Cancer

March 25, 2021

Forty-three percent of melanoma patients have chronic complications from immunotherapies

Chronic side effects among melanoma survivors after treatment with anti-PD-1 immunotherapies are more common than previously recognized, according to a study published March 25 in JAMA Oncology.

By Tom Wilemon
March 23, 2021

Prostate cancer microenvironment

Distinct cancer-associated fibroblasts in the prostate tumor microenvironment may influence tumor progression and could point to new therapeutic targets.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 22, 2021

Chemo for cancer lowers dementia risk

Cancer chemotherapy lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurocognitive disorders that disproportionately affect older people.

By Paul Govern
March 18, 2021

Vanderbilt research played key role in new lung screen guidelines

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has formally recommended two changes that will nearly double the number of people eligible for lung cancer screening by lowering the age from 55 to 50 and reducing the number of smoking history pack years from 30 to 20.

By Tom Wilemon
March 18, 2021

EGFR Resisters/LUNGevity fund lung cancer research

Christine Lovly, MD, PhD, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, is one of two inaugural recipients of the EGFR Resisters/LUNGevity Lung Cancer Research Award.

By Tom Wilemon
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt patient Lochlin Morris is shown here being featured on the jumbotron at a Nashville Predators game in October 2019, prior to social distancing.
March 10, 2021

Hockey Fights Cancer skates on to support Children’s Hospital

Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt patient Lochlin Morris was named Champ of the Game at the Nashville Predators’ Hockey Fights Cancer game on Saturday, March 6. Beginning last season, each home game features a Children’s Hospital patient on the jumbotron as a Vanderbilt Health Champ of the Game.

By VUMC News and Communications
March 9, 2021

Study incorporates genetics with smoking history to identify high-risk smokers for lung cancer screening

A study by Vanderbilt researchers that analyzed both smoking history and genetic risk variants for lung cancer supports modifying current guidelines to include additional smokers for lung cancer screening.
By Tom Wilemon
March 9, 2021

Markers for breast cancer progression

Vanderbilt researchers clarify how a microRNA associated with triple-negative breast cancer survival inhibits cancer progression, suggesting new treatment strategies.
By Sarah E. Glass
February 25, 2021

Gift in memory of Phran Galante boosts lung cancer research

A gift in memory of music industry executive and community philanthropist Phran Galante will support the work of Christine Lovly, MD, PhD, associate professor of Medicine and Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, to improve targeted therapies for lung cancer.
By Tom Wilemon
February 22, 2021

MRI view of brain tumor prognosis

In patients with glioblastoma brain tumors, features detected on MRIs at diagnosis were associated with survival, Vanderbilt Medical Center investigators found.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 5, 2021

Convalescent plasma improved survival in COVID-19 patients with blood cancers

Treatment with convalescent plasma vastly improved the survival rate of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 who also had hematologic malignances that compromise the immune system, according to new data released by the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19).
By Tom Wilemon
February 4, 2021

Potential biomarker for IBD severity, cancer risk identified

A selenium transport protein produced in the colon may be a novel biomarker for assessing disease severity and cancer risk in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 4, 2021

Gene network for leukemia factor

A new method speeds the analysis of factors that control gene expression from days to minutes, allowing researchers to uncover new targets for cancer treatment.
By Leigh MacMillan