Praised by his PhD students for his compassion, enthusiasm, and collaborative nature, University of Colorado Cancer Center member Edward Chuong, PhD, is one of 13 faculty members at CU Boulder to be recognized as an outstanding graduate student mentor for 2024.
Research Lung Cancer Awards Pulmonology
Asked if there’s a lesson for other medical researchers in his decades-long career, York Miller, MD, says it’s this: “If you see something promising, don’t be reluctant to change direction.”
After a well-documented breast cancer journey that lasted nearly a decade, actress Shannen Doherty — best known for her role as Brenda Walsh on the Fox teen drama “Beverly Hills, 90210” — died from the cancer on July 13, at age 53. Her publicist shared the news.
Research Gynecologic Cancer Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death among women, with nearly 20,000 new diagnoses each year and around 12,740 deaths from the disease estimated in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society
A new program launched by the University of Colorado Cancer Center, in partnership with the Center for Health, Work, and Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health (ColoradoSPH), aims to provide comprehensive support to cancer patients as they balance work responsibilities and treatment.
Multidisciplinary care, access to clinical trials, and genetic and molecular testing all are hallmarks of sarcoma treatment at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, which averages nearly 300 new sarcoma patients each year.
Skin Cancer Melanoma Medical Oncology
Sapna Patel, MD, a widely renowned melanoma oncologist and clinical investigator, has joined the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the CU Department of Medicine, with a goal of helping to build a “pinnacle of skin cancer treatment” in the Rocky Mountains.
Research Press Releases Data analysis
Sean Davis, MD, PhD, associate director of informatics and data science at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, is part of a team that recently received a $5.2 million grant renewal from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue funding cancer genomics research.
As program director for the Colorado Cancer Screening Program (CCSP) at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, Andrea (Andi) Dwyer has long advocated for patient navigators — specially trained health workers who offer individualized assistance to patients, families, and caregivers negatively affected by health disparities to facilitate timely access to quality health and psychosocial care — as part of cancer treatment in medically underserved populations.
Cancer Health equity Equity Diversity and Inclusion LGBTQ Disparities
Cancer impacts people from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities differently from other people – and there’s still a long way to go to understand those differences.
Sarcoma Surgical Oncology Orthopedics
The University of Colorado Cancer Center has recruited Steven Thorpe, MD, FACS, a renowned orthopedic surgical oncologist and a sarcoma and limb-salvage specialist, to join the Department of Orthopedics at the CU School of Medicine as the new chief of the musculoskeletal oncology program.
Alumni Pediatric Cancer Blood Cancer Leukemia
A teenager’s leukemia struggle – and his mature attitude through his arduous treatment – impressed his University of Colorado Cancer Center medical team and spurred his mother to launch a foundation to raise money for cancer research. And now that struggle is providing inspiration for a cycling team as it prepares for the 2024 Courage Classic Bicycle Tour fundraiser for Children’s Hospital Colorado.
It was time to move closer to family.
It was spring of 2020, and Codie Mendez was still grieving the loss of her brother, a California State Patrol officer who had been killed in the line of duty several months earlier. Adding to that the stress and the uncertainty of the rapidly developing COVID-19 pandemic, Codie and her husband, Mark, decided to move their family from Florida to Colorado to be closer to Mark’s parents.
Things were supposed to be easier, more comfortable.
But that wasn’t how it turned out.
Research Lung Cancer Radiation Medical Oncology Targeted Therapies
It’s been a dozen years since D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and his colleagues first published on the use of tightly-focused radiation to attack isolated active cancer sites in lung cancer patients who otherwise were responding well to targeted therapies. In the years since, that breakthrough has transformed cancer care.
Gynecologic Cancer Endometrial Cancer Clinical Trials
According to her race medals, Charlotte Butler has walked all over the place. On trails in Spain, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands, not to mention the Rocky Mountains and other spots in the U.S.
Press Releases Community Research Pharmacy Community Health
Jeanette Waxmonsky, PhD, associate clinical professor in the Colorado School of Public Health and associate clinical professor of family medicine in the University of Colorado School of Medicine, has been named assistant director for community-engaged research for the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement at the CU Cancer Center.
Living with an external feeding tube and another tube in his neck to help him breathe?
Lung Cancer Liver Cancer Pancreatic Cancer Esophageal Cancer Stomach Cancer
A key yardstick used to evaluate success in cancer treatment shows that for many cancers, a higher percentage of people diagnosed at the University of Colorado Cancer Center have survived five years or more beyond their diagnoses than for the nation as a whole.
The World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day on May 31 is an annual educational effort to inform people on the dangers of using tobacco — including lung cancer and other cancers.
Genetics Microbiology Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics
When Rui Zhao, PhD, was in high school in China in the 1980s, she read an article that predicted the 21st century would be “the century of biology.”
Research Pancreatic Cancer Immunotherapy Surgery
Yuwen Zhu, PhD, grew up in a rural village in China. His mother couldn’t read. “I really didn’t know about college – even what the word meant,” he says.
Community Equity Diversity and Inclusion
Jamie L. Studts, PhD, co-leader of the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention and Control Program, has devoted much of his research career to studying inequities in lung cancer risk factors, screening, treatment, and survivorship.
Research Melanoma Dermatology Immunology & Microbiology
Mayumi Fujita, MD, PhD, says she is not someone who has had a straightforward path for her career or her life.
Patient Care Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials
As senior associate athletic director for health and performance at the University of Colorado Boulder, Miguel Rueda is used to overseeing the wellness of student-athletes in sports ranging from football and basketball to golf, skiing, and lacrosse.
Patient Care Lung Cancer Oncology
Two years after her lung cancer diagnosis in 2019, Dan Wu first came to D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, at the University of Colorado Cancer Center for a second opinion.
“Dr. Camidge saved my life,” Wu said.
Research Magazine Clinical Trials
In all medical research, but particularly in cancer research, clinical trials save lives. They test the great new discoveries that can combat cancer, and the only way we're going to get better at preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer is to put our best drugs and techniques forward and test them.
Why do some lung cancer patients respond better to the types of drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors? It may have to do with those patients’ own immune systems.
Research Diversity Magazine Clinical Trials COE
In the realm of cancer research, clinical trials can lead to more effective drugs, better treatments, and ways to prevent and detect cancer. They are a key step in the journey from scientific discoveries to helping current and future patients. Clinical trials are a major factor behind a 33% drop in the U.S. cancer death rate and an estimated 3.8 million cancer deaths avoided over the last four decades.
Community Magazine Global Health
For Enrique Soto Pérez de Celis, MD, PhD, treating cancer globally starts with treating cancer locally.
Community Breast Cancer Ovarian Cancer
All women need to pay attention to their risk factors for breast cancer and ovarian cancer, but women of Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish ancestry should be especially vigilant, says University of Colorado Cancer Center member Marie Wood, MD, as their risk for having a genetic variant in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes is increased, predisposing them to developing hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
Hematology Psychology Technology Grant
Digital health technology – including smartphone apps and wearable devices – can help extend the reach of cancer clinicians and improve the quality of supportive care for cancer patients. But using those tools effectively takes specialized training, and not all tech is good tech.
As spring days get longer and summer approaches, people begin to spend more time outdoors — especially in Colorado, with its 300 days of sunshine per year.
Research Esophageal Cancer Pediatrics Bioengineering
It looks pretty simple: A capsule the size of a jelly bean, attached to a string. And yet, it shows promise as an answer to a vexing question in the fight against esophageal cancer and other diseases of the upper digestive tract: How to spare patients from repeated endoscopies and biopsies.
University of Colorado Cancer Center member Rosemary Rochford, PhD, has spent the past 34 years researching the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) a virus that causes several types of cancer, including Burkitt lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, gastric carcinoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
University of Colorado Cancer Center Associate Director of Clinical Research, Christopher Lieu, MD, is bringing his wealth of expertise and dedication to a new role as the Vice Chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).
Music can soothe, sustain, and inspire. There's evidence that it can even heal, as well as provide support through the rigors of therapy.
The University of Colorado Cancer Center is one of eight cancer centers nationwide that will evaluate the feasibility of blood tests that can screen for several types of cancer.
Research Philanthropy Magazine
Gary and Kathy Kortz, partners in marriage for nearly three decades, have also been partners in giving generously of their time and philanthropy for many years to support the University of Colorado Cancer Center and cancer research in general.
Research Lung Cancer Medical Oncology
Combining targeted therapies known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) can be an effective way to treat a mutation-driven form of lung cancer in cases where tumors develop resistance to treatment and where cancer has spread to other parts of the body, a University of Colorado Cancer Center member reports.
With support from a $3.3 million federal grant, a pair of University of Colorado Cancer Center members will investigate how a molecule they’ve been studying for a decade is able to promote resistance to therapies for a major type of breast cancer – and how to switch off the molecule’s harmful interference.
Research Bladder Cancer Clinical Trials
Treatment guidelines for bladder cancer have changed significantly in recent years, due to the introduction of effective new drug combinations to treat the disease.
Research Patient Care Lung Cancer
Birthdays. Anniversaries. Holidays. For each of us, each year brings special dates to celebrate.
For Emily Daniels, each year is all the more special. It’s another year of life that she once thought she might not get to live. Another year spent with her loving husband, Brian, and two young children.
Clinical Research Obesity Pediatrics
A pilot grant funded in part by the University of Colorado Cancer Center will support a study that will look at factors contributing to extreme obesity in children with a type of benign brain tumor.
Patient Care Esophageal Cancer Clinical Trials
Mark Koebrich's heartburn, a lifelong companion through nearly four decades in television, took a turn for the worse after retirement, prompting him to seek medical advice. His general practitioner referred him to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, where he met Sachin Wani, MD, the Endowed Chair of the Katy O. and Paul M. Esophageal and Gastric Center of Excellence. Koebrich was diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus with low-grade dysplasia, a precancerous condition, and was enrolled in the SURVENT trial, a groundbreaking study offering cutting-edge treatment options.
Patient Care Blood Cancer Leukemia
Matt Lubick had finished marathons before, but none was so personally meaningful as the 26-mile distance he covered in one day while being treated for leukemia at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. Lubick walked dozens of laps around the facility, wheeling his IV pole up and down the corridors as day slowly turned to night outside the tall glass windows.
Cancer rates are not the same for everyone – and the fact that they differ by race and ethnicity, among many other categories of people, leads to the realization that health inequity is a factor in those disparities.
Skin Cancer Melanoma rare disease
Some of the most dramatic scenes in the new Bob Marley biopic, “Bob Marley: One Love” have to do with the reggae legend’s battle with a rare cancer called acral lentiginous melanoma. Unlike melanomas that are caused by sun exposure, acral lentiginous melanomas form on non-hair-bearing surfaces of the body, including the palms of the hand, the soles and heels of the feet, and the nailbeds of the fingers and toes.
Research Breast Cancer Drug Development Medical Oncology
Research led by University of Colorado Cancer Center members points to a combination of drugs as a potential treatment option for a type of aggressive breast cancer.
Community Colorectal Cancer cancer screening
The University of Colorado Cancer Center is distributing free colorectal cancer screening kits that can be used at home, targeting uninsured people across Colorado with lower rates of screening for a cancer that is the No. 2 cause of cancer deaths.
Research Press Releases Gynecologic Cancer Endometrial Cancer
The results of a multisite clinical trial overseen by University of Colorado Cancer Center member Bradley Corr, MD, could offer new hope to patients with metastatic and recurrent uterine cancer, also known as endometrial cancer.
Bringing new attention to breast cancer in younger women and the importance of risk assessment, actress Olivia Munn, 43, announced Wednesday that she had been diagnosed with the disease last year. Munn said she has undergone four surgeries in the past 10 months, including a double mastectomy.
Esophageal Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic
The University of Colorado Cancer Center’s new Benign Esophageal and Gastric Multidisciplinary Clinic has its first medical director.
Patient Care Colorectal Cancer Clinical Trials
Gabriel Charpentier began experiencing symptoms of stomach discomfort and fatigue at 34. Despite negative tests, he advocated for a colon cancer scan, leading to his diagnosis and participation in an immunotherapy clinical trial. His oncologist, University of Colorado Cancer Center member, Alexis Leal, MD, highlights the importance of clinical trials and the remarkable response Gabriel had to immunotherapy.
A prestigious invitation to chair an educational program session at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in December 2023 offered University of Colorado Cancer Center member Manali Kamdar, MD, an opportunity to update the profession about two increasingly common treatments for relapsed lymphomas.
A childhood in Cameroon and medical school in Germany helped form the worldly approach to cancer care and research taken by University of Colorado Cancer Center member Emily Baiyee Toegel, MD.
A project to improve the effectiveness of endoscopic surgery, led by University of Colorado Cancer Center member Steven Edmundowicz, MD, is one of nine research endeavors to be awarded major funding from the Anschutz Acceleration Initiative (AAI).
There are many remedies for cancer-related fatigue — including exercise, massage, and acupuncture — but patients in Colorado have easy access to one of the most effective: natural sunlight.
Research Head and Neck Cancer Medical Oncology
After eight years of work by a pair of University of Colorado Cancer Center leaders on a new way to attack various cancers, the next stage in their quest to bring their therapy to patients is one of nine research endeavors receiving funding from the Anschutz Acceleration Initiative (AAI).
University of Colorado Cancer Center leader Daniel LaBarbera, PhD, has received an innovation pilot grant from the cancer center’s Shared Resources program to develop complex 3D tissue and organoid models for high-throughput drug discovery and high-content imaging.
Colorectal Cancer Ovarian Cancer
Cancers located in the abdomen — including colorectal cancer, appendix cancer, gastric cancer, and gynecologic cancers such as certain types of ovarian cancer — can be difficult to treat with traditional chemotherapy when the tumors spread beyond the organ in which they originated.
Research Cancer Clinical Trials
A dozen Colorado state senators and representatives gathered on February 6 for a briefing by leaders of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, who gave the lawmakers an overview of the threat posed by cancer, the center’s successes, and the importance of clinical trials in cancer treatment.
Community Awareness Cancer Stomach Cancer
Country music star Toby Keith died February 5, 2024 at age 62, according to an announcement on his official website, following his battle with stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer. The following blog post on his cancer was published June 14, 2022, shortly after he publicly disclosed his diagnosis.
Research Breast Cancer Clinical Trials
Margaret Taylor thought she had reached the end of her breast cancer journey.
Research Funding Awards Cell and Gene Therapy
A project to develop a way to boost the effectiveness of cellular cancer therapies, led by the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Associate Director of Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination, Eduardo Davila, PhD, is one of nine research endeavors by CU School of Medicine faculty members to be awarded major funding from the Anschutz Acceleration Initiative.
Cancer Magazine Multidisciplinary Clinic Medical Oncology
A cancer diagnosis is a serious matter – which is why a patient who gets one should seriously consider getting a second opinion.
Research Breast Cancer Medical Oncology
The focus of a University of Colorado Cancer Center member’s research career has been a quest for new, better therapies for patients with breast cancer. That quest by Elena Shagisultanova, MD, PhD, has resulted in a clinical trial pointing the way to an oral treatment that’s more tolerable than intensive chemotherapy for patients with a type of metastatic breast cancer that accounts for about 20% of cases among women under age 45.
University of Colorado Cancer Center member Maryam Asgari, MD, MPH, is one of nine CU School of Medicine faculty members to be awarded an Anschutz Acceleration Initiative grant. The winning projects, announced in January, were chosen for their promise to deliver life-changing advancements in medicine within the next three to five years.
The news that actor Adan Canto — known for his roles in "Designated Survivor" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" — died earlier this month at age 42, after a battle with appendix cancer, is raising awareness of the relatively rare disease.
Colorectal Cancer Cancer cancer screening
The American Cancer Society (ACS) says it expects more than 2 million new U.S. cancer cases this year, the highest one-year total ever, with rising rates for six of the 10 most common cancers. In Colorado, 29,430 new cancers are projected in 2024.
Research Community Pediatric surgery Cervical Cancer
A vaccine that prevents all cancer may still be decades away from becoming a reality, but for cervical cancer and several other types of cancer, a vaccine already exists that drastically reduces the risk of getting the disease.
Research Press Releases Colorectal Cancer
On a mission to put an end to colorectal cancer, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance (CCA) recently launched Project Cure CRC, an initiative aimed at funding tens of millions of dollars in expedited, novel colorectal cancer research over the next two years.
University of Colorado Cancer Center member Sana Karam, MD, PhD, has received a translational research grant from the V Foundation for Cancer Research, co-founded by ESPN and legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano, to study a new therapeutic that may help pancreatic cancer patients overcome resistance to radiation therapy.
New research overseen by University of Colorado Cancer Center member Rebecca Schweppe, PhD, could lead to improved treatment for people with thyroid cancer characterized by a mutation in the BRAF gene — a mutation also responsible for some types of melanoma, colorectal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, and ovarian cancer.
As word of the effectiveness of chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR T-cell therapy, for blood cancer continues to spread, excitement is growing about the new treatment and the possibilities it offers for patients with blood cancers and other types of cancer.
Research Community Lung Cancer
Actress and musician Kate Micucci, best known for her role as Lucy on CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” recently underwent surgery for lung cancer.
With more than 125 stories sharing the work of our cancer community, it’s been another remarkable year full of noteworthy research, community projects, and inspiring patient success stories for the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
Research Cancer Clinical Trials
Not all clinical trials are aimed at finding new cures. There are also supportive care trials, with the goal of improving a patient’s quality of life.
A recent study of a type of immune blood cells associated with resistance to certain treatments for melanoma is one sign of the growing role of data science in solving some of medicine’s most puzzling riddles, says Hatim Sabaawy, MD, PhD, associate director of translational research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
Patient Care Brain and Spinal Cancer Oncology Radiation
Alex Cooper relishes a challenge. Armed with a New Yorker’s moxie, an entrepreneur’s savvy, and an athlete’s determination, he has launched startups, has competed in Ironman triathlons, and offers motivational messages in blogs, videos, and social media posts as the “Iron CEO.”
Research Pancreatic Cancer Surgical Oncology
Chemotherapy is a useful treatment to try to get systemic control in pancreatic cancer. Currently, however, chemotherapy is mostly administered in patients whose tumors are more difficult to remove surgically because of where they are in the anatomy.
Yoga, massage, and bright white light therapy are among the effective ways to manage cancer-related fatigue, according to new patient guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).
Research Gynecologic Cancer Magazine Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is a growing area of research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. A newly formed Ovarian Cancer Innovations Group, envisioned by Saketh Guntupalli, MD, and led by Kian Behbakht, MD, MBA, is taking a multipronged approach to studying the disease.
Pancreatic Cancer Cancer Surgical Oncology Whipple procedure
It’s been just over four years since Jim Page entrusted his fate to a University of Colorado Cancer Center surgical oncologist after being diagnosed with precancerous cysts in his pancreas. Four years since he underwent the surgery that he credits with saving his life.
A pair of University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers have received a major grant to fund the next five years of their long-running research into a genetic risk factor for ovarian cancer that varies greatly across different ethnic communities – research that they hope will lead to better-targeted therapies.
With an eye on outcomes that range from better patient care and improved early detection to equity in research and increased use of new technologies like big data, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently rolled out a National Cancer Plan.
Skin Cancer Dermatology skin damage
Colorado is a winter playground, whether your passion is skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, or just throwing snowballs. But the bright sun that helps make winter sports in the Rockies so delightful also poses a threat to your skin.
Can your phone help you quit smoking? That's the goal of a project backed by the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
Research Community Breast Cancer Magazine
Why are some women skeptical when given their personalized risk for developing breast cancer? The inquiring mind of Laura Scherer, PhD, wants to know.
This November, Stomach Cancer Awareness Month allows us the opportunity to learn more about gastric oncology and dispel anxieties around the disease. While stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, accounts for a little over 1% of all new cancer cases per year, outcomes can be improved with prevention and earlier detection.
Research Community Lung Cancer
Jamie L. Studts, PhD, co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, is part of a research team that recently received a $250,000 award to build a coalition of lung cancer survivors and caregivers. Studts and colleagues at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and GO2 for Lung Cancer will work with the coalition to develop research priorities focused on improving health outcomes.
Suzi Brinkman grew up with three older brothers, and her husband is the oldest of three siblings, so it was important to them for their 2-year-old son, Wallace, to have a brother or sister.
Lung Cancer cancer screening smoking
The American Cancer Society (ACS) this week called for millions more people who formerly smoked to be screened for lung cancer than it previously recommended. But while a University of Colorado Cancer Center member calls the news “exciting,” she said the overarching challenge is to get more people already eligible to be screened.
Research Patient Care Community Lung Cancer Magazine Clinical Trials
A clinical trial for lung cancer at the University of Colorado Cancer Center saved Betty Moren’s life. Now Betty and her husband, Bill, are giving back, sharing their cancer journey and clinical trial experiences as patient advocates at the cancer center’s Thoracic Oncology Research Initiative (TORI), which brings together investigators from multiple departments and centers across the CU Anschutz Medical Campus to advance lung cancer research.
Erik Jensen, the 53-year-old actor who played Steven Edwards in season five of the AMC drama “The Walking Dead,” announced this week that he has been diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer that has spread to his liver.
Research COVID-19 Esophageal Cancer
The COVID-19 pandemic had dramatic effects on all types of cancer screenings, from mammograms to colonoscopies. In the early days of the health crisis in spring 2020, screening numbers dropped dramatically as health care providers shifted their attention to caring for the seriously ill and fears of contracting the virus kept the general public away from hospitals, clinics, and other facilities.
Actress Suzanne Somers, best known for her iconic role as Chrissy Snow on the 1970s and ’80s sitcom “Three’s Company,” died October 15 after a 23-year struggle with breast cancer. Somers was 76.
Despite a significant number of advances in treatment for childhood cancers over the past few decades, around 7.5% of all children with cancer still die within one month of their diagnosis.
University of Colorado Cancer Center member Karolin Luger, PhD, a distinguished professor of biochemistry at CU Boulder, has been awarded the 2023 World Laureates Association (WLA) Prize in Life Science or Medicine.
Research Breast Cancer Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are a vital part of the development of treatment in all cancers, including breast cancer, where clinical trials over the years have resulted in new drugs that prolong life and prevent cancer from spreading. Clinical trials are studies of new medications or treatments in humans before they are approved for widespread use.
Research Philanthropy Breast Cancer Magazine Surgical Oncology
At age 47, Wendy Johnson finally started jumping horses.
Though she had long been interested in the activity — watching her daughters take part in it on the competition field and at the family’s home in Conifer, Colorado — the thought of actually being the one on the back of the graceful beast, guiding it through midair and over a series of obstacles, had always scared her.
A struggle with breast cancer, however, changed her perspective completely.
University of Colorado Cancer Center member Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, has seen huge advances in lung cancer treatment during his years in the field.
Patient Care Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Urology
James Bird gets emotional talking about it. How he qualified for a clinical trial that, in his view, preserved his manhood after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late 2022.
“The day I went in to see if I qualified, there were 10 other guys out there in the lobby who didn’t get into the trial,” he says. “I felt so sorry for them. One of the technicians who was involved with the trial told me he was getting calls from all over, from guys begging to get in. That’s how important this is.”
A study is underway at Flint Animal Cancer Center in Fort Collins that has implications for human head and neck cancer. Funded by an administrative supplement for the Dog Oncology Grant Supplement (DOGS) Program issued by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) from the University of Colorado Cancer Center Head and Neck Cancer Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE), researchers speculate this study’s findings may improve outcomes for dogs and humans.
Building upon her previous research on the role of transcription factor SIX1 in sarcoma progression, Heide Ford, PhD, associate director of basic research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, recently published a paper, in collaboration with CU Cancer Center members Paul Jedlicka, MD, and Jim Costello, PhD, in the journal Nature Communications showing that SIX1 plays a very different role in Ewing sarcoma than it does in other sarcomas — the general term for a broad group of cancers that can form in various locations in the body, including the bones and the soft tissue that connects, supports, and surrounds other body structures.
Patient Care Community Leukemia
When your life is about being outdoors — about making your way up and around complex rock formations, looking for that flow you get into as every foothold and ledge reveals itself — the last place you want to be is stuck in a hospital bed, enduring the side effects of chemotherapy.
Patient Care Magazine Ovarian Cancer
Amy Bibbey has two distinct lives. There’s the life she led before ovarian cancer, and there’s everything after diagnosis.
“I got lucky that I suck at golf. I threw my back out playing a sport that people usually enjoy in khakis.”
Illustrating the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s research strength in the area of blood cancers, the American Cancer Society Journal recently asked CU Cancer Center members Andrew Kent, PhD, and Dan Pollyea, MD, MS, to give readers an update on the latest advances in leukemia treatment.
After battling skin cancer for four years before his death, "Margaritaville" singer Jimmy Buffett died on September 1, 2023, at age 76, from Merkel cell carcinoma, according to his website.
The fear, anger, and anxiety that come with a cancer diagnosis are only magnified in children, who—along with their family members—often need help working through the emotions that surround cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.
Research Education Community Blood Cancer
Growing up in Windsor, Colorado, Elijah Johnson thought he would grow up to be a professional musician. He never considered a career as a biomedical researcher. But that all changed when his mother was diagnosed with Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS), a rare genetic mutation that increases the risk of cancer.
Can using over-the-counter cannabis products help cancer patients cope with issues like pain, anxiety, sleeplessness, and depression?
Press Releases Equity Diversity and Inclusion Leadership
The University of Colorado Cancer Center is doubling down on its diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) efforts in 2023, adding an associate director and deputy associate director of DEIA to its leadership team.
The International Cytokine and Interferon Society has recognized University of Colorado Cancer Center member Edward Chuong, PhD, with its 2023 ICIS-Regeneron New Investigator Award for Excellence in Cytokine and Interferon Research.
University of Colorado Cancer Center member Sachin Wani, MD, inaugural director of the Katy O. and Paul M. Rady Esophageal and Gastric Center of Excellence, is behind a new clinic for people with benign, complex conditions of the foregut, including complicated reflux cases, refractory esophageal strictures, and motility disorders such as achalasia and gastroparesis.
At the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE), cancer center members are creating an interactive data platform to give researchers information on Colorado’s demographics, cancer burden, risk factors and health behaviors, environmental factors, and access to care across the cancer continuum.
University of Colorado Cancer Center member Marco Del Chiaro, MD, PhD, division chief of surgical oncology, is coordinating a new effort to standardize global diagnosis and treatment efforts for cystic tumor of the pancreas. More frequent than solid lesions, cystic tumors are usually detected incidentally and are often asymptomatic.
The statistics about radon exposure and lung cancer in Colorado are sobering: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the state, and radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after tobacco smoke.
Research Ovarian Cancer Multiple Myeloma
Many of the side effects of cancer treatment are well-known, including nausea, fatigue, and weight loss.
Research Melanoma Immunotherapy
Melanoma cells can hide, but they can’t run from Eduardo Davila, PhD, associate director of cancer research training and education coordination at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
New research led by Sharon R. Pine, PhD, director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Thoracic Oncology Research Initiative, may help doctors understand why some lung cancer patients don’t respond to immunotherapy.
Research Community Equity Diversity and Inclusion
Whether they are focused on middle school and high school students, college undergraduates, or current medical students, pipeline programs at the University of Colorado Cancer Center are designed to expose students of all ages and backgrounds to the world of cancer science and research, with a special focus on giving students from underrepresented backgrounds the opportunity to see themselves working in the field.
There’s no such thing as perfect timing when it comes to lung cancer, but Kathy Ballard got pretty close.
A new study published in Gastroenterologyaims to improve the effectiveness of screening and surveillance practices for early cancer detection in Barrett’s esophagus (BE).
Diana Cittelly, PhD, a longtime University of Colorado Cancer Center member and a researcher on cancer that spreads to the brain, has taken on a new role at the CU Cancer Center.
When Nathan Hammond traveled to Colorado from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to consult with University of Colorado Cancer Center specialists about his newly diagnosed esophageal cancer, his first stop was the esophageal and gastric cancer multidisciplinary clinic, where patients are seen by doctors from multiple specialties — including surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, dietitians, and genetic counselors — all at the same time.
Research that began at the University of Colorado Cancer Center may help doctors better treat patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Patient Care Community Brain and Spinal Cancer
Look at the racing jersey created in his memory, and you’ll see images of everything Trevor Kling loved. Bright colors. Baseball. Pineapple. Bowling. Sports cars. Board games.
Research Press Releases Cancer
A new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institutebrings researchers and oncologists one step closer to better understanding the complexities of PD-1 inhibitors, a common type of immunotherapy, and their intracellular signaling on cancer behavior.
Colorectal Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic Clinical
In the earliest days of specialized cancer care, two things often happened: either individual oncologists were burdened with the expectation to know everything, or patients were sent on treatment journeys that could involve multiple visits with multiple clinicians in multiple locations.
As the field of cancer care has grown and evolved, buoyed by tremendous strides in research and therapeutics, patients could increasingly and reasonably hope to live many years, rather than many weeks or months, after a diagnosis. A significant contributor to this hope has been the move toward multidisciplinary care.
Patient Care Community Pancreatic Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic
Barb Spanjer lay on the floor of her office. She had never been so tired. Her stomach and left side ached, and the pain under her left shoulder blade was relentless. She had seen her doctor a couple of times that autumn of 2017, but the medicine for the ulcer he suspected she had wasn’t working. She had been too tired and too busy running the construction company she and her husband, Steve, owned to follow up with the doctor. But it was getting harder to ignore the symptoms. Something just wasn’t right.
Research Community Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are an important part of cancer care, giving people with cancer potentially life-saving early access to new medications and treatments and making sure those medications and treatments are safe and efficacious before approving them for widespread use.
Patient Care Liver Cancer Colorectal Cancer
For Doug Scanlon, last year’s Walk to End Colon Cancer was a victory lap. This year, it’s more like a homecoming.
Cancer researchers have long been interested in the resistance that lung cancer patients develop to targeted therapies aimed at specific mutations. Though the therapies provide significant remission at first, the cancer eventually finds a way to return.
Patient Care Community Immunotherapy lymphoma ColoradoSPH at CU Anschutz
For a significant portion of his career, Arnold Levinson, PhD, MJ, has done work related to cancer.
For the past four years, University of Colorado Cancer Center member Sarah Tevis, MD, has focused her research on the psychosocial outcomes of breast surgery for women with breast cancer — specifically comparing patient-reported outcomes three and six months after receiving a lumpectomy (surgery in which just the tumor and some of the surrounding cells are removed) and a mastectomy (surgery to remove the entire breast).
The good news for people with multiple myeloma is that treatments exist that almost always put the cancer into deep remission soon after it’s diagnosed. The bad news for people with the blood cancer, though, is that even though that remission can last several years, almost all patients eventually relapse — and the disease that returns becomes increasingly difficult to treat.
Hatim Sabaawy, MD, PhD, MS, associate director of translational research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, is excited about the future of treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Community Prostate Cancer Bladder Cancer Kidney Cancer Testicular cancer
It’s one thing to develop cancer treatment guidelines in the U.S., where even the smallest health centers have access to the same basic technology for treatment and testing. But what about creating guidelines for oncologists in Sub-Saharan Africa, where access to medical resources can be limited and the disease can present differently?
Research Community Cancer Magazine Mental Health
Cancer, the author Susan Sontag wrote, is “the disease that doesn’t knock before it enters.”
It’s the scary C-word that a large and continually growing body of research demonstrates has effects far beyond its physical symptoms. A cancer diagnosis, especially one made in the later stages of the disease, often impacts a person’s mental and emotional health in ways that can be unexpected and broad-reaching.
Breast Cancer Colorectal Cancer cancer screening
Early detection of cancer plays a vital role in improving cancer survival rates. Detecting cancer early allows for timely intervention, stopping the cancer before it metastasizes, and increasing the effectiveness of treatment options.
At the University of Colorado Cancer Center, many members are focused on detecting cancer early by providing greater access to screening and educating the community on options.
Research Community Philanthropy Magazine
Philanthropy is critical to the mission of the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Donors who are able to make gifts of any amount help CU Cancer Center members contribute to breakthrough research and improved patient outcomes.
Over the past several decades, doctors and researchers have gotten much better at detecting and treating cancer. A cancer diagnosis, however, is still often costly to treat, not to mention the physical and emotional toll that treatment can take.
The best way to avoid a diagnosis altogether? Stop cancer before it starts.
Patient Care Colorectal Cancer GITES
Sean Ryan did everything right.
Ryan’s father died of colorectal cancer when he was just 45, so Ryan knew he was at high risk for the disease. When he turned 50, he made plans to get a screening colonoscopy. (In 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force lowered the recommended screening age for colorectal cancer from 50 to 45 for men and women at average risk for colorectal cancer.)
Cure Today
July 12, 2024
University of Colorado Cancer Center member Dr. Steven Thorpe emphasizes the collaborative nature of treating soft tissue and bone sarcomas, highlighting the multidisciplinary efforts at CU School of Medicine's Department of Orthopedics and Children’s Hospital Colorado. He underscores the goal of not only curing the disease but also preserving function through advanced surgical techniques and modern therapies, ensuring patients maintain quality of life post-treatment. Thorpe stresses the importance of long-term outcomes, tailoring treatments to support patients’ aspirations beyond their cancer journey, especially for pediatric cases.
OncLive
July 08, 2024
CU Cancer Center member S. Lindsey Davis, MD, highlighted that the combination therapy of sapanisertib and alisertib showed marginal clinical benefit for patients with advanced solid tumors, correlative analyses suggested that apoptotic response and tumor immune cell infiltrate might influence clinical outcomes. The phase 1b study's expansion cohort indicated some positive outlying responses among patients and underscore the need for further research to tailor treatments for standout patients and explore rational combinations to enhance efficacy.
News Medical
June 19, 2024
A new study led by University of Colorado Cancer Center member Marco Del Chiaro, MD, PhD, reveals that nearly 5% of pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients achieved a pathological complete response (pCR) after pre-surgical chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. This significant finding indicates that patients with pCR have a 63% five-year survival rate, compared to 30% for those without pCR, suggesting the potential for tailored treatments to improve outcomes.
Cancer Network
June 14, 2024
In a conversation at the 2024 European Hematology Association Congress, CU Cancer Center member Manali Kamdar, MD, discussed potential future research on lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel; Breyanzi) for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and other lymphoma subgroups. She highlighted findings from the phase 1 TRANSCEND NHL 001 trial, noting improved efficacy and safety in patients with fewer prior therapies and non-refractory disease, suggesting liso-cel's utility in earlier treatment lines and specific lymphoma subgroups.
Greg Glasgow
