News: Robert J. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation

A recent study suggests that blocking the MYC protein could be “unexpectedly effective” in treating malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) is one of the most aggressive and lethal childhood cancers.

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.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to starve a tumor and stop its growth with a newly discovered small compound that blocks uptake of the vital nutrient glutamine.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes that modulate gene expression and have important roles in development and disease. HDAC inhibitors are active against lymphoma, and understanding the roles of specific HDACs is important for further therapeutic development. Scott Hiebert, Ph.D., and colleagues used a mouse model to explore the role of HDAC3 in the early development […]

About 10 percent of patients with colorectal cancer express a mutated form of the signaling molecule BRAF, which may be targeted for treatment by selective BRAF inhibitors. PET (positron emission tomography) imaging using a standard glucose probe is not able to predict response to BRAF inhibitors. In addition to becoming dependent on glucose, cancer cells […]

The Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation has awarded a $3 million grant to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) investigators in support of VICC’s drug discovery program. The gift awarded over the next three years from the private, San Antonio, Texas-based foundation will enable VICC researchers to pursue the development of new compounds […]

Malignant tumors are increasingly subject to routine clinical genotyping, primarily to predict drug response or assist with prognosis. A team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has developed and tested software that scans electronic health records in real time to monitor cancer patient survival (from time of diagnosis) according to which genes, if any, are […]

Despite increasingly advanced treatments, nearly half the women who contract ovarian cancer will die within five years. Chemotherapy drug resistance significantly contributes to the high mortality rate. Understanding the processes that trigger tumor growth allows scientists to find better ways to treat this disease. Members of the laboratory of Hal Moses, M.D., previously identified the […]