Study Unlocks New Insight about Breast Cancer Risk

A new study led by a researcher at New York Institute of Technology provides insight that could change how scientists and clinicians understand genetic predisposition to breast cancer, a condition that affects one in eight U.S. women in her lifetime.

July Research Highlights

Huntsman Cancer Institute investigators find a way to reduce infection after pancreatic surgery, discover the best treatment combination that’s cost effective for prostate cancer patients, and learn lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy have more emergency department visits. They also found a genetic mutation that makes anemia more likely after chemotherapy, and a non-invasive way to remove brain tumors.

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, Penn State College of Medicine bring international research consortium to Hershey to strengthen their fight against childhood cancer

Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine are strengthening their commitment to curing childhood cancer by bringing Dr. Giselle Saulnier Sholler, an internationally known physician-scientist, and her research consortium to Hershey.

Cancer Research Institute Awards Over $28 Million in Grants to Fuel Immunotherapy Innovations

The Cancer Research Institute awarded $28.7 million in research grants and fellowships in the 2023 fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. In total, CRI distributed 73 awards that will advance cancer immunology research at 41 institutions in 10 countries. CRI grants were awarded to support projects involving a variety of immune-based approaches as well as the development of novel technologies that may help pave the way for the next generation of immunotherapies.

Antibody Treatment Prevents Graft Versus Host Disease, a Major Bone Marrow Transplant Complication, in Advanced Preclinical Tests

An experimental antibody treatment largely prevented a bone marrow transplant complication called graft versus host disease (GVHD) in the intestines, without causing broad immune suppression, in a preclinical study led by researchers from Penn Medicine and Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and published today in Science Translational Medicine.

KU Cancer Center receives historic $100 million gift from Sunderland Foundation to support new cancer research and care facility

The University of Kansas Cancer Center has received a $100 million lead gift to build a new, state-of-the-art destination cancer center. This gift is both the largest gift ever given by the Sunderland Foundation and the largest ever received by the University of Kansas and The University of Kansas Health System.

Markey Cancer Center study reveals persistent cancer disparities in Appalachian Kentucky

A recent University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center study published in The Journal of Rural Health sheds light on Appalachian Kentucky’s alarming cancer burden, revealing striking disparities compared to non-Appalachian Kentucky and the rest of the country.Kentucky ranks first in the nation for cancer incidence and mortality rates, and Appalachian Kentucky bears the state’s greatest cancer burden, driven by disparities in health behaviors, such as smoking, and lower rates of cancer screening.

Fine-tuning 3D lab-grown mini tumors to help predict how patients respond to cancer therapies

Scientists from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new method to bioprint miniature tumor organoids that are designed to mimic the function and architecture of real tumors. The improved process allows researchers to use an advanced imaging method to study and analyze individual organoids in great detail, which can help researchers identify personalized treatments for people with rare or hard-to-treat cancers.

ASCO: HER2-targeted antibody drug conjugate shows strong anti-tumor activity and durable responses across multiple tumor types

In a new study of trastuzumab deruxtecan, a HER2-targeted antibody drug conjugate, researchers observed encouraging responses and long-lasting clinical benefit in several tumor types. These data from an interim analysis of the Phase II DESTINY-PanTumor02 study, led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, were presented today at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

ASCO: Targeted therapy for early breast cancer, progress treating recurrent glioma, PSMA PET scan advances and more

Physicians and scientists from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center will discuss the latest research and clinical trial results on combination therapies for breast cancer, a potential new treatment for patients with recurrent glioma, and advances in PSMA PET guided radiotherapy for patients with prostate cancer, among other topics, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.

American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) to host Annual Meeting in San Diego, October 1-4

Registration opens today for the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO) 65th Annual Meeting, which will be held at the San Diego Convention Center, October 1-4, 2023. Media registration is available at www.astro.org/astro2023press, and general registration is available at www.astro.org/annualmeeting.

New Computational Tool Identifies Novel Targets for Cancer Immunotherapy

Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a computational platform capable of discovering tumor antigens derived from alternative RNA splicing, expanding the pool of cancer immunotherapy targets. The tool, called “Isoform peptides from RNA splicing for Immunotherapy target Screening” (IRIS), was described in a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Computational biology superstar Sanju Sinha joins Sanford Burnham Prebys

Sanju Sinha, Ph.D., has joined Sanford Burnham Prebys as an assistant professor in the Cancer Molecular Therapeutics Program to continue his research on cancer development and drug discovery. He comes to Sanford Burnham Prebys from the Cancer Data Science Lab at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where he trained to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to discover new drugs to prevent cancer.

Markey Cancer Center study identifies new treatment target for metastatic cancer

A new University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center study reveals more about changes that happen to cancer cells when they metastasize and identifies a promising target for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.Metastasis is when cancer cells spread from the primary tumor to surrounding tissues and distant organs in the body and is the primary cause for breast cancer mortality.

IU cancer center researcher leads first in-human multiple myeloma study with 90.5 percent response rate

Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center served as the lead site for a promising first-in-human clinical trial for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma. Patients treated with higher doses of the immunotherapy called REGN5459 resulted in a 90.5 percent overall response rate.

AACR: Penn Medicine Preclinical Study Identifies New Target for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Results from a preclinical study from Penn Medicine, presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2023, verified a new target for drug-resistant ovarian cancer and provided data to support a treatment approach that is already making its way into clinical trials.

Study: Cancer database’s cases drop 14% in pandemic’s first year, indicating 200,000 ‘missing cases’

A study, based on reported cases of new cancer diagnosis to the National Cancer Database (NCDB), estimates roughly 200,000 people with cancer cases weren’t diagnosed or treated at Commission on Cancer-accredited facilities at the onset of the pandemic in 2020, around the same time that triage guidelines recommended delays in cancer-related care.

AACR 2023: Ohio State experts share new findings on immuno-oncology, ‘smart-drugs,’ obesity-related endometrial cancers and other research topics

New smart-drug treatment options for pancreatic cancer, immuno-oncology treatments and real-time immune-monitoring strategies are among the research topics to be presented by investigators at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting held April 14-19 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

Four Penn Medicine Abramson Cancer Center Researchers Receive Top AACR Awards

Four distinguished researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania will receive 2023 Scientific Achievement Awards from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), during the AACR Annual Meeting 2023.

Research uncovers alternate mechanism for producing key protein in metastatic prostate cancer

In the Nature Cancer study, researchers led by Dana-Farber’s Himisha Beltran, MD, and Martin Bakht, PhD, found that PSMA expression is lower in liver metastases than in other parts of the body, regardless of expression of the androgen receptor. They also found that some tumors that test negative for the AR do express PSMA and that some AR-positive tumors don’t – which led them to look for a control mechanism that doesn’t involve the AR. Their search revealed that the HOXB13 protein as a key regulator of PSMA.

tRNA biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis enabled by new method

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules are present in all living cells, with different types of RNA having different jobs. For example, messenger RNA is copied from DNA and carries instructions on how to make a protein. Transfer RNA (tRNA) links the mRNA sequence with its corresponding amino acid, ensuring that proteins are stitched together correctly as instructed by DNA.

Fred Hutch at AACR: New targets for cancer therapies, experts available in diversity and cancer screening tests — and Fred Hutch’s Philip Greenberg becomes AACR president

Experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center will present their latest findings on targets in RIT1-driven cancers, ROR1 CAR T-cell immunotherapy, interplay of the microbiome and genetics in colorectal cancer and more at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, to be held April 14-19 in Orlando, Florida.

Five Researchers Awarded Pilot Project Funding

Institutional Research Grants provide important financial support for new treatments and discovering valuable genetic information. This year’s grants fund the development of a new skin cancer detection and treatment device, as well as studies that analyze the relationship between cancer treatment and mental health, how cells detect and repair broken DNA, how metabolism affects cancer cells, and the possible link between leukemia, inflammation, and aging.