Jeffrey Smith

photo of William Dupont

Study discovers that tumor mutation burden predicts survival outcome

The expected course of a patient’s cancer prognosis has traditionally been judged by its type, stage and microscopic aggressiveness, but patients with the same presentation can still have widely divergent outcomes. Researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have discovered that differences in tumor mutation burden are a major reason for this divergence.

Study reveals an inherited origin of prostate cancer in families

Vanderbilt researchers have identified haplotypes, ancestral fragments of DNA, that are associated with hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) in a first-of-its-kind genomic study made possible by the study of prostate cancer patients with family histories of the disease.

Study links stem cell gene to prostate cancer susceptibility

A gene on chromosome 8 — in a region of the genome linked to risk for many types of cancer — is particularly associated with prostate cancer susceptibility, Vanderbilt University researchers have found.

Genomic research gains ad-“vantage” with new resources

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has stepped up its support of research aimed at cracking the mysteries of the genome, the master DNA code.

More gene links to breast cancer risk

Two newly identified gene variants linked to breast cancer may aid in predicting disease risk and targeting screening and prevention strategies.

Gene linked to familial prostate cancer

A rare, inherited mutation confers an eightfold increased risk of prostate cancer, a recent study shows.