Cancer

March 12, 2015

Gene mutations may predict melanoma response to immunotherapies

Melanoma patients whose tumors test positive for mutations in the NRAS gene were more likely to benefit from new immunotherapy drugs, according to a new study led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators.

By VUMC News and Communications
March 5, 2015

Moses, Shyr named to Institute of Medicine cancer therapies panel

Two Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) leaders have been named to a panel of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to help shape national policies on the use of biomarkers for targeted cancer therapies.

By VUMC News and Communications
February 9, 2015

Gene profile predicts metastasis

A specific gene expression profile represents a novel, biologically relevant “signature” for identifying colon cancers with high risk of metastatic recurrence, Vanderbilt researchers have found.

By Yan Su
February 5, 2015

Grant bolsters Kirschner’s prostate cancer research

Austin Kirschner, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Biology, has received the Urology Care Foundation Research Scholars Award for the study of advanced prostate cancer.

By VUMC News and Communications
February 5, 2015

Women’s basketball game to raise awareness of breast cancer

The stands inside Memorial Gymnasium are expected to resemble a sea of pink as fans don pink attire for the Vanderbilt Commodores Women’s Basketball game Sunday, Feb. 8, at noon.

By VUMC News and Communications
January 29, 2015

New therapy options enhance prostate cancer treatment

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) patient William Ostman smiled while gazing into a camera lens and declared, “I am a prostate cancer survivor.”

By VUMC News and Communications
January 29, 2015

Grant bolsters pancreatic cancer drug discovery efforts

The Lustgarten Foundation has awarded a $1.5 million Research Investigator Grant to Stephen Fesik, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Chemistry, for research designed to discover new drugs for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
By VUMC News and Communications
January 8, 2015

Study tracks combination therapy to treat melanoma

Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer, with high mortality rates. While new drugs have been approved to treat the disease, patients nearly always develop resistance to the therapies and the cancer advances.
By VUMC News and Communications
January 8, 2015

Enzyme affects tumor metastasis

A protein that degrades the “matrix” between cells participates in the development of lung metastases from primary breast cancer in mouse models and may be a good target for breast cancer treatment.
By Daren Diiorio
January 5, 2015

Vanderbilt-led team studies blood test for prostate cancer

Vanderbilt University researcher William Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues in Germany and Canada have demonstrated a method for detecting “cell-free” tumor DNA in the bloodstream.
By Bill Snyder
November 21, 2014

Host sequesters zinc to control stomach bug

Understanding how zinc and the host’s immune response control H. pylori’s cancer-causing potential could suggest new therapeutic strategies to reduce infection and cancer risk.
By Leigh MacMillan
November 20, 2014

Gene mutation linked to breast cancer therapy resistance

A group of Vanderbilt-led investigators has identified a new gene mutation that may explain why some breast cancer patients do not respond to anti-hormone therapy.
By VUMC News and Communications
November 20, 2014

Tindle to direct Tobacco Research and Treatment

November is well-known as Lung Cancer Awareness Month. It is also the month that highlights awareness of less publicized forms of cancer including pancreatic cancer and stomach cancer.
By VUMC News and Communications