For many in rural North Central Florida, access to mammography services is limited. But now, with a $1.5-million grant from University of Florida President Ben Sasse’s strategic funding initiative, the UF Health Cancer Center will launch an initiative called Expanding Access to Breast Cancer Screening in North Central Florida. Jonathan D. Licht, MD, is director of the center. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Using a liquid biopsy to study genetic material from tumors shed into the bloodstream together with immune cells could help clinicians predict which patients with advanced lung cancers are responding to immunotherapies and which patients may develop immune-related side effects, according to research by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and …

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center In a recently published study, a UCSF research team investigated the impact of pre- and post-natal exposures to tobacco smoke on the survival rate of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). They found that paternal preconception smoking decreased 5-year survival in children with AML. Read More

Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center New research finds patients treated with first-line immunotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer showed similar results in terms of survival, progression-free survival, and treatment duration, regardless of race or ethnicity, even with differences in income and insurance. Read More

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Cedars-Sinai investigators have discovered how the liver defends itself against cancer. Their study suggests targets for therapies to protect the liver both from cancers that originate there and cancers that spread to the liver from other parts of the body. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute New evidence shows that artificial intelligence (AI) could help identify two rare blood cancers known as prefibrotic primary myelofibrosis and essential thrombocythemia. Distinguishing between these two blood cancers is difficult but critical to help guide treatment and enroll patients to clinical trials. Read More

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah discovered that the level of blood and immune cells in mouse model offspring would fluctuate based on the amount of folic acid consumed by their mothers during pregnancy. Read More

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Cedars-Sinai Cancer is part of an unconventional consortium dedicated to fighting cancer through the integration of diverse scientific disciplines. The effort, known as the Convergent Science Cancer Consortium, is funded through a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. Read More

Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center More students than ever will be able to participate in meaningful cancer-focused research experiences through summer programs at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, thanks to two new five-year grants from the National Cancer Institute totaling more than $3.3 million. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Replacing brentuximab vedotin with nivolumab in first-line treatment combined with the chemotherapy regimen AVD improved progression-free survival in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed, advanced-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma, report the authors of a Phase III clinical trial sponsored by SWOG Cancer Research Network. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center With a new $3.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, a team of Rogel Cancer Center researchers will develop new tools to detect changes in precancerous lesions that are likely to become oral cancers. Read More

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine’s Culinary Stars Shine for Cancer Research event raised $6.2 million to support cancer research at Baylor's Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. The event featured offerings of Houston’s rich and vibrant cuisines prepared by chefs who have conquered “Top Chef” and won James Beard and Michelin awards. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center By mapping the cellular and molecular geography of colorectal cancer, Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers collaboratively have discovered why most colorectal tumors escape detection and destruction by the body’s immune system. Read More

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that country of birth—not just geographic region—is a key risk factor for gastric intestinal metaplasia, a precursor of stomach cancer. Read More

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Five Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium researchers have received additional funding from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to continue ongoing studies. The physician-scientists funded for another year include Nancy E. Davidson, MD; Chris Li, MD, PhD; Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD; Nora Disis, MD; and Mary-Claire King, PhD. Read More

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center The Duke University School of Medicine Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences recently launched Project CHECKERS (Community Head and NEck Cancer Knowledge, Engagement, Research and Screening), a Duke Cancer Institute-funded pilot project to bring head and neck cancer resources and education to the community. Read More

The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai The Mount Sinai Health System has received a $7 million grant from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation for a three-year project that aims to fast-track novel translational concepts to improve outcomes for people with high risk myeloma, the second most common blood cancer in the United States. Read More

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center Duke University School of Medicine and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a new strategy to protect bones during cancer treatment using a unique drug delivery system with tiny carriers. Researchers shielded bone-forming cells in mice after radiation by targeting a specific protein with a recently approved medication. Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Researchers from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have received two grants totaling $9.1 million from the National Cancer Institute to advance liquid biopsy technologies for the early detection of cancer. Read More

Wilmot Cancer Institute, UR Medicine Researchers have made a breakthrough by learning about the genetic changes that occur during tumor migration – and have also found a drug that can obstruct the process. The next step is a groundbreaking clinical trial, planned for early in 2024, to test the drug on pancreatic cancer that has spread to the liver. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Michael Longaker, MD, is the senior author on a study finding that scar tissue that forms around a growing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma can indicate how long a patient is likely to live. Read More

The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center In ovarian cancer, fat cells adjacent to cancer cells reprogram the glucose metabolic pathway through hypoxia-inducible factor 1α to promote metastasis, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center set out to understand how abdominal cancers spread and how cancer cells rely on/deploy energy sources like sugar and fat to survive. Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Among the nation’s hospitals, those that serve high numbers of Black and Hispanic patients are far less likely to have advanced medical equipment and critical services that have been shown to boost the quality and effectiveness of cancer care, according to a study led by investigators at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center UC San Francisco researchers have analyzed data from over five million screening and diagnostic mammograms to develop an updated BCSC model for invasive breast cancer to include additional risk factors including body mass index, second degree relatives with a family history of breast cancer, and age at first live birth to improve model prediction. Read More

Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Scientists at St. Jude have validated a cellular immunotherapy target called 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) in proof-of-principle experiments. The group also discovered a resistance mechanism whereby some tumors trick the cancer-killing immune cells into expressing GRP78, thereby turning off the immune cells or causing them to be killed, too. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute Oral nicotine pouches, a tobacco leaf-free product marketed as an alternative to cigarettes, do little to curb current smokers’ nicotine cravings, according to a new study. Read More

Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center Huda Salman, MD, PhD, has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to evaluate a new treatment for an extremely rare and incurable blood cancer. Read More

UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center New research led by a UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center clinical scientist shows blood tests used to hunt for cancer DNA may help detect cancers faster and guide the use of targeted therapies. Read More

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center A globe-spanning scientific team has compiled the most comprehensive list of genetic variants associated with prostate cancer risk—451 in all—through a whole-genome analysis that ranks as the largest and most diverse investigation into prostate cancer genetics yet. Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center UK Markey Cancer Center researcher Yasminka A. Jakubek, PhD, has led the first large-scale effort to understand the co-occurrence of mosaic chromosomal alterations among individuals of diverse ancestries. Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center With a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, a UK Markey Cancer Center researcher is working to develop new techniques for radiation treatment to improve survival rates of patients with a specific type of cancer. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center A new paper describes the discovery of two new enzymes, ones with uniquely useful properties that could help in the fight against human diseases including cancer. The research offers potentially easier ways to study and manufacture complex natural chemicals, including those that could become medicines. Read More

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University The new Georgia Blood Cancer Trials Network will make innovative, investigational therapies and treatments more accessible to Georgia patients with blood cancer who reside outside of metropolitan Atlanta. The network is supported by an approximately $2 million grant from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Read More

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center In the United States, liver cancer rates have more than tripled since 1980. Some groups, including Latinos, face an even higher risk than the general population. A study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, funded by the National Cancer Institute, has found that among Mexican Americans, liver cancer risk rises the longer a person’s family has lived in the U.S. That increased risk primarily affected men. Read More

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center A Duke Health analysis of breast cancer in North Carolina showed that the state’s urban counties had higher overall incidences of disease than rural counties, especially at early stages upon diagnosis. The findings serve as a national template for assessing the impact of poor environmental quality across different stages of breast cancer. Read More

Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center Two researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center have received a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to explore new therapies that target the critical pathways pancreatic tumors use to survive. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute A new targeted drug, studied by researchers at OSUCCC - James, may offer a new treatment option for patients with blood cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, whose disease has stopped responding to standard treatments. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Findings from researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center show how a specific nucleotide metabolite, called GTP, controls responses to radiation and chemotherapy in an unexpected way. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University A new pathologic scoring system that accurately assesses how much lung tumor is left after a patient receives presurgical cancer treatments can be used to predict survival, according to investigators at the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Mark Foundation Center for Advanced Genomics and Imaging at the Johns Hopkins University. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Researchers at UC San Francisco and Northwestern Medicine, in collaboration with 10 other medical centers, have found a highly accurate way to predict the best treatment for patients based on patterns of gene expression in their tumors. Screening tumors using this new approach could change the course of treatment for nearly 1 in 3 people with meningioma. Read More

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Reducing health disparities in incidence and mortality for major types of cancers can be aided by sophisticated computer modeling efforts, according to new, wide-ranging perspectives from researchers at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and colleagues around the country. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Stanford Cancer Institute researchers have found that national guidelines for lung cancer screening are less effective for African Americans than for whites, and a risk-based analysis is more equitable and effective. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center A Phase I clinical trial conducted exclusively at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that a novel treatment regimen can make immunotherapy more effective in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Read More

Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center Researchers at Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center were recently awarded a four-year, $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct an innovative Phase I clinical trial of a new drug for patients with relapsed and treatment-resistant forms of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Investigators from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model based on epigenetic factors that is able to predict patient outcomes successfully across multiple cancer types. Read More

The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center Trans-vaccenic acid, a long-chain fatty acid found in meat and dairy products from grazing animals such as cows and sheep, improves the ability of CD8+ T cells to infiltrate tumors and kill cancer cells, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Chicago. Read More

Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and Columbia University received a five-year, $10.6 million U54 center grant from the National Cancer Institute to further study combining the molecular analysis of glioblastoma with MRI. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Experts at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have found a potential solution for preventing a common and dangerous complication in patients that receive stem cell transplants from a donor’s blood or bone marrow. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health Jefferson Health is joining the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), alongside 12 other community health care systems, to share data to improve the veteran experience regardless of where veterans receive their health care – inside or outside of the VA. Read More

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Temple University/Fox Chase Cancer Center and Hunter College of the City University of New York have received a five-year, $13.3 million competitive grant renewal from the National Cancer Institute to address cancer health disparities. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Three National Cancer Institute grants totaling $13.5 million will support the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center team leading a multi-institutional effort aimed at improving the potential of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Working with the University of Rochester’s Wilmot Cancer Institute and Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, Roswell Park will expand on work to understand differences in how cancer patients of differe…

LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center Governor John Bel Edwards has announced a new statewide collaboration among LSU, LCMC Health, Louisiana Cancer Research Center, and Tulane University to accelerate the attainment of the first National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center in Louisiana. Read More

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center When Reiko Horst was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, she knew next to nothing about the disease. To help determine the best treatment plan, her medical oncologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center recommended doing a test called Oncotype DX to help predict Horst’s risk of the cancer returning and the benefit of chemotherapy. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center A new paper reports findings of a multi-center retrospective study that compares bone scan with PSMA PET for initial staging of prostate cancer, noting overstaging for metastasis—when local disease is a more accurate diagnosis—may subject patients to treatments that increase therapy-related morbidity. Read More

Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center The Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center was awarded a prestigious grant to train the next generation of cancer drug discovery and development researchers. The five-year National Cancer Institute award will establish the Pediatric and Adult Translational Cancer Drug Discovery and Development Training Program. Read More

UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute The Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation has pledged $1 million to the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. The funds will support the cancer institute’s new Radiation Oncology Center, which opened in July. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center As part of its continued development as a National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center, the University of Florida Health Cancer Center has expanded its research programs, including leveraging technology such as robot-assisted drug discovery to complement pharmacogenomics research at UF. Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center UCLA researchers have developed a new treatment method using a tiny nanocapsule to help boost the immune response, making it easier for the immune system to fight and kill solid tumors. Investigators found the approach increased the number and activity of immune cells that attack the cancer, making cancer immunotherapies work better. Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center With the creation of Cancer InFocus, UK Markey Cancer Center’s Community Impact Office introduced a new tool monitoring the geographic burden of cancer. Launched in 2022, this resource combines powerful data collection software with an interactive online application to accelerate gaining insight from data in the fight against cancer. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Using laboratory-grown cells from humans and genetically engineered mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have evidence that modifying a specific protein in immune white blood cells known as CD8+ T cells can make the cells more robust, potentially opening the door for better use of people’s own immune system T cells to fight cancer. Read More

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have identified a small molecule named 5D4 that can suppress the growth of breast and ovarian cancers in animal models. 5D4 works by binding to TopBP1 protein in cancer cells, disrupting its interactions with several pathways that promote cancer growth. Read More

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center Scientists with City of Hope and the Translational Genomics Research Institute, part of City of Hope, may have discovered one of the causes for a type of leukemia to develop into a more aggressive form, according to a recent paper. Researchers analyzed the RNA of chronic myeloid leukemia cells and found that miR-142, an RNA molecule that regulates cell metabolism, was missing. Read More

The University of Kansas Cancer Center Translational research bridges the gap between basic research and its real-world application in clinical settings. The process involves interdisciplinary collaboration, substantial funding and often, years of effort. To grow and train future clinical and translational scientists, The University of Kansas Cancer Center has received a $2.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute. Read More

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah The National Cancer Institute awarded investigators at Huntsman Cancer Institute a grant totaling more than $3 million to conduct a clinical trial to see if combining creatine monohydrate supplementation and resistance exercise training helps preserve muscle in people who have metastatic prostate cancer. Read More

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators have found that Black men respond as well as white men to systemic therapies for advanced prostate cancer when access to quality health care is equal, regardless of socioeconomic status. Read More

Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Using data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study, scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have identified a genetic explanation for why a small proportion of survivors are more likely to develop second cancers and why they may be more severe or deadly. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center A multidisciplinary team of investigators that will probe the connection between obesity and cancer has received a 2023 Endeavor Award from The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. The three-year, $3 million award will support four closely linked projects exploring the fundamental mechanisms that drive the obesity-cancer connection, taking advantage of a collection of matched tumor and adipose tissue samples from patients. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center An advanced, high-speed blood cancer test developed at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has been licensed for commercial development by Agilent Technologies Inc. PanHeme, an assay used to support the clinical care of patients with blood cancers, can identify mutations in hundreds of genes in under 72 hours. Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center A team of UF Health Cancer Center researchers has discovered how modifications to a specific type of RNA play a crucial role in lung cancer. By modifying the RNA in laboratory cells, the researchers were able to inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells. Read More

University of Illinois Cancer Center The University of Illinois Chicago will be the first site in the state to participate in a national study of a clinical test that screens for a shared cancer signal in a sample of patient blood. The University of Illinois Cancer Center and the UI Health Mile Square Health Center will enroll patients in the PATHFINDER 2 trial led by the biotechnology company GRAIL. Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center A team of investigators from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCLA School of Dentistry received a five-year $4.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop and improve liquid biopsy technologies for the early detection of lung cancer. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health The Philadelphia Communities Conquering Cancer (PC3) coalition consists of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health; Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania; and Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health. A conference held this summer brought together key stakeholders to create a city-wide research roadmap for the three cancer centers to tackle cancer disparities in Philadelphia. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute Two five-year grants totaling more than $6 million from the National Cancer Institute will help The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute researchers and colleagues at other institutions better understand acute myeloid leukemia genetics and the role of inflammation in regulating immune response t…

Moffitt Cancer Center The Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy at Moffitt Cancer Center has received a $10.4 million grant to study the eco-evolutionary dynamics responsible for non-small cell lung cancer growth and treatment resistance. The five-year Cancer Systems Biology Consortium Research Center grant will support two multitier research projects, two research support cores, and an innovative outreach core. Read More

Siteman Cancer Center The National Cancer Institute has awarded Washington University researchers at Siteman Cancer Center a $10.9 million Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant. The five-year grant will fund the development of new therapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the deadliest form of pancreatic cancer. Read More

University of Hawai'i Cancer Center, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa A $10.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will help establish the UH Pacific Center for Genome Research. It's part of a nationwide effort to advance diversity in genomics research through innovative, state-of-the-art studies to ultimately improve diagnosis and treatment for minority ethnic groups that have long experienced health disparities. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of sound waves to break down tumors—a technique called histotripsy—in humans for liver treatment. Pioneered at the University of Michigan, histotripsy offers a promising alternative to cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, which often have significant side effects. Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center The University of Kentucky will host a new research center, the Appalachian Tobacco Regulatory Science Team, focused on tobacco regulations and funded with a $19 million grant. As part of an interagency partnership, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration award Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science grants that support studies across topics like toxicity, addiction, health effects, and marketing. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center With a renewed Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant, the UC San Francisco Brain Tumor Center is receiving $12 million over five years to translate scientific findings into improved care for people with brain tumors. The award marks the fifth cycle of continuous support for the UCSF Brain Tumor SPORE program since the National Cancer Institute (NCI) first established brain tumor SPOREs in 2002. Read More

Siteman Cancer Center Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Barnes-Jewish Hospital have established a comprehensive Head & Neck Tumor Center at Siteman Cancer Center. Among the first of its kind in the country, the center emphasizes individualized, patient-centered care with complementary research programs. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute The Ohio State University has been awarded a $20 million Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The grant is a collaboration of experts from the colleges of medicine, public health, and law organized and implemented through the Center for Tobacco Research at OSUCCC James. Read More

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center will be the national coordinating center for a new epidemiological cohort study among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Fred Hutch was awarded a seven-year, $38.7 million National Institutes of Health grant to coordinate the effort to gather health information on these populations, which are underrepresented in biomedical research. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center A free online tool could save some prostate cancer patients more than $9,000 in out-of-pocket drug costs. Researchers from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center found that the Medicare Part D Plan Finder, funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, can identify significant savings for patients taking abiraterone or enzalutamide for advanced prostate cancer. Read More

The University of Arizona Cancer Center Researchers at the University of Arizona Cancer Center discovered a new class of iron-targeting compounds that hamper the proliferation of malignant cells. The discovery could lead to the development broad-spectrum, anticancer drugs that target iron metabolism. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center New research reveals an alarming lack of access for non-English speakers who called hospitals across the United States looking for information on cancer care. University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center researchers simulated patient calls to hospital general information lines, speaking English, Spanish, and Mandarin. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center A molecular signature that predicts aggressive thyroid cancer could help guide treatment approaches for patients, according to a new study. Teams from three medical centers studied samples from a large group of patients with thyroid cancer to better understand thyroid cancer progression and to identify biomarkers for aggressive disease. Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center A study led by researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center sheds new light on why tumors that have spread to the brain from other parts of the body respond to immunotherapy while glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer that originates in the brain, does not. Read More

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute A five-year $3.04 million grant from the National Cancer Institute will help researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – The James study the effectiveness of a new triple-target cellular therapy they have developed to more effectively treat patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant B-cell malignancies. Read More

Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina In a recently published paper, researchers showed that encoding the CAR T cells with instructions to create a hyperactive form of protein STAT5 prompted the CAR T cells to engraft, or take root and begin multiplying, without requiring lymphodepletion. Read More

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center An international research team led by scientists in the Center for Genetic Epidemiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has singled out mutations in 11 genes that are associated with aggressive forms of prostate cancer. Read More

WVU Cancer Institute Head and neck surgeons with WVU Medicine Otolaryngology and the WVU Cancer Institute have performed WVU Medicine’s first jaw reconstruction using a bone-containing thigh free flap to treat a patient with an aggressive form of oral cancer. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center In a sign that exposure to certain endocrine-disrupting chemicals may be playing a role in cancers of the breast, ovary, skin, and uterus, researchers have found that people who developed those cancers have significantly higher levels of these chemicals in their bodies. Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center An interdepartmental group of researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center received a grant from the National Cancer Institute's SPORE, or Specialized Program of Research Excellence, to further research on radiosensitization. Read More

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a new compound called d16 that can reduce tumor growth and overcome therapeutic resistance in mutant p53-bearing cancers in the lab. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Initial results from an in-progress Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center clinical trial offer important insights into hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative (HR+/HER2−) metastatic breast cancer and patient response to CDK4/6 inhibitors. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center As cells grow and divide, their DNA needs to be accurately replicated and properly segregated to new cells. Errors during replication or segregation can alter the genome and promote cancer. Now, researchers have identified the mechanism by which the enzyme and tumor suppressor SETD2 prevents the propagation of these errors, thus safeguarding the integrity of the genome. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute The Stanford Cancer Institute is establishing the Stanford Advanced Melanoma Program. This effort involves assembling a team of experts, addressing the shortage of clinical trials, unlocking the power of immunotherapy, and launching a dedicated advanced melanoma lab. Read More

The University of Kansas Cancer Center A new $11.5 million five-year federal grant will support researchers’ efforts to apply implementation science to ensure everyone benefits from the latest research advances. Implementation science aims to address the gap between what is known to be effective and what is actually done in the clinic. Read More

The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai The National Cancer Institute has awarded the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai a $3.4 million grant to create a model that identifies the best prostate cancer treatment for people with HIV. Read More

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University How microbiota impact cancer development and therapy has become an expansive area of research. Although a few associations have garnered support from the scientific community, studies describing microbiota’s disease-causing and therapeutic contributions with many cancers are still very much in the early stages. Read More

Siteman Cancer Center The National Cancer Institute has awarded Washington University researchers at Siteman Cancer Center a $11.6 million Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant. The five-year grant will fund research programs at Washington University, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center UCSF Health has performed 150 robotic focal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedures for patients living with prostate cancer, becoming the first on the West Coast and the first UC Health System to reach that milestone. The HIFU technology uses ultrasound waves to destroy cancerous prostate tissue. Read More

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University A three-year, $24.8 million cooperative agreement from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health will drive the development of a programmable approach to prevent, treat and potentially cure diseases including cancer. The funding supports work led by Winship member Philip Santangelo, PhD. Read More

Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will provide more than $50 million in funding to launch and implement six new groundbreaking projects. The initiatives were identified through the organization’s Blue-Sky program, which encourages the development of bold, transformational ideas by faculty and staff. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center has seven new research program leaders. Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, Eric Grogan, MD, MPH, and Daniel Barocas, MD, MPH, lead the Cancer Health Outcomes and Control Research Programs; Martha Shrubsole, PhD, co-leads the Cancer Epidemiology Research Program; Vandana Abramson co-leads the Breast Cancer Research Program; and Eben Rosenthal, MD, and Kristen Ciombor, MD, MSCI, lead the Translational Research and Interventional Oncology …

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University A new center at Winship Cancer Institute will focus research efforts on eliminating cancer disparities in Georgia and nationwide. Gifts from the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation and Southern Company are launching the Winship Center for Cancer Health Equity Research. Read More

With the end of the fiscal year approaching on September 30, Congress has not passed a Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget. To avert a shutdown, Congress must reach a bipartisan agreement to fund the government. AACI encourages you to write your Members of Congress today to urge them to pass the FY 2024 budget and to prioritize cancer research funding. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Immune system T cells that should be able to kill cancer cells become dysfunctional or "exhausted" within hours of encountering a tumor, according to a new study. The surprising findings have implications for cancer immunotherapies that aim to harness the tumor-killing power of T cells. Read More

The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers are using a new method they developed to accurately predict which patients with metastatic colorectal cancer will have a favorable treatment outcome following surgical removal of liver metastases. Read More

Comprehensive Cancer Center St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found immune and tumor cells compete over glutamine, a major nutrient in their local environment, with significant implications for anti-cancer activity. If cancer cells monopolize glutamine, they can prevent immune cells from destroying cancer. Read More

University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center The New Mexico Cancer Care Alliance has rebranded as the New Mexico Cancer Research Alliance to strengthen its focus on delivering cancer clinical trials to New Mexicans. The state's small population is spread over a large area, presenting a daunting challenge to offer clinical trials across the state. Read More