Focus: Cancer Center Featured Story 2

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today the authorization of MSK-IMPACT™ (which stands for integrated mutation profiling of actionable cancer targets), a high throughput, targeted-DNA-sequencing panel for somatic mutations. Created by the Department of Pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), MSK-IMPACT is a 468-gene oncopanel intended to detect gene mutations and other critical genetic aberrations in both rare and common cancers.

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Research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center finds adherence to surgical treatment guidelines has improved significantly among older Texas patients with colon cancer since 2001, while adherence to chemotherapy guidelines has remained largely unchanged. The study, published today in Cancer, identifies factors influencing adherence rates, including socioeconomic status and access to skilled physicians.

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Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women. It is a preventable disease as 80 percent of lung cancer deaths are thought to result from smoking. An expert from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey notes awareness and a tobacco-free lifestyle are key.

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A new UC San Francisco–led study challenges the dogma in oncology that most cancers are caused by one dominant “driver” mutation that can be treated in isolation with a single targeted drug.

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Ludwig Cancer Research has released the scope of its participation at this year’s Annual Meeting and Education Day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology in San Francisco, California, November 16-19.

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A Ludwig Cancer Research study led by Benoit Van den Eynde, Director of Ludwig Brussels, has identified a novel mechanism by which tumors of the aggressive skin cancer melanoma can resist cancer immunotherapy.

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Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) has named three investigators as recipients of this year’s Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research. The award recognizes promising investigators aged 45 or younger at the time of nomination for their efforts in advancing cancer research.

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Elevated levels of chronic stress hormones, such as those produced by psychological distress, may promote resistance to drugs commonly used to treat lung cancer patients with EGFR mutations, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Retrospective analysis of clinical patient data suggests that beta blocker drugs may slow or prevent the development of resistance to EGFR inhibitors.

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Elevated levels of chronic stress hormones, such as those produced by psychological distress, may promote resistance to drugs commonly used to treat lung cancer patients with EGFR mutations, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Retrospective analysis of clinical patient data suggests that beta blocker drugs may slow or prevent the development of resistance to EGFR inhibitors.

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The pancreatic cancer and immunotherapy experts at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have shown for the first time why some people with pancreatic cancer live many more years than others with the deadly disease.

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Chronic inflammation is known to drive many cancers, especially liver cancer. Researchers have long thought that’s because inflammation directly affects cancer cells, stimulating their division and protecting them from cell death. But University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have now found that chronic liver inflammation also promotes cancer by suppressing immunosurveillance — a natural defense mechanism in which it’s thought the immune system suppresses cancer development. The study is published November 8 in Nature.

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National Comprehensive Cancer Network introduces targeted regional resources created in collaboration with the African Cancer Coalition, the American Cancer Society, and the Clinton Health Access Initiative.

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Many cancers depend on glucose consumption for energy, but good pharmacological targets to stop cancers’ ability to uptake and metabolize glucose are missing. CU Cancer Center study finally identifies a way to restrict the ability of cancer to use glucose for energy.

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A study revealing a connection between circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and relapse in stage IV melanoma patients points to liquid biopsy as a potential predictor of patients at high risk for disease progression. CTCs, tumor cells shed into the bloodstream or lymphatic system, can lead to additional tumor growth and/or metastasis to distant sites. Findings from the study, led by Anthony Lucci, M.D., professor of Breast Surgical Oncology and Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Center, will be presented at the Nov. 7 annual meeting of the Western Surgical Association.

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CU Cancer Center study examines current RECIST guidelines in an effort to bring them up to speed with new complexities presented by the latest targeted therapies.

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Ludwig Cancer Research has released the scope of its participation at the 2017 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, November 8-12.

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it has approved the drug vemurafenib for the treatment of patients with BRAF V600-mutant Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD). This is the first approval of a targeted therapy based on a basket study and the first-ever drug approved for ECD, a rare blood disorder. This landmark approval came as a direct result of research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).

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The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center celebrates the five-year anniversary of its Moon Shots Program™, a collaborative effort to accelerate the development of scientific discoveries into clinical advances that save patients’ lives. Launched in the fall of 2012, the program already has yielded notable discoveries across the spectrum of cancer care, including prevention, early detection and treatment, and has inspired philanthropic support totaling more than $451 million.

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Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute have initiated a clinical trial based on a unique two-pronged strategy for arming the immune system to more effectively attack cancer cells.

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Bacteria that live in the human digestive tract can influence how cancer responds to immunotherapy, opening a new avenue for research to improve treatment, a team led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the journal Science.

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With November Lung Cancer Awareness Month, experts from Yale Cancer Center talk about lung cancer screening and why it is can save lives.

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Two University of Colorado Cancer Center studies presented this weekend at AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Meeting show that using the drug alisertib along with the drug TAK-228 is more effective against triple-negative breast cancer and solid tumors than either drug alone.

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In the fight against pancreatic cancer, a Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey expert says research is key

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Breast cancer researchers have mapped early genetic alterations in normal-looking cells at various distances from primary tumours to show how changes along the lining of mammary ducts can lead to disease.

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A number of chief physicians at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, are being honored as a ‘Jersey Choice Top Doctor’ by New Jersey Monthly magazine.

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.Mary Markiewicz, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center in the Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology and a researcher with KU Cancer Center, will receive a grant, made possible by a unique partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs, ESPN, the V Foundation For Cancer Research and The University of Kansas Health System.

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The October tip sheet from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center includes story ideas about a new take on prostate cancer screening; fruit fly obesity; nanoparticles for gene therapy; TCRs for relapsing leukemia and more. Each tip links to more detailed information and includes contact information for arranging interviews.

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For some cancer patients, the road to remission and healing can have its share of speed bumps. That’s particularly true of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who develop a secondary, or acquired, resistance to immunotherapy, which initially was effective against their tumors.

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The Association of American Cancer Institutes, the American Cancer Society, Inc., and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center For Immunization and Respiratory Diseases announced 10 award winners as part of its HPV Vaccine Is Cancer Prevention campaign.

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Deeply entrenched and mature by the time it’s found, pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest to defeat. A Dream Team assembled by Stand Up to Cancer and led by an investigator at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will test new ways to find the disease in its emerging, more vulnerable phase in people who are at high risk for developing it.

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women (except for skin cancers). One in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime with an estimated 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer in 2017. “With these sobering statistics, a very common question is ‘How can I decrease my breast cancer risk?’ There are many unavoidable risk factors for breast cancer including gender, age, family history, genetics, personal history of breast cancer, prior radiation to the chest, menstrual and pregnancy history, race/ethnicity, and certain breast changes. However, there are also several modifiable breast cancer risk factors that women can focus on to decrease their risk of breast cancer and to live a healthier life,” explains Eleonora Teplinsky, M.D., Director, Breast Medical Oncology, Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care.

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Growing NCCN registration numbers help ensure that new cancer treatment developments reach patients worldwide.

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Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington have developed a novel way to genetically engineer T cells that may be effective for treating and preventing leukemia relapse. The findings provide the basis for launching a first-in-human clinical trial of this new immunotherapy, which relies on engineered T-cell receptors, or TCRs.

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University of Colorado Cancer Center study being presented October 28 at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets: By pairing an anti-EGFR drug with a “tail” that only activates the drug when it is very near tumor cells, tarloxitinib brings the drug to tumors while keeping concentrations safe in surrounding tissues.

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Original research in JNCCN advocates for hospital emergency departments to develop systems that will reduce unnecessary hospitalizations for older patients with cancer.

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An international team of scientists, led by structural biologists at Van Andel Research Institute, has shed new light on a critical step in DNA replication, offering fresh insights into a fundamental process of life and driver of many different diseases, including cancer.

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University of Colorado Cancer Center study finds a genetic change called ALK-fusion in a patient sample of a melanoma subtype called mucosal melanoma. When researchers treated a tumor grown from this sample with the drugs crizotinib and ceritinib – both FDA approved to treat ALK-positive lung cancer – the tumor responded dramatically.

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Following a successful clinical trial involving Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for adult cancers was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today. Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, the only facility in the northeast to be part of the clinical trial, is one of a few locations certified to offer this new therapy nationwide.

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The number of newly diagnosed cancer patients who were uninsured fell by one-third in the first year of the Affordable Care Act's implementation, according to research from Indiana University. The research, published in a research letter by JAMA Oncology, also found significant gains in those covered for treatments of various cancers, among various demographic groups and stages of diagnosis.

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New NCCN Guidelines for Patients® cover the basics and beyond for patients and caregivers coping with myeloproliferative neoplasms.

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A survey of young, white women who have used indoor tanning at least once in the past year showed that more than one in five of them have signs of being addicted to the high dose of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from tanning beds. In addition, women with symptoms of depression were three times more likely to meet the criteria for having a tanning dependence.

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Some anti-cancer drugs are encapsulated to allow gradual release, spreading their effect over a longer time. For example, one formulation of the chemotherapy doxorubicin ( the FDA-approved drug Doxil®) encloses molecules of the drug in fatty nano-spheres called liposomes, which allows the drug to circulate longer in the blood.

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Tumors acquire nutrition necessary for growth and survival from the body of the patient in which they reside. Although these nutrients are predominantly provided by the circulating blood supply, the knowledge of how they are used by tumors is incomplete. Identifying tumor nutrients and how they are used may reveal novel approaches to cancer therapy. Research from investigators at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Princeton University finds that circulating lactate rather than glucose is the prominent metabolic fuel source for tumors and most normal tissues.

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Dr. Norman "Ned" Sharpless was officially sworn-in October 17 as head of the National Cancer Institute. He served on the board of directors of the Association of American Cancer Institutes and was director of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, an AACI member.

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A targeted therapy resurrected by the Moon Shots Program™ at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has produced unprecedented response rates among patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that carries a highly treatment-resistant mutation.

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V. Craig Jordan, Ph.D., professor of Breast Medical Oncology, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine for his discovery of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), a class of drugs with far-reaching impact on women’s health.

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Norwalk Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) today announced MSK Physicians at Norwalk Hospital, a new cancer care collaboration that will integrate MSK medical and radiation oncologists and care practices with the existing cancer program at Norwalk Hospital.

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Orlando, FL (October 13, 2017) – The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) announces the winners of the 2017 SCOPY Awards (Service Award for Colorectal Cancer Outreach, Prevention and Year-Round Excellence) to recognize the achievements of ACG members in their community engagement, education and awareness efforts for colorectal cancer prevention.

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To celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, The University of New Mexico Lobos and UNM Cancer Center are sponsoring the “Lobos Love Pink” Football game on Friday, October 20, 2017.