Arlette Chavez was a typical 3-year-old who loved jumping on the bed, riding her bike, and playing tag, said her mother, Lesly Rivera. When this active preschooler started complaining of pain in her left arm, Ms. Rivera and her husband, Carlos Chavez, weren’t overly concerned – it was probably a minor injury, they reasoned. But when an X-ray revealed a tumor on her left humerus, the bone that runs from the shoulder to the elbow, a biopsy soon confirmed that Arlette had a rare bone and soft tissue cancer called Ewing’s sarcoma. It is diagnosed in only about 200 children and teens each year in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.
Tag: Simmons Cancer Center
Pathway tied to cancer-driving genome alterations identified
Cancer cells appear to hijack a genetic pathway involved in DNA repair to drive malignancy and overcome treatment, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows. Their findings, published in Cell, explain how chromosomes in some tumors undergo massive rearrangements and could lead to new strategies to avoid cancer drug resistance.
UTSW’s Simmons Cancer Center awarded more than $11.5 million in CPRIT funding
Eight scientists and physicians in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern have been awarded more than $11.5 million in grants from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to support the state’s fight against cancer.
Widespread disparities exist in treating advanced cancers
A study led by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center reveals significant disparities across the country in the use of immunotherapy for patients with advanced kidney and bladder cancers.
Bacterial proteins shed light on antiviral immunity
A unique collaboration between two UT Southwestern Medical Center labs – one that studies bacteria and another that studies viruses – has identified two immune proteins that appear key to fighting infections.
UTSW Research: Improved bladder cancer detection, tracking gamma waves, and more
Blue light improves bladder cancer detection across races; Gamma waves distinguish goal-oriented movements; Giving abnormal bone formation a closer look; Dissecting the HIV-1 transcriptional circuitry
Cancer cell–immune cell interactions predict immunotherapy response
By examining which genes were turned on and off in a mix of cell types from breast cancer biopsies, a team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers developed a tool that can accurately predict which patients with breast cancer will respond to immunotherapies.
Drug targeting clear cell renal cell carcinoma shows promising approach
In a groundbreaking phase one clinical trial led by UT Southwestern Medical Center, a short interfering RNA (siRNA) drug directed to tumor cells effectively disrupted HIF2α, a key driver of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Published in Clinical Cancer Research, the findings illustrate the potential of siRNA for cancer therapy.
UTSW discovers protective ‘acid wall’ formed by cancer cells
Cancer cells release a significantly more concentrated level of acid than previously known, forming an “acid wall” that could deter immune cells from attacking tumors, UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists show in a new study.
Nanoparticles developed at UTSW effectively fight tumors
A nanoparticle-based therapy developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists stimulated an immune pathway that eradicated tumors in mouse models of various cancer types. Their findings, published in Science Immunology, offer a new way to potentially harness the power of the body’s immune system against cancer.
Moncrief Cancer Institute debuts new Mobile Screening Clinic funded by Tarrant County
Moncrief Cancer Institute debuted its new Mobile Screening Clinic prior to the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting today. The $1 million, 36-foot cancer screening clinic was funded by Tarrant County through a three-year, $9 million grant awarded to Moncrief Cancer Institute in 2022. Part of the federal funding Tarrant County received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the grant enabled Moncrief to expand its comprehensive cancer screening program to more underserved residents in Tarrant County.
Match Day magic: UTSW students earn top residency spots
Future physicians persevere through pandemic to reach milestone moment
UT Southwestern collaborates with Pfizer to develop improved RNA delivery technologies
UT Southwestern Medical Center is partnering with Pfizer Inc. to develop RNA-enhanced delivery technologies for genetic medicine therapies through the Dallas-based medical center’s Program in Genetic Drug Engineering.
UTSW researcher receives NIH Director’s New Innovator Award
Ravikanth Maddipati, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and in Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern, has been awarded $1.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support research investigating positional heterogeneity in cancer, or how tumors in the same organ can behave differently based on where they form.
UT Southwestern biochemist Zhijian ‘James’ Chen to receive prestigious Horwitz Prize
Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been awarded the 2023 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize in recognition of his groundbreaking work on innate immunity.
Most pancreatic cancer patients don’t get lifesaving surgery
Only 22% of Texas patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer received standard-of-care surgery to remove their tumors, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center report in a new study. The findings, published in the Journal of Surgical Oncology, are a call to action to improve treatment in the Lone Star State for this deadly disease, the authors say.
Tips to protect your skin from the sun’s damaging rays
With the increase in outdoor activities during the summer, a UT Southwestern Medical Center cancer specialist reminds you to protect your skin from sun damage.
CRI’s Sean Morrison elected to European Molecular Biology Organization
Stem cell biologist Sean J. Morrison, Ph.D., Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and founding Director and Professor of the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI), has been elected by his peers as an associate member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
Some cervical cancer patients at higher risk for UTIs after radical hysterectomies
Women with early-stage cervical cancer had significantly higher chances of developing catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) after radical hysterectomies if they were smokers or used a catheter for more than seven days post-surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found in a study.
UT Southwestern researchers discover mechanism responsible for genome rearrangements
The goal of every dividing cell is to accurately segregate its genome into two genetically identical daughter cells. However, this process often goes awry and may be responsible for a new class of chromosomal abnormalities found in cancers and congenital disorders, UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists report in a new study. The discovery, published in Nature, sheds light on how cancer cells rapidly evolve genomic changes that fuel their proliferation.
Carlos Arteaga, M.D., named to Susan G. Komen® research scholar group
Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D., Director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and Associate Dean of Oncology Programs at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been named a research scholar for Susan G. Komen®, one of the world’s leading breast cancer organizations.
UT Southwestern, Children’s Health to lead clinical trial on pediatric cancer patients
UT Southwestern Medical Center will lead a national multicenter clinical trial to test a treatment strategy for pediatric cancer patients that has shown promising results in adults. The trial will examine the effects of combining several chemotherapy agents with an immunotherapy drug in children with solid tumors that have recurred or shown no significant response after initial treatment.
Nearly 100% of UT Southwestern medical students match to residency programs nationally, across Texas
Nearly 100% of UT Southwestern Medical School students matched to residency programs – well above the national average of 94% – including about half who matched to hospitals affiliated with U.S. News & World Report’s top 25 medical schools, including UT Southwestern. More than 100 matched to Texas programs.
Simmons Cancer Center investigators receive nearly $15 million in CPRIT funding
Ten scientists in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center have been awarded nearly $15 million in grants from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to advance research on a wide range of cancer issues.
Healthy gut bacteria can help fight cancer in other parts of the body, UTSW researchers find
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered how healthy bacteria can escape the intestine, travel to lymph nodes and cancerous tumors elsewhere in the body, and boost the effectiveness of certain immunotherapy drugs. The findings, published in Science Immunology, shed light on why antibiotics can weaken the effect of immunotherapies and could lead to new cancer treatments.
Response to hormone therapy predicts radiation resistance in ER+ breast cancer
How estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer responds to hormone therapy may hold keys to understanding how it will respond to radiation therapy, and an experimental drug that increases the effectiveness of hormone therapy also overcomes radiation resistance in breast cancer, a study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows.
UT Southwestern study: Cell membrane ‘blebs’ could hold new targets for anti-cancer drugs
Cell membrane protrusions called blebs that typically signify the end of life for healthy cells do the opposite for melanoma cells, activating processes in these cells that help them to survive and spread, a UT Southwestern study suggests.
UT Southwestern researchers discover gene regulation mechanism
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a method cells use to turn genes on and off that involves portions of proteins whose function has long been a mystery. The findings, reported in Cell, could lead to new ways of controlling gene regulation and may one day lead to new treatments for a broad array of diseases.
Cooling brain tumor cells could make headway in glioblastoma, UTSW researcher finds
Cooling brain tumor cells to stop them from dividing without killing healthy cells extended the survival of glioblastoma (GBM) animal models dramatically in a study led by a UT Southwestern resident. The findings, published in Science Advances, could lead to new treatments for this aggressive and deadly cancer.
UTSW-led study shows promise for drug to treat upper urinary tract cancers
A team from 15 U.S. medical centers led by UT Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center researchers has performed the first analysis of a potentially game-changing drug to treat upper urinary tract urothelial cancers.
Simmons Cancer Center investigators receive more than $17 million in CPRIT funding
Fifteen scientists in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern received more than $17 million in research funds in the latest round of grants awarded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). The grants will be used to address scientific questions covering a wide range of cancer types and topics.
Simmons Cancer Center, MD Anderson Scientists Develop Artificial Intelligence Method To Predict Anti-Cancer Immunity
Researchers and data scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed an artificial intelligence technique that can identify which cell surface peptides produced by cancer cells called neoantigens are recognized by the immune system.
National Cancer Institute Renews Simmons Cancer Center’s Prestigious Comprehensive Designation
The National Cancer Institute has renewed the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center’s comprehensive designation, reaffirming its place among the country’s elite cancer institutes.
UTSW Researchers Identify New Gene Involved in Breast Cancer Growth
DALLAS – Jan. 12, 2021 – A team of UT Southwestern researchers has identified a gene involved in the growth of breast cancer, a finding that could lead to potential new targets for treatment.
Same Difference: Predicting Divergent Paths of Genetically Identical Cells
DALLAS – Jan. 11, 2021 – A set of biomarkers not traditionally associated with cell fate can accurately predict how genetically identical cells behave differently under stress, according to a UT Southwestern study. The findings, published by Cell Reports as a Dec. 1 cover story, could eventually lead to more predictable responses to pharmaceutical treatments.
Researchers Uncover A Potential Treatment For an Aggressive Form of Lung Cancer
DALLAS – Jan. 5, 2021 – Researchers at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have discovered a new metabolic vulnerability in a highly aggressive form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These findings could pave the way for new treatments for patients with mutations in two key genes – KRAS and LKB1. Patients whose tumors contain both of these mutations, known as KL tumors, have poor outcomes and usually do not respond to immunotherapy.
Errant DNA Boosts Immunotherapy Effectiveness
DALLAS – Dec. 17, 2020 – DNA that ends up where it doesn’t belong in cancer cells can unleash an immune response that makes tumors more susceptible to immunotherapy, the results of two UT Southwestern studies indicate. The findings, published online today in Cancer Cell, suggest that delivering radiation – which triggers DNA release from cells – before immunotherapy could be an effective way to fight cancers that are challenging to treat.