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Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center A group of researchers led by Daniel George, MD, of Duke Cancer Institute, were recently awarded $1,609,691 from the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program to study health disparity in metastatic prostate cancer. The project is called "Race-Related Germline Genetic Variation and Response to Secondary Hormonal Therapy in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer."   Read More

AACI is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) to recognize leaders in health care who have demonstrated a strong commitment to preventing cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) through timely vaccination of 11- and 12-year-olds. Now in its third year, the HPV Vaccine Is Cancer Prevention Champion Award recognizes clinicians, practices, and health systems that go above and beyond to foster HPV vaccination among adolescent…

Stanford Cancer Institute Statisticians refer to the technique of incorporating a variety of continuously generated information—who is on the bench, who was injured in the first half of the match, who polled well in Iowa yesterday—as calculating in-game win probability, and it’s been used for decades to predict the outcome of ongoing sports matches or elections. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have taken a page from this playbook to generate more accurate pr…

O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham At first glance, Kevin, Kiala, and Keaira Perkins may seem like typical 17-, 14-, and 11-year-old children. But all three have suffered from thyroid cancer. The siblings, from Madison, Alabama, all have a rare genetic condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN2A), which occurs in roughly one in 35,000 people in the United States. It is caused by a mutation in the RET gene, which provides instruction for…

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center Larry Kwak, MD, PhD, has been appointed the deputy director of City of Hope’s Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute, and Tanya Siddiqi, MD, has been appointed director of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Program within the Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center, one of the seven disease and modality centers within the Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute.   Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center A new study by University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center researchers shows a higher mortality rate for prostate cancer among men from Appalachian Kentucky compared to men from non-Appalachian Kentucky.  Researchers used data from the Kentucky Cancer Registry to characterize the survival disparities of prostate cancer between Appalachian and non-Appalachian Kentucky. The study showed a significant difference in survival that was not related to geographic location…

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University A research team, led by a Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality expert, reports it has identified three major disease categories— vascular events, infections and cancers—that account for nearly three-fourths of all serious harms from diagnostic errors.   Read More

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center Brigid L. M. Hogan, PhD, chair emeritus of Duke’s Department of Cell Biology, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Dr. Hogan was one of the first scientists to isolate members of the Hox gene complex in mammals and highlight their role in controlling anterior-posterior patterning in embryos across evolution. Read More

O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Alabama professor Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, PhD, RD, has been selected to receive the 2018 Mary P. Huddleson Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is being honored for her article, "Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Home Vegetable Gardening Intervention Among Older Cancer Survivors Shows Feasibility, Satisfaction, and Promise in Improving Vegetable and Fruit Consumption, Reassurance …

GW Cancer Center Sun safety practices for attendees at skin cancer screening events differ from the general public, according to findings published by researchers from the George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center. Through a survey randomly administered at six locations in Washington, DC, and to attendees of a free skin cancer screening event at GW, a research team found that respondents from the screening group were significantly more likely to always wear sunscreen, always seek s…

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins researchers have studied the perspectives of both clinicians and older adults on how to communicate about stopping cancer screening. In a separate study, other Johns Hopkins researchers also show that primary care doctors and specialists are equally likely to continue to order mammograms in women with less than 10 years’ life expectancy.    Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have received more than a dozen recent grant awards totaling more than $15.4 million. These awards, from both government agencies and private funders, will fuel research in treating diseases like prostate, breast, colon, and lung cancer, as well as less-common cancers like multiple myeloma and esophageal cancer. They include the first National Institutes of Health funding to study a new electron…

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center Saul Priceman, PhD, and his research team have received a $9.28 million award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to support a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of women with HER2-positive breast cancer that has spread to the brain.   Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center A scientist at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has developed the first dedicated tool for analyzing a DNA-mapping technology known as ATAC-seq, a technique that identifies the gene "switches" responsible for cancer development and progression. Developed in collaboration with the University at Buffalo, the innovative computational method, named HMMRATAC, could vastly improve current approaches to cancer detection and treatment.   R…

VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center Oncologists at VCU Massey Cancer Center were invited to co-author an editorial providing expert commentary on findings from a large study conducted by German investigators suggesting that a modified drug combination may lead to a decreased chance of disease recurrence for women with high-risk, HER2-negative breast cancer.   Read More

Siteman Cancer Center Washington University physicians at Siteman Cancer Center have received a six-year, $7.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to play a leading role in designing, conducting and enrolling patients in clinical trials through the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network. The funding acknowledges Siteman’s continued role as a Lead Academic Participating Site in the network.   Read More

Case Comprehensive Cancer Center The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named 54 academic inventors to its Spring 2019 class of senior members, including Stan Gerson, MD, director of Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Gerson, who also directs the National Center for Regenerative Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, holds 16 U.S. patents for stem cells and drug discovery. His research focuses on the relationship between stem cells, DNA, and cancer.   Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Christina Chapman, MD, studies ways to improve equity in health care systems and the medical workforce to better meet the needs of the population. She served as a discussant on a panel on workplace inequities at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting in Chicago.   Read More

University of Virginia Cancer Center Cancer researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified a key to controlling the growth and progression of prostate cancer. The researchers have dubbed it "HULLK," a form of RNA that provides the blueprint to produce proteins. But HULLK is a "noncoding" RNA, which means that it isn’t involved in coding a protein. Instead, noncoding RNAs play important roles in regulating biological processes inside our cells.    Rea…

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health A new large population-based study from Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health shows that novel oral androgen signaling inhibitor therapies are associated with an increased risk of death in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions.   Read More

University of Florida Health Cancer Center The immune system fights off infections but, in patients with certain medical conditions, it can also become overactive and damage vital organs. Now, a group led by University of Florida Health researcher Dorina Avram, PhD, has found out how one molecular "switch" influences the immune system — a finding they say has major implications for future treatments for immune system diseases and cancer.   Read More

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Without vigilant cell repair, cancer would run rampant. Now scientists at the University of Pittsburgh have gotten a glimpse of how one protein in particular keeps DNA damage in check. According to a new study, a protein called UV-DDB—which stands for "ultraviolet-damaged DNA-binding"—is useful beyond safeguarding against the sun. Bennett Van Houten, PhD is senior author on the study.   Read More

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Fred Hutch researchers, led by Andrew Hsieh, MD, have discovered that when aggressive prostate tumors turn off the androgen receptor—their source for growth-fueling hormones—they ramp up a different growth-promoting system. When the scientists targeted this pathway in mouse models, the mice lived longer. The findings, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, could lead to more targeted treatments.   Read More

UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute Joseph Maher, MD, has been named director of the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Division of Medical Genetics and Precision Medicine. Dr. Maher also plays a crucial role on several UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute interdisciplinary teams.   Read More

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center has been selected as a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP). Established with a $5.33 million grant, Georgetown Lombardi’s "National Capital Area Minority/Underserved NCORP," or NCA-NCORP, joins a nationwide network that aims to bring cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery studies to people living in underserved areas.   Read Mo…

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Boehringer Ingelheim and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have announced a new multi-year partnership to conduct collaborative research to rapidly advance therapies for various types of cancers, including gastrointestinal and lung cancers. The establishment of a joint Virtual Research and Development Center will enable effective data sharing and analysis between the organizations.   Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered a new signal that cancers may use to evade detection and destruction by the immune system. The scientists have shown that blocking this signal in mice implanted with human cancers allows immune cells to attack the cancers. Disrupting other "don't eat me" signals has resulted in potential cancer therapies. Irving Weissman, MD, is senior author. Read More

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah A discovery by scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah could lead researchers to a more effective way to treat pancreatic cancer. Working primarily with mouse models, the researchers introduced cancer-causing mutations into normal cells. When pancreatic cancer occurs, PTF1A is always shut down. Researchers were able to prevent that and found keeping PTF1A on was enough to completely block pancreatic cancer cell…

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center A key difference between the few pancreatic cancer patients who survive longterm and the many whose disease overcomes all treatments is the bacterial signatures on their tumors that either stimulate or suppress immune response, a team led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports.   Read More

Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine Stephanie Halene, MD, PhD, has been named interim chief of hematology at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital. An associate professor of medicine, Dr. Halene joined the faculty in 2006 after completing her residency and fellowship in hematology at Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale Cancer Center. The cancer center's hematology section includes 18 faculty members focused on patient care and research.     Read More

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center Efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and some cities to limit the availability and appeal of e-cigarettes to young users could drive some existing users to smoke more tobacco cigarettes, according to new finding by Duke Health from a survey of 240 young U.S. adults who use both e-cigarettes and traditional tobacco cigarettes.   Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center A new web tool spells out for the first time the exposures that more than 6.5 million working women in California face that could increase their risk for breast cancer, including industrial solvents, antimicrobials, and phthalates. The tool, which was developed by researchers at UC San Francisco and the California Department of Public Health’s Occupational Health Branch, is part of an ongoing study focused on understanding potential br…

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, with patients surviving on average less than a year once the disease has spread. The chemotherapeutic agent abemaciclib is effective in treating breast cancer, but there is limited preclinical evaluation of this targeted therapy in treating pancreatic cancer. New research from Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health provides evidence supporting the use of abemaciclib for pancreatic …

GW Cancer Center The extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) protein is an important mechanism behind platinum-resistance in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, according to a study from a research team at the George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center. The study is the first to provide clinical evidence confirming a link between ERK and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α).   Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center A clinical trial testing a new pancreatic cancer drug had promising initial results, say University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center researchers. Investigators ran a Phase I clinical trial that looked at AZD1775, an inhibitor designed to block an enzyme called Wee1, which plays a role in repairing damaged DNA. The trial builds on almost 20 years of research at U-M focused on improving the treatment of pancreatic cancer cases that are too advanced…

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center BlueSphere Bio, an immunotherapy startup formed by UPMC Enterprises, has announced that David Apelian, MD, PhD, MBA, has been named chief executive officer. He joins clinical immunology experts and company co-founders Mark Shlomchik, MD, PhD, and Warren Shlomchik, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh, to advance the TCXpress platform to develop rapid, personalized T-cell therapies for cancer.   Read More

Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Susan Mazanec, PhD, RN, is leading a study recently granted $2.14 million from the National Cancer Institute to explore new approaches to training and preparing family caregivers of patients with cancer. Dr. Mazanec is a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center's Cancer Prevention, Control, and Population Research Program.    Read More

Siteman Cancer Center Washington University radiation oncologist Dennis E. Hallahan, MD, of Siteman Cancer Center, has been named a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Dr. Hallahan, who also heads the Department of Radiation Oncology, is being recognized for producing "technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society."   Read More

UK Markey Cancer Center A new study by University of Kentucky researchers examines breast cancer survivors’ experiences with communicating with their oncology team about employment and work issues. Study leaders conducted 24 qualitative interviews with breast cancer survivors who were working 30 hours per week or more at the time of diagnosis. More than 70 percent of respondents reported no communication or only routine communication with their providers regarding work and employment iss…

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center An international consortium that includes Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center will begin recruiting thousands of volunteers on three continents in late 2019 for a trial of a vaccine designed to protect people against multiple strains of HIV. The new trial is called Mosaico and was described as a "complementary study" to an ongoing one among women in Africa. Consortium members discussed the trial at the 10th International AIDS Society Conference …

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health A new study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center provides more evidence that colorectal cancers diagnosed in younger patients may be distinct from those diagnosed in older patients. The research team recently conducted in-depth analysis of the mutational profile of the three RAS oncogenes—KRAS, NRAS, and HRAS—genes that, when mutated, are associated with worse survival outcomes in colorectal cancer. Read More

The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center The results of a Children’s Oncology Group clinical trial show excellent survival can be maintained in patients with intermediate-risk neuroblastoma—the most common form of cancer in infants under one year old—with reduction of therapy for subsets of neuroblastoma patients. Susan Cohn, MD, was senior author of the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.   Read More

VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center While immunotherapies have revolutionized the treatment of many cancers, nearly two-thirds of patients fail to respond to them. Funded by a five-year, $2.1 million National Cancer Institute Cancer Moonshot Grant, VCU Massey Cancer Center scientists Shawn Wang, PhD, and Xianjun Fang, PhD, are combining their expertise in an effort to improve those response rates.   Read More

GW Cancer Center GW Cancer Center was selected as the first global site for a clinical trial for patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. The study, sponsored by Regeneron in collaboration with Sanofi, will compare disease-free survival of patients treated with adjuvant cemiplimab, versus those treated with placebo after surgery and radiation therapy. Vishal A. Patel, MD, FAAD, FACMS, will lead the study.   Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Alice Soragni, PhD, received a $1.8 million, five-year R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop better ways to treat and detect ovarian cancer. The grant will help Dr. Soragni and her team further investigate the role of a protein called p53, which is commonly mutated in women who have high-grade serous ovarian cancer, the deadliest form of reproductive cancer.   Read More

The Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center has achieved the highest recognition from the National Cancer Institute: Comprehensive Cancer Center, signifying research excellence. Overall, the center received an "outstanding" rating from NCI reviewers and was awarded a five-year, $13.8 million grant that supports the center’s research programs and shared facilities. That marks an increase of 43 percent from the previous five-year funding period. Patrick J. Loehrer, Sr., MD, is dire…

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University has announced that Jeffrey Bradley, MD, FASTRO, will become the new executive vice chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Bradley joins Winship from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis where he was the clinical director of the Kling Proton Center and chief of the Radiation Oncology Thoracic Cancer Service.   Read More

The 2019 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, October 20-22 in Washington, DC, will include additional meetings for AACI’s Physician Clinical Leadership Initiative (PCLI) and Government Relations (GR) Forum, as well as a CAR T Symposium. All events are included in the regular annual meeting registration. However, attendees must register online prior to the meetings or modify a previous registration. Please note: the following meetings are only open to AACI members. Annual meeting registration rates will i…

The University of Kansas Cancer Center A team of researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center have been awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study chronic inflammation of the liver, a major factor in the development of liver cancer. Lisa Zhang, PhD, is the principal investigator. Cases of liver cancer have more than tripled since 1980, and it is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.   Read More

AACI’s Clinical Research Innovation, Government Relations (GR) Forum, and Physician Clinical Leadership Initiative (PCLI) welcome new committee leaders who will provide guidance to the association in the areas of cancer center management and public policy. Theresa L. Werner, MD, John DeMuro, and Claire F. Verschraegen, MS, MD, FACP, will begin their terms during the 2019 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, October 20-22, in Washington, DC.   Read More

WVU Cancer Institute The Bonnie’s Bus Mobile Mammography Program began its screenings in 2009 through a donation from Jo and Ben Statler. The bus is named in memory of Jo Statler’s mother, Bonnie Wells Wilson, who spent her life in a remote area of the state that lacked access to mammography services. The Statlers wanted to ensure that other families would not lose family members due to a lack of mammography access.   Read More

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Fox Chase Cancer Center launched "Connected by Cancer," a new narrative podcast, on August 20, 2019. The seven-part audio documentary will be updated weekly and is available for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcasting platforms. Each episode focuses on a different aspect of life at one of the first comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, including episodes on patients, doctors, researchers, nurses, and…

Cedars-Sinai Cancer A new study demonstrates the effectiveness of using virtual reality (VR) to combat pain for hospitalized patients. The study builds on previous work led by Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, who brought VR to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. For the purposes of the new study, researchers conducted a randomized comparative-effectiveness trial. The 120 adults in the study were admitted to Cedars-Sinai for a variety of ailments including orthopedic problems, gastrointestinal disease…

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) that occurs commonly in the mouth following a stem-cell transplant, but little has been done to effectively treat it, says a team of investigators. Their review of cGVHD, in which donor cells can push the patient’s immune system (host) to attack what it recognizes as "foreign" cells (graft) in the oral cavity, presents the state of the science through an in-depth review of the scientific and clinica…

University of Virginia Cancer Center Elderly women battling breast cancer who have anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions are more likely to use opioids and more likely to die, a new study led by the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests. The findings should encourage doctors to better manage mental health in patients with breast cancer and spur care providers to consider alternative pain management such as physical therapy, massage, and acupuncture, the rese…

O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham To better understand the financial impact of cancer clinic closures and travel times on rural Americans, Gabrielle Rocque, MD, evaluated travel time to a cancer care site, known as a CCS, for Medicare beneficiaries age 65 years or older in southeastern states.   Read More

UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Robert Eoff, PhD, has received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to continue his work at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences on DNA damage, cell replication, and its implications for diseases like dementia, ALS, and cancer. Dr. Eoff’s research team studies what happens when DNA damage blocks the mechanics behind how copies of new cells are made.    Read More

The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center University of Chicago Medicine oncologist and professor Richard A. Larson, MD, will receive the 2019 Henry M. Stratton Medal from the American Society of Hematology. Dr. Larson, director of UChicago Medicine’s Hematologic Malignancies Clinical Research Program, has dedicated his career to designing groundbreaking therapeutic trials for patients with leukemia.    Read More

AACI extends a warm welcome to its newest corporate members: AbbVie, Kite, and Pfizer. Launched in 2012, the AACI Corporate Roundtable creates opportunities for open discussion around important issues between industry representatives and leaders of academic cancer centers.     Read More

O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Research led by Robert Welner, PhD, has now mapped distinct bone marrow niche populations and their differentiation paths for the bone marrow factory that starts from mesenchymal stromal cells and ends with three types of cells — fat cells, bone-making cells, and cartilage-making cells.   Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute A combination of two drugs keeps patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia disease-free and alive longer than the current standard of care, according to a Phase III clinical trial of more than 500 participants conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine and multiple other institutions. The results of the trial are likely to change how most people with the common blood cancer are treated in the future, the researchers believe.    Read More

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center Angeles Secord, MD, MHSc, has been awarded a four-year, $1 million grant funded by the 2019 Kay Yow Cancer Fund and The V Foundation For Cancer Research to support the project, "Endometrial Cancer Molecularly Targeted Therapy Consortium." The award was made in honor of NBA All-star Kevin Durant's loved one who lost a battle with cancer.    Read More

AACI's Physician Clinical Leadership Initiative (PCLI) will present a two-part webinar series on hereditary cancer programs and cancer risk assessment. The first webinar will focus on models of testing for pancreatic, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers and will be held on Wednesday, October 2 at 11:00 am ET. The second part of the series will highlight models of testing for colon and hematologic cancers and informed consent and will be held on Wednesday, November 13 at 11:00 am ET.   Read M…

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center Higher-than-normal blood sugar levels are linked to heightened DNA damage that is fixed less often, which could explain why people with diabetes have an increased risk of developing cancer, according to ongoing research led by City of Hope.   Read More

UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute Michael Stefanek, PhD, has joined the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Cancer Center and Research Institute as head of its Cancer Control, Epidemiology and Disparities Program. Dr. Stefanek comes from Augusta University where he chaired and was a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences, and full member of the Georgia Cancer Center.   Read More

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center D. Gary Gilliland, MD, PhD, president and director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, will step down in 2020. His accomplishments at Fred Hutch are numerous, say board leaders, and he leaves the Hutch in a strong position for the future. Since 2015, the center has grown and diversified its faculty, increased its already-strong federal grant funding, quadrupled its endowment, and forged new internal and external research collaborations.   Read…

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center A new five-year, $13 million grant will help scientists and clinicians at Fred Hutch improve outcomes for lung cancer patients. The Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Lung Cancer, led by McGarry Houghton, MD, will bring together experts from across the Hutch and its partner organizations to fast-track the latest breakthroughs in its labs to patients and those at risk of developing the disease. Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center UC San Francisco announced it will establish the UCSF Benioff Initiative for Prostate Cancer Research, made possible by a $35 million gift from Marc and Lynne Benioff. The new initiative will bring together scientists and physicians who seek to push the boundaries of prostate cancer research and devise new strategies to combat the disease, which remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer among men in the U.S. and the second deadliest…

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Physician-scientist Dennis Slamon, MD, PhD, has received the 2019 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for the development of Herceptin (trastuzumab), a life-saving therapy for women with HER2-positive breast cancer. He shares the award with American cancer researcher H. Michael Shepard, PhD, and German cancer researcher Axel Ullrich, PhD.   Read More

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) recently broke ground on the Kathryn F. Kirk Center for Comprehensive Cancer Care and Women’s Cancers at HCI. The eight-story building will feature a new endoscopy center; increased services for blood and marrow transplant patients; an expansion of the HCI Wellness and Integrative Health Center; and 48 new inpatient rooms.   Read More

Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center of The Wistar Institute Researchers at The Wistar Institute have described the role of mitochondrial fission factor (MFF) in controlling survival of cancer cells, suggesting the protein could represent a promising therapeutic target. They also found that expression of MFF is regulated by Myc, a ubiquitous mediator of cell proliferation that contributes to development of many cancer types. Dario C. Altieri, MD, Wistar president and CEO, was senior aut…

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Michigan’s two elite cancer programs are joining forces to find new solutions for prostate cancer. The University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute have received a $9.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The grant is through the NCI’s SPORE, or Specialized Program of Research Excellence, which funds collaborative, interdisciplinary translational cancer research.   Read More

University of Virginia Cancer Center UVA Cancer Center is part of a new five-year study seeking to reduce the disproportionately high rates of cervical cancer—and deaths from cervical cancer—in Appalachia. Supported by an $11 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, this multi-state study will involve 10 health systems serving the Central Appalachian region, along with cancer centers at The Ohio State University, University of Kentucky, and West Virginia University. The goal is …

Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center Steven R. Patierno, PhD, deputy director of Duke Cancer Institute, is the recipient of the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities. Dr. Patierno presented his lecture at the 12th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved.    Read More

Cedars-Sinai Cancer A scientific team led by Cedars-Sinai has been awarded $10 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to investigate the risk factors and behaviors that contribute to pancreatic diseases and develop potential treatments and lifestyle recommendations to prevent them. Stephen J. Pandol, MD, is the lead investigator. Read More

The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center A computational software program developed by UChicago researchers can help identify "driver genes," or those with mutations most likely to cause cancer. The program, called driverMAPS (Model-based Analysis of Positive Selection), does more than just count the number of mutations on genes. It also considers the functional importance of the mutation, or how much it affects the gene’s ability to do its job. Read More

Michael Birrer, MD, PhD, has been named vice chancellor and director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Dr. Birrer specializes in gynecologic cancers and will join the university by the end of the year. He formerly served as director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Birrer succeeds Laura Hutchins, MD, who served as interim director of the UAMS Cancer Institute since J…

UK Markey Cancer Center A new study by University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center researchers provides new insight on targeted therapy for colorectal cancer metastasis. The study focused on Neuropilin-1 (NRP1), a transmembrane protein that has been connected to the progression of cancers, particularly metastasis. The researchers identified two novel human NRP1 splice variants in colorectal cancer, both defective in N-linked glycosylation modification. Read More

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center A team from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is moving a new three-part strategy for treating advanced cancers forward with support from a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) grant. The four-year, $6.42 million Breakthrough Award through the DoD’s Breast Cancer Research Program will fund a clinical trial in patients with brain-metastatic breast cancer.   Read More

UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Denise Aberle, MD, was honored with the Joseph W. Cullen Prevention/Early Detection Award by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer for her contributions in the prevention of lung and other thoracic cancers. The award is given annually to scientists in honor of their lifetime achievement in the prevention of thoracic malignancies.   Read More

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health Fox Chase Cancer Center has announced that Denise Connolly, PhD, has won the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation’s Teal Trailblazer Award. Dr. Connolly is currently researching a subtype of ovarian cancer, high-grade serous carcinoma, in mouse models to understand why not all ovarian cancer arises in the ovary.   Read More

The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center Tara Henderson, MD, MPH, and her collaborators have found that childhood cancer survivors had only a slightly higher chance of dying from breast cancer compared to the control group. While that was good news, there was a catch. The study showed that childhood cancer survivors were five times more likely to die as a result of other diseases, including secondary cancers and heart and lung diseases.   Read More

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey In what is believed to be the largest dataset study to date examining the role of race on survival outcomes for pediatric patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, investigators at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey have found that Black patients have significantly worse overall survival at five years than White patients when accounting for all available clinical variables.   Read More

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Regular screening mammograms are unlikely to benefit women 75 and older who have chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes. New data suggest they would likely die due to other health conditions before they developed breast cancer. The finding is based on data from more than 220,000 women.   Read More

Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Stephenson Cancer Center at OU Medicine recently launched a new clinical trial testing an immunotherapy drug, Provenge, for men who are on active surveillance. The hope is that the drug—which uses the patient’s own immune cells and doesn’t cause side effects—will attack and eliminate the cancer or keep it from changing over time. Kelly Stratton, MD, is leading the trial. Read More

UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute Talal Hilal, MB, BCh, has joined the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Cancer Center and Research Institute to work with patients with blood and lymphatic cancers. He is especially interested in lymphoproliferative disorders and the latest treatments for them and will focus on clinical trials in hematologic malignancies.   Read More

Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine Roy H. Decker, MD, PhD, a professor of therapeutic radiology, has been named associate director for clinical services at Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Decker’s leadership as vice chair for clinical research, director of the Residency Training Program, director of the Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Program, and director of the Therapeutic Radiology Disease Aligned Research Team, has significantly advanced the cancer center's mission.   Read Mo…

Stanford Cancer Institute Melissa Bondy, PhD, has been appointed chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, effective October 1. Dr. Bondy, who joins Stanford from Baylor College of Medicine, also will serve in the newly created role of associate director for population sciences at the Stanford Cancer Institute.   Read More

University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center The University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center has named Evan T. Keller, DVM, PhD, associate director for shared resources. In his new role, Dr. Keller will provide strategic oversight and direction for the center’s 11 shared resources, which provide access to scientific consultation, services, and technologies that enhance scientific interaction and productivity.   Read More

Siteman Cancer Center Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received a $5 million grant to establish and endow a new center focused on advancing research and improving treatments for myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, which leaves the body unable to make enough healthy blood cells. The new Edward P. Evans Myelodysplastic Syndromes Center will be led by oncologist Matthew J. Walter, MD, a professor of medicine who treats patients with MDS and related blood disorders at…

Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Javier Jo, PhD, a University of Oklahoma researcher, is developing computer technology and a new medical device to improve early detection of oral cancer. The research involves creating a hand-held endoscope to look for precancerous and cancerous lesions of the mouth, and "training" it to recognize patterns and signatures of those lesions with more accuracy and at an earlier stage.   Read More

GW Cancer Center PTEN, a tumor suppressor gene mutated in approximately 20 percent of primary prostate cancers, and in as many as 50 percent of androgen deprivation-resistant prostate cancers, relies on another gene, ARID4B, to function. These findings, by George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center researchers, provide a potential therapeutic target for prostate cancers carrying the common PTEN mutation. Read More

Stanford Cancer Institute Irving Weissman, MD, director of Stanford's Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research, will receive the 2019 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for his pioneering work, including the discovery of a "don’t eat me" signal on the surface of many cancer cells. He will share the prize with Bert Vogelstein, MD, of Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University.   Read More

AACI will present 2019 Public Service Awards to U.S. Representatives Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Fred Upton (R-MI) on Monday, October 21, during the AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. In addition to supporting cancer centers in Florida and Michigan, respectively, Reps. Castor and Upton have championed increases in cancer research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). They were nominated by AACI members and select…

VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center Researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center have designed a comprehensive health assessment survey to better understand how patterns in social, behavioral, and environmental factors can inform improved health care practices and services for all Virginians. The project, titled "Together for Health – Virginia," is led by Bernard Fuemmeler, PhD, MPH, and Gordon D. Ginder, MD.   Read More

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health A standardized medical school exam, often used as a criterion for medical residency programs, may reduce the diversity of applicants in radiation oncology. The discovery represents a call to action for medical societies to reduce the barriers and biases in competitive medical fields.    Read More

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals have successfully treated a months-old infant with a rare childhood leukemia using a targeted therapy approved for adults with inoperable liver cancer and advanced kidney cancer. The decision to use the drug, sorafenib, was made after pathologists identified a unique mutation in the form of two genes being fused together instead of on separate chromosomes. Read More

Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine Kevin G. Billingsley, MD, has been appointed chief medical officer at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center and professor of surgery at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Billingsley starts in his new position in January 2020. He joins Yale from Oregon Health and Sciences University. Read More