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Breast_Cancer_Research_Program News

New members of Academy for Excellence in Clinical Medicine selected

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Academy for Excellence in Clinical Medicine (AECM) has selected 25 new members.


Friday, December 15th, 2023
Clinical trial shows efficacy for atezolizumab combined with carboplatin

Immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy has become an important therapeutic treatment option in some patients with metastatic breast cancer. Which patients will benefit the most, however, remains unclear; current biomarkers such as PD-L1 that are used to predict response are mediocre at best. 


Friday, December 15th, 2023
Clinical trial shows efficacy for atezolizumab combined with carboplatin

Immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy has become an important therapeutic treatment option in some patients with metastatic breast cancer. Which patients will benefit the most, however, remains unclear; current biomarkers such as PD-L1 that are used to predict response are mediocre at best.


Friday, December 15th, 2023
What to know for breast cancer awareness month and beyond

Newer treatments, the importance of early detection, and how comprehensive breast centers can help.


Friday, October 27th, 2023
Vulnerability found in immunotherapy-resistant triple-negative breast cancer

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a druggable target on natural killer cells that could potentially trigger a therapeutic response in patients with immunotherapy-resistant, triple-negative breast cancer.


Wednesday, October 4th, 2023
New leaders named to Vanderbilt-Ingram research programs

Seven new leaders have been appointed to guide Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's research programs.


Thursday, August 10th, 2023
International workgroup of geneticists issues CHEK2 guidelines

International workgroup issues additional guidance on how to manage patients who carry inherited CHEK2 gene mutations that put them at a higher risk for cancer.


Wednesday, July 26th, 2023
International workgroup of geneticists issues CHEK2 guidelines

International workgroup issues additional guidance on how to manage patients who carry inherited CHEK2 gene mutations that put them at a higher risk for cancer.


Wednesday, July 26th, 2023
Signaling pathways in liposarcomas

A broad bioinformatics approach revealed that Hedgehog signaling is upregulated in dedifferentiated liposarcoma, suggesting this pathway may be an early indicator of poor prognosis and a potential therapeutic target.


Tuesday, July 25th, 2023
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.


Monday, June 5th, 2023
Liquid biopsy test may detect early-stage and low DNA-shedding cancers

Vanderbilt research shows that a liquid biopsy-based multicancer early detection (MCED) test could detect 12 types of cancers, including low DNA-shedding cancers and early-stage cancers.


Wednesday, May 31st, 2023
Nanotechnology repaves the path for cancer-fighting T cells Nanotechnology repaves the path for cancer-fighting T cells
Vanderbilt researchers are bolstering the fight against cancer with technology that enhances the effectiveness of T cells that attack tumors.
Tuesday, May 9th, 2023
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban gift supports breast cancer clinical trials at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have made a generous financial gift to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in support of clinical trials for new and better therapies for breast cancer.


Tuesday, March 7th, 2023
Pal named to cancer research national leadership posts Pal named to cancer research national leadership posts
Tuya Pal, MD, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and associate director for Cancer Health Disparities at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, has been named to two cancer research leadership posts.
Monday, December 28th, 2020
New therapeutic target for lung cancer New therapeutic target for lung cancer
Continuous activation of cell surface receptors increases signaling that can promote oncogenic transformation. One receptor, EphA2, has been identified as a driver of lung cancer, but its interacting partners are not well characterized.
Thursday, November 12th, 2020
Park named director of Hematology and Oncology at VICC Park named director of Hematology and Oncology at VICC
After serving as interim director since Jan. 1, Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, Donna S. Hall Professor of Breast Cancer Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named director of the Division of Hematology and Oncology.
Wednesday, October 21st, 2020
Justin Balko Balko lands Mary Kay Foundation grant for breast cancer research
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's Justin Balko, PharmD, PhD, has received a $100,000 research grant from the Mary Kay Foundation.
Friday, December 6th, 2019
Pietenpol, Wilson land Komen cancer research support Pietenpol, Wilson land Komen cancer research support
Two Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators have received financial support from Susan G. Komen for breast cancer research.
Thursday, October 24th, 2019
DNA analysis Study backs genetic testing for all metastatic breast cancer patients
Testing for all metastatic breast cancer patients may be an optimal strategy for identifying additional patients with increased risk as well as response to targeted therapies.
Friday, September 6th, 2019
women in pink Grant strengthens breast cancer research efforts
Breast cancer researchers at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have secured a fourth round of continuous Specialized Program of Research Excellence funding.
Saturday, August 31st, 2019
brain scan Encephalitis identified as rare toxicity of immunotherapy treatment
Researchers are chronicling rare but serious toxicities that may occur with immune checkpoint inhibitors, the most widely prescribed class of immunotherapies.
Monday, July 22nd, 2019
bandages A critical factor for wound healing
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center scientists have discovered a role for a tumor suppressor protein in skin wound healing.
Friday, July 19th, 2019
Breast cancer-killing RIG Breast cancer-killing RIG
A recent study in the journal Cancer Research demonstrates that a RIG-I agonist has potent immunogenic and therapeutic effects in breast cancer.
Friday, December 14th, 2018
Ingrid Mayer VICC breast cancer leaders named Komen Scholars
Ingrid Mayer, MD, MSCI, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and leader of the Breast Cancer Research Program, has been named a Komen Scholar for her leadership in breast cancer research. She is joined by Wayne Dornan, PhD, a patient research advocate at VICC, who will serve on the Advocates in Science Steering Committee for Susan G. Komen.
Friday, April 13th, 2018
Justin Balko Study seeks to boost breast tumor immune response
 

Targeting specific molecules in breast tumors, called methylating agents, can turn up the immune response, potentially making tumors responsive to immunotherapy, suggests a new study published in Nature Communications.


Thursday, February 8th, 2018
Ingrid Mayer Study to test combination therapy for breast cancer
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center has received $2.3 million to fund a clinical research trial testing a combination of three immunotherapy compounds for patients with a specific type of advanced breast cancer.
Friday, October 27th, 2017
Ariella Hanker Investigators match novel cancer mutations with potential therapies
Research led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators may have solved a mystery about why a targeted therapy stops working in a small group of breast cancer patients. They identified a novel gene mutation that develops in the tumors, and then found a different cancer drug that appears to treat the newly identified mutation. The […]
Monday, August 7th, 2017
Drivers of breast cancer metastasis Drivers of breast cancer metastasis
Overexpression of HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) is found in about 25 percent of breast cancers and is associated with poor outcomes. HER2-amplified breast cancers use signaling through a complex of proteins called mTORC2 to drive tumor formation, tumor cell survival and resistance to HER2-targeted therapies. Rebecca Cook, Ph.
Thursday, July 27th, 2017
Breast cancer program lands new research grants Breast cancer program lands new research grants
Several investigators in Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center’s (VICC) Breast Cancer Program have received grant awards to support translational research that may improve disease outcomes for patients. The grants totaling more than $3 million will fund mechanistic science and clinical trials designed to test novel therapy combinations and determine why some forms of breast cancer become resistant […]
Friday, March 24th, 2017
Study details rare heart risk of certain cancer therapies Study details rare heart risk of certain cancer therapies
Combination therapy using two approved immunotherapy drugs for cancer treatment may cause rare and sometimes fatal cardiac side effects linked to an unexpected immune response. In a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) investigators and published in the Nov. 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers describe two cases of […]
Monday, November 7th, 2016
VICC investigators in spotlight at AACR conference VICC investigators in spotlight at AACR conference
A top Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigator recently met with Vice President Joe Biden regarding the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative, a major national program to identify, fund and accelerate the most promising research leading to cancer cures. Carlos L. Arteaga, M.
Thursday, May 19th, 2016
Study explores how some breast cancers resist treatment Study explores how some breast cancers resist treatment
A targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), the most aggressive form of breast cancer, has shown potential promise in a recently published study. TNBC is the only type of breast cancer for which there are no currently approved targeted therapies. The new study led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators has identified gene alterations […]
Thursday, April 21st, 2016