Focus: Cancer Center Featured Story 2

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To better understand brain cancer, neuro-oncologist Michael E. Salacz, MD, director of the Neuro-Oncology Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and associate professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, shares some basic information on types of brain tumors, risk factors and treatment options.

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Researchers have been awarded a $3.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate more effective ways to identify ovarian cancer earlier.

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New Human Resources and Chief People Officer named at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

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SEATTLE — May 4, 2021 — Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutch research findings and other news.If you are covering news at the upcoming American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, American Society of Clinical Oncology, or other conferences, feel free to reach out to our media team for help sourcing experts:

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Now more than ever, we are reminded that health and wellness should always be a top priority. National Women’s Health Month and Mother’s Day, both celebrated in May, are important reminders that women can take control of their health by making feasible lifestyle choices and focusing on preventive care to lower the risk of certain cancers.

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Thirty days of radiation treatments — five days a week, with Saturdays and Sundays off — are difficult for even the toughest of adults. But for a child, they’re even harder to bear. They involve fasting, waking up early, and lying in a dark room alone, without even your parents there for support. But if during treatment you can take a trip to Agrabah to hang out with Aladdin, Jasmine, and the rest of the characters in Disney’s live-action version of “Aladdin,” it makes the sessions a lot easier to bear — not to mention it makes time go by a lot faster. Thanks to a new innovation at the CU Cancer Center, patients like 5-year-old Piper Lardes are able to do just that — watch their favorite show or movie during their treatment to make the whole experience just a little easier. The technology, called Radflix, has a calming effect on parents as well.

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Thirty days of radiation treatments — five days a week, with Saturdays and Sundays off — are difficult for even the toughest of adults. But for a child, they’re even harder to bear. They involve fasting, waking up early, and lying in a dark room alone, without even your parents there for support. But if during treatment you can take a trip to Agrabah to hang out with Aladdin, Jasmine, and the rest of the characters in Disney’s live-action version of “Aladdin,” it makes the sessions a lot easier to bear — not to mention it makes time go by a lot faster. Thanks to a new innovation at the CU Cancer Center, patients like 5-year-old Piper Lardes are able to do just that — watch their favorite show or movie during their treatment to make the whole experience just a little easier. The technology, called Radflix, has a calming effect on parents as well.

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The bladder, a part of the urinary system, is a hollow organ in the pelvis with the primary function of storing and then eliminating urine that drains into it from the kidney. Cancer of the bladder develops when abnormal cells in the bladder start to grow out of control. Rutgers Cancer Institute expert explains what you need to know.

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A Phase II trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that BK virus (BKV)-specific T cells from healthy donors were safe and effective as an off-the-shelf therapy for BKV-associated hemorrhagic cystitis (BKV-HC), a painful complication common after allogeneic stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia or lymphoma. The study was published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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New resource from NCCN helps cancer patients and caregivers recognize and understand blood cell production deficiencies, to better participate in their care planning; available for free at NCCN.org/patientguidelines.

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Nearly 10 million cancer screenings in the U.S. failed to happen because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published in JAMA Oncology, a publication of the American Medical Association.

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The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today announced efforts to advance its capabilities to seamlessly connect basic science, translational and clinical research data for the benefit of patients through a technology collaboration with Syntropy and the Foundry platform.

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UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers found that targeting androgen receptors - a type of protein specific to men - may destroy cancer cells. Focusing on this male protein variant common in malignant bladder tumor cells may serve as a new avenue for treating bladder cancer in men.

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Public health officials and researchers have become increasingly concerned about the health risks posed by indoor tanning. Researchers at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey recently addressed the importance of increasing efforts to limit indoor tanning among minors in a viewpoint paper published in the April 28 2021 online edition of JAMA Dermatology.

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UC Davis researchers develop PsychLight, a sensor that could be used in discovering new treatments for mental illness, in neuroscience research and to detect drugs of abuse.

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A Ludwig Cancer Research study has identified a previously unrecognized mechanism by which cancer cells of a relatively benign subtype of pancreatic tumors methodically revert—or “de-differentiate”—to a progenitor, or immature, state of cellular development to spawn highly aggressive tumors that are capable of metastasis to the liver and lymph nodes.

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Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Deputy Director, Chief Scientific Officer, and Associate Director for Basic Research Eileen White, PhD, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). She is among 120 members elected this year in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

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The New Jersey State Cancer Registry (NJSCR), under the direction of the State Department of Health in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, has been awarded a seven-year, $9,085,109 contract (75N91021D00009) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to support core infrastructure and research activities as part of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, the most authoritative source of information on cancer incidence and survival in the United States. The funding will support ongoing cancer surveillance activities at the NJSCR, as well as support enhancements to New Jersey’s electronic reporting systems such as electronic pathology and medical claims data transmissions.

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A partnership between UC Davis and Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., chairman and CEO of Allegiant Travel Company, has led to a 20-minute COVID-19 test. The method pairs a mass spectrometer with a powerful machine-learning platform to detect SARS-CoV-2 in nasal swabs. A recent study published in Nature Scientific Reports shows the test to be 98.3% accurate for positive COVID-19 tests and 96% for negative tests.

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Concerns about fertility often influence how young women with breast cancer approach treatment decisions and are a reason for forgoing or delaying hormone-blocking therapy, a new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators shows.

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A new study, conducted by three UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers, studies young adult smoking trends three years after the start of California’s law raising the sales age of tobacco to 21.

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The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recognized two Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers as winners of ASCO's Special Awards, the Society’s highest honors. The recipients of these awards have worked to transform cancer care around the world.

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Carol Fabian, MD, FASCO, a nationally recognized medical oncologist and breast cancer researcher, has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO).

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In a new study led by Yale Cancer Center, researchers report many survivors of childhood cancers receive systemic therapies associated with cognitive effects and chronic health conditions that may impact long-term cognitive outcomes with downstream effects on education, employment, and income. The results were published online today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO).

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A new collaboration between two Western New York cancer research leaders will help oncologists learn whether Black and white cancer patients respond differently to a game-changing immunotherapy treatment, and seeks to improve the safety and effectiveness of these newer drugs in diverse populations.

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Using a widely known field of mathematics designed mainly to study how digital and other forms of information are measured, stored and shared, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have uncovered a likely key genetic culprit in the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers are presenting key studies at the 46th Annual Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Congress. The presentations focus on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, the need for diversity, equity and inclusion in oncology nursing as well as the critical role oncology nurse navigators play in a patient’s treatment plan.

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Researchers from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, recently discovered that a mitochondrial uncoupling drug is toxic against leukemic cells, revealing a potential therapeutic strategy against T-ALL.

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In a study by Yale Cancer Center, researchers report on the discovery of a new role for STimulator of INterferon Genes or STING. STING has traditionally been implicated in the immune response to DNA damage, however, in this study, the focus is on STING’s role in the tumor DNA damage response.

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In a study by Yale Cancer Center, researchers report on the discovery of a common mechanism that promotes both autoimmune diseases and blood cancers, including the blood diseases Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL).

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Two University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers have received a five-year R01 Award for $497,893 per year from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study a potential new drug treatment for salivary gland cancer. The award is part of an inter-campus collaboration between Antonio Jimeno, MD, PhD, co-leader of the Developmental Therapeutics Program, and Tin Tin Su, PhD, co-leader of the Molecular and Cellular Oncology Program.

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National Comprehensive Cancer Network announces recipients of 2021 NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Awards; projects from early-career investigators to advance research in cancer prevention, racial disparities in screening, immunotherapy, new insights in radiotherapy, and CAR T-cell therapy.

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MD Anderson and Boehringer Ingelheim have expanded their joint Virtual Research and Development Center to accelerate the development of new targeted therapies against KRAS and TRAILR2 in lung cancer.

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The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Oncology Research Program (ORP) today announced that three projects have been selected to study oral decitabine (35 mg) and cedazuridine (100 mg).

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Rutgers Cancer Institute has received a $1.3 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to support the Cancer Metabolism and Growth and Tumor Host Interactions Training Program which will provide postdoctoral candidates the highest quality training and research experience.

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International study finds 4% of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma developed asymptomatic brain metastases, which correlated to poorer outcomes.

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Ludwig Cancer Research is proud to announce on its 50th anniversary the launch of the newest Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

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Accounting for approximately four percent of all cancers nationwide according to the National Cancer Institute, head and neck cancer is the term used to describe a number of different malignant tumors that develop in or around the throat, larynx, nose, sinuses and mouth. Even though these cancers are not as prevalent as others, everyone should be aware of risk factors and symptoms.

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Novel approach paves the way for vast expansion in the number of drugs targeting osteosarcoma

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A letter published today by Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that melanoma mortality among Utahns outpaced that of the rest of the United States during the period from 1975 to 2013. Melanoma death rates have been decreasing in recent years both in Utah and the United States, a trend likely attributable to new, more effective treatments, like immunotherapy. However, melanoma remains the deadliest type of skin cancer, and the incidence of melanoma diagnoses in Utahns is higher than in any other state.

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Preclinical research identifies CREB1 as new therapeutic target downstream of frequently mutated genes

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FDA-approved selpercatinib shows clinical benefits for RET fusion-positive cancers beyond lung and thyroid cancers (Abstract CT011); Combining dabrafenib and trametinib to treat BRAF V600E-mutant high-grade (HGG) and low-grade glioma (LGG) shows significant antitumor activity; Therapeutics Discovery researchers identify key biomarker for metabolic inhibitor

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Association of American Institutes (AACI) President Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, announced today that she is resigning from Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. She will step down as AACI president and begin a new role as chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society (ACS) on June 1.

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Autophagy is a process where a cell eats itself to maintain cellular metabolism during metabolic stress.

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Research Presented Found that Copanlisib-Rituximab Combination Reduced Lymphoma Progression or Death by Nearly Half in CHRONOS-3 Trial

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A dysfunctional immune system significantly contributes to the development of cancer. Several therapeutic strategies to activate the immune system to target cancer cells have been approved to treat different types of cancer, including melanoma.

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Racial and ethnic minority groups, low income, underinsured, or uninsured individuals as well as those living in rural areas, often face greater obstacles when it comes to preventing, treating and surviving cancer.