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Three breast cancer investigators from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) have been awarded research grants from Susan G. Komen, a nonprofit foundation devoted to supporting cancer research, community health outreach, advocacy and public policy initiatives.

In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, Alexander Zaika, Ph.D. and coworkers show that DNA damage in the esophageal cells caused by acidic bile reflux (BA/A) activates enzymes called NADPH oxidases in the mitochondria, the cell’s power house, to release highly reactive-oxygen species (ROS).

Pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal types of cancer, with new therapeutic options needed. Sergey Novitskiy, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues investigated the immune response during the development of aggressive PDAC in an animal model of the disease.

Dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been associated with risk of colorectal cancer, with omega-6 PUFAs increasing and omega-3 PUFAs decreasing risk. Most studies, however, have relied on questionnaires to assess consumption of fatty acids, and results have been inconsistent. Harvey Murff, M.D., and colleagues have studied a blood-based biomarker of PUFA intake. […]

A group of nationally recognized medical information and data management experts has recommended the development of new knowledge software applications that work alongside electronic health record systems (EHRs) to help practicing oncologists access and use the latest genomic information to assist in the treatment of cancer patients. The recommendations were unveiled in a new report […]

Thanks to advances in treatment, the relative five-year survival rate from all combined subtypes of breast cancer now exceeds 90 percent and yet the disease remains the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States after lung and colorectal cancers. Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D. More than 40,000 American women will die from breast […]

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 […]

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.D., and colleagues have now […]

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have discovered a protein that may lead to a new way to prevent resistance and improve outcomes for patients whose cancers have mutations in the tumor suppressor gene BRCA2. The protein, RADX, is a DNA-binding protein. It regulates the activity of an enzyme called RAD51, which helps repair tumor-promoting […]

Deoxycholic acid (DCA), a secondary bile acid that is increased by high dietary fat intake – a western diet – has been linked to intestinal carcinogenesis. In a previous study, Fang Yan, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues showed that DCA accelerated the progression of adenoma to adenocarcinoma in mice that spontaneously develop intestinal adenomas. Now, the researchers […]