Investigators find clues to melanoma treatment resistance

Nearly half of all patients with malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, have a mutation in the BRAF gene found in their tumors. Mutations in the BRAF gene turn on a cancer growth switch known as the MAP kinase pathway.

Study sheds light on side effects of COX-2 drugs

A team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists are closer to understanding why COX-2 inhibitors — drugs that relieve arthritis pain and inflammation without the gastrointestinal side effects of other painkillers — cause heart problems in some patients.

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Reduced-nicotine cigarettes decreased dependence and frequency of smoking: NEJM study

Reduced-nicotine cigarettes were beneficial in reducing nicotine exposure and dependence, and also the number of cigarettes smoked per day, when compared with standard-nicotine cigarettes in a six-week study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Data diving for health

To most effectively use electronic health records for research, investigators should query multiple components of the record to identify patients with specific diseases.

Framework for studying cell responses

Vanderbilt investigators have developed a framework for studying cellular responses that could be used to identify the agents driving a range of biological processes in health and disease.

New type of trial shows promise for several cancers

Anti-cancer drugs are typically tested on one type of cancer at a time. But an international consortium of cancer investigators, including Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) researchers, simultaneously tested an existing therapy in patients with several different forms of cancer that all exhibit the same tumor gene mutation.