News: GI SPORE

Colorectal cancer researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) have been awarded a Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

John Gore, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS), and Michael King, PhD, J. Lawrence Wilson Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University, were recently elected to the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE) 2019 Class of Fellows in recognition of their contributions in the field of medical and biological engineering.

A recent study has linked inflammation-driven carcinogenesis in the colon to loss of an important signaling protein called SMAD4.

Extracts of the plant turmeric — the spice that gives Indian curries a yellow color — have been used as an anti-inflammatory treatment in traditional Asian medicine for centuries. Claus Schneider, PhD, and colleagues have discovered that curcumin (the active chemical compound in turmeric) is a “pro-drug” that is converted into reactive metabolites with anti-inflammatory activities.

The targeted anti-cancer therapies cetuximab and panitumumab are mainstays of treatment for advanced colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. However, many patients have tumors with genetic mutations that make them resistant to these anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies, or the cancers develop resistance during treatment.

Vanderbilt’s Robert Coffey Jr., M.D., has received an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) — more than $6.6 million over seven years — to support studies aimed at advancing the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC), a leading cancer killer. Robert Coffey Jr., M.D. Coffey, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and […]

Despite dramatic recent advances in treatment, colorectal cancer killed more than 49,000 Americans last year, according to the National Cancer Institute, making it the second most lethal malignancy after cancers of the lung and bronchus. Determined to reduce the death toll, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently put on their 3-D “glasses” and took […]

Metastatic pancreatic cancer — cancer that has spread from the pancreas to other tissues and is responsible for most patient deaths — changes its metabolism and is “reprogrammed” for optimal malignancy, according to new findings reported Jan. 16 in Nature Genetics. It may be possible to reverse the malignant reprogramming to treat metastatic pancreatic cancer, […]

Patients with small intestine neuroendocrine tumors often have mesenteric tumor deposits (MTDs) in the abdomen – discrete tumor nodules that are not connected to the primary tumor. The clinical significance of these tumor deposits has not been thoroughly investigated, and they are not included in the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for […]

A cancer patient’s gratitude toward his Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) physician led to a star-studded concert to benefit the Cancer Center. Colon cancer survivor and country artist Wade Hayes was joined by six-time CMA and ACM Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert, four-time Grammy and CMA Award-winning artist Steve Wariner and Kix Brooks, CMA […]