CU Cancer Center News and Stories

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. 

Greg Glasgow | May 31, 2023

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.  

Greg Glasgow | May 26, 2023

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.) 

Greg Glasgow | May 24, 2023

Cancer is a sneaky disease. Find one method of treating it successfully, and it finds another way to survive. 

Greg Glasgow | May 22, 2023

Driven in part by an increase in breast cancer diagnoses in younger women — particularly in Black women — the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) — has proposed lowering the recommended age for beginning regular mammograms from 50 to 40. The USPSTF recommends that women at average risk for breast cancer get screening mammograms every other year. 

Greg Glasgow | May 18, 2023

Evelinn Borrayo, PhD, has made it her mission to eliminate cancer disparities in Colorado.  

Greg Glasgow | May 17, 2023

To start with, there was his usual schedule of national travel for his job as a Wall Street journeyman – he was always flying somewhere. Add to that moving to Castle Rock from San Francisco, plus a love for concerts and baseball games and whatever else life offers, and it’s no wonder that Lincoln Yersin was feeling run down.

But this run down? This exhausted? He went to see his primary care provider in San Francisco a few times, had a few tests, and the diagnosis was stress.

Rachel Sauer | May 16, 2023

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are cystic lesions that can form by the ducts of the pancreas. They generally are asymptomatic and discovered in the course of testing for other conditions.

Rachel Sauer | May 10, 2023

In its early stages, bladder cancer can be easy to ignore or write off as something it isn’t – a UTI, a bladder infection, or other conditions that are commonly treated with an antibiotic.

Rachel Sauer | May 09, 2023

May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month, which makes it a perfect time to turn the spotlight on pediatric brain cancer. Brain cancer is the second most common cancer in children, after leukemia, and brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in children and adolescents, with more than 4,000 new diagnoses each year, according to the American Cancer Society. 

Greg Glasgow | May 08, 2023

Paul Herzegh’s lung cancer story began six years ago on a beautiful April morning, roadtripping back home to Boulder from visiting friends in Virginia. He was 68, in otherwise good health, and felt some small kinks in his chest.

Hardly any time later, he had a diagnosis: stage 4 adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that originated in the cells lining the outside of his lungs. At that point, he didn’t know much beyond “the conventional wisdom that 'lung cancer is a killer,’” he explained Saturday evening, emphasizing the air quotes because, well, the conventional wisdom was wrong.

Rachel Sauer | May 05, 2023

Thanks to the Colorado Cancer Screening Program at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, more than 4,000 people from medically underserved populations received colorectal cancer screening over the past two years — individuals who likely would not have sought the screening out on their own.  

Greg Glasgow | April 28, 2023

Cancer is a disease of ripples – from symptoms that precede a diagnosis to treatment, side effects, and goals for long-term survival. It can impact every facet of life, for the person who receives the diagnosis as well as the person who is their caregiver.

Rachel Sauer | April 27, 2023

A unique treatment combining radiation and immunotherapy can eradicate pancreatic tumors while stopping the cancer from spreading, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

Julia Milzer | April 27, 2023

A longstanding approach to surgeries for children with kidney tumors has been an abundance of caution.

Rachel Sauer | April 26, 2023

For 30% to 40% of lymphoma patients who receive CAR T therapy, the treatment is a godsend. Typically given to lymphoma patients for whom other treatments have proven ineffective, CAR T therapy involves removing immune cells from the body via a blood draw, reengineering them to become better cancer fighters, then reintroducing them to the bloodstream, where they seek out and destroy cancer cells. 

Greg Glasgow | April 25, 2023

When the PACT Act went into effect January 1, after being signed into law in August, many U.S. veterans were able to access benefits for an expanded list of health conditions presumed to be caused by exposure to toxic substances.

Rachel Sauer | April 14, 2023

Cancer patients younger than 65 who are discharged to a skilled nursing facility following hospitalization are less likely to receive cancer treatment and hospice care before death, new University of Colorado Cancer Center research shows.

Rachel Sauer | April 12, 2023

Whether they are coming from across the state, across the region, or across the country, more than 1,000 people each year arrive at the University of Colorado Cancer Center for treatment, surgery, or a second opinion on their cancer diagnosis.

Greg Glasgow | April 10, 2023

For many pediatric cancer patients and their families, “scanxiety” is a very real and very scary feeling – the worry that can precede scans before treatment, and the uncertainty stemming from scans after treatment is completed.

Rachel Sauer | April 05, 2023

Testicular cancer is a highly treatable cancer that isn’t always easy to talk about.

Rachel Sauer | April 04, 2023

Nathan Hammond knew things were getting bad when his doctors had to put the feeding tube in. 

Greg Glasgow | April 03, 2023

Whole-brain radiation therapy used to treat brain metastases is a significant cancer treatment that, while generally well-tolerated, can have serious long-term side effects, including dementia. Neither clinicians nor patients undertake it lightly.

Rachel Sauer | March 29, 2023

There’s a growing body of research supporting the satisfactions of gardening, from its positive impact as a mental health intervention to its association with improvement in cognitive function and reduction in stress, anger, and fatigue.

Rachel Sauer | March 28, 2023

For her innovative research on how cannabinoids affect the tumor immune microenvironment in melanoma, University of Colorado Cancer Center member Camille Stewart, MD, has been named to the 2023 cohort of the National Cancer Institute’s Early-Stage Surgeon Scientist Program (ESSP). The National Cancer Institute coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Greg Glasgow | March 24, 2023

Before receiving a pancreatic cancer diagnosis eight years ago – a diagnosis that resulted from persistent self-advocacy – Carolyn Degrafinried spent one awful weekend wondering if she was losing her mind.

Rachel Sauer | March 23, 2023

Squamous cell head and neck cancers — cancers that develop in the outer layers of tissue in the oral cavity, throat, larynx, and sinonasal cavity — are the sixth most prevalent cancer worldwide. The five-year survival rate for this type of cancer is 40% to 50%, with a worse prognosis for patients with advanced disease. 

Greg Glasgow | March 21, 2023

Pediatric osteosarcoma patients who are Hispanic or live in areas of high language isolation are more likely to have metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, recently publish research shows.

Rachel Sauer | March 17, 2023

Earlier this month, medical professionals, patient advocates, industry innovators, federal policymakers, and public health officials, including two members of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, gathered at the White House for the Cancer Moonshot Colorectal Cancer Forum.  

Greg Glasgow | March 16, 2023

For women with dense breasts, getting a mammogram to screen for breast cancer can be something of a double whammy. Not only is cancer more difficult to detect in dense breasts, but dense breasts also are a risk factor for developing breast cancer in the first place. 

Greg Glasgow | March 15, 2023

When surgeons from the Netherlands needed help establishing a national program for patients with hard-to-treat pancreatic cancer, they knew just whom to turn to: Marco Del Chiaro, MD, PhD, professor and division chief of surgical oncology in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery.

Greg Glasgow | March 09, 2023

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and with the recent news that the disease is on the rise among people under 55, it’s more important than ever for people to understand the screening options for colorectal cancer.  

Greg Glasgow | March 08, 2023

Channing E. Tate, PhD, MPH, University of Colorado Cancer Center Rising Star, has seen through her personal and professional experiences how aging populations and communities of color often fall through the cracks of health care, especially at the end of life.

Rachel Sauer | March 07, 2023

Funding from the Paul R. O’Hara Seed Grant Fund at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus will allow CU Cancer Center member Akshay Chauhan, MD, to explore new methods of detecting and treating esophageal cancer. 

Greg Glasgow | March 06, 2023

Over the past decade, human papillomavirus (HPV) has increasingly been identified as a significant cause of certain head and neck cancers – for example, evidence suggests it causes 70% of oropharyngeal cancers in the United States.

Rachel Sauer | March 03, 2023

Already regarded as one of the country’s leaders in CAR T-cell therapy, University of Colorado Cancer Center member M. Eric Kohler, MD, PhD, has received a $150,000 Scholar Award from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) to investigate a method to make CAR T cells function even better. 

Greg Glasgow | February 24, 2023

University of Colorado Cancer Center members Michael Leibowitz, MD, PhD, and Dan Regan, DVM, PhD, have received an $800,000 grant from the V Foundation for Cancer Research, co-founded by ESPN and legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano, to study a new potential treatment for pediatric osteosarcoma that spreads to the lungs. 

Greg Glasgow | February 23, 2023

Four early career researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center have received Institutional Research Grants (IRGs) from the American Cancer Society (ACS) for 2023 through the parent grant awarded to the CU Cancer Center. IRGs are intended to support junior faculty members to obtain preliminary results that will enable them to compete successfully for federal research grants.  

Greg Glasgow | February 17, 2023

For many people who receive a cancer diagnosis, one of the first things they want is information – about the cancer itself, about treatment options, about side effects they may experience, about what it all means.

Rachel Sauer | February 13, 2023

Cancer is a disease driven by gene mutations. These mutated genes in cancer fall into two major categories: tumor suppressors and oncogenes. Mutations in tumor suppressor genes can allow tumors to grow unchecked – a case of no brakes – while mutations in oncogenes can activate cell proliferation, pushing the gas pedal all the way to the floor.

Rachel Sauer | February 10, 2023

About one in five people worldwide will develop cancer in their lifetimes and in 2020, the most recent year for which data are available, cancer accounted for nearly 10 million deaths worldwide.

Rachel Sauer | February 04, 2023

The Protocol Review and Monitoring System (PRMS) in the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Clinical Trials Office is under new leadership. 

Greg Glasgow | January 30, 2023

A project co-created by University of Colorado Cancer Center leader Jamie Studts, PhD, to boost lung cancer screening rates in Kentucky has proven so successful that Studts has received a grant from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF) to create an enhanced version of the program that will roll out in two more states in the coming years.

Greg Glasgow | January 23, 2023

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have discovered a drug combination that might offer a better prognosis for children diagnosed with MYC amplified Medulloblastoma, an often deadly form of brain cancer. The research was conducted in collaboration with the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) University Hospital Dusseldorf.

Laura Kelley | January 19, 2023

In addition to the research and clinical work she performs as a member of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, Swati Patel, MD, also just completed a one-year term as president of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer (CGA-IGC), an international professional medical organization dedicated to taking care of patients who may be at increased risk of GI cancer based on family history and genetics.  

Greg Glasgow | January 17, 2023

When his mom fell off a ladder on New Year’s Eve a number of years ago, after deciding that was as good a night as any to clean the leaves from her gutters, one of the first things Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, did after she got home from the hospital was take her pulse.

Rachel Sauer | January 12, 2023

When it comes to treating cancer, doctors have many tools in their arsenal. For decades, cancer was treated with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation — broad tools that affect healthy cells along with the cancer cells they are meant to eradicate. 

Greg Glasgow | January 11, 2023

Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have identified a new feature indicative of the chance of recurrence of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GISTs).

Kelsea Pieters | January 09, 2023

As growing numbers of people diagnosed with cancer receive testing to have their cancer genetically sequenced, researchers and clinicians are learning volumes more about specific mutations and genetic alterations that can occur in each type of cancer.

Rachel Sauer | January 09, 2023

A necessary part of the scientific process is sometimes being wrong, and Eric Pietras, PhD, was wrong. He’s the first to admit it.

When Pietras, a University of Colorado Cancer Center member and associate professor of hematology, joined the CU School of Medicine in 2015, a significant body of research suggested that inflammation activated blood-forming stem cells, which normally are dormant in bone marrow.

Rachel Sauer | January 06, 2023

On January 2, tennis great Martina Navratilova revealed that she has been diagnosed with two unrelated cancers: stage 1 throat cancer and early-stage breast cancer. 

Greg Glasgow | January 04, 2023

For many people, receiving a cancer diagnosis may require learning a new vocabulary ­– terms that can be useful guideposts for defining the disease and its treatment.

Rachel Sauer | January 03, 2023

Former Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman, 31, died Wednesday of a rare type of kidney cancer that disproportionately impacts young people who are Black with sickle cell trait or sickle cell disease.

Rachel Sauer | December 22, 2022

2022 was an impressive year for the University of Colorado Cancer Center, and we were able to share more than 125 stories highlighting our research, patient care, education, and community partnerships.

Cancer Center | December 19, 2022

Jane Hart is a lot of things: extremely proud mom of Shelby, daughter extraordinaire and apple of Jane’s eye. Dog mom to (deservedly spoiled) Maizy, Taco, Winnie, and Walter. Collector of Talavera pottery. Unabashed “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” fan. A surprising 71, because she looks at least 10 years younger.

Cancer survivor – stage 4 laryngeal cancer that necessitated a tracheostomy and laryngectomy, that forced her to relearn how to breathe and talk.

Rachel Sauer | December 16, 2022

A new multidrug treatment for patients with stage 4 melanoma has proven effective after a three-year clinical trial at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

Greg Glasgow | December 15, 2022

A newly opened endoscopy suite at Salud Family Health in Longmont highlights the importance of longstanding partnerships between the University of Colorado Cancer Center and community stakeholders in supporting underserved populations who otherwise might not receive vital cancer screening services.

Rachel Sauer | December 14, 2022

Today, the University of Colorado Cancer Center released new research that showcases chemotherapy treatment before and after surgery for pancreatic cancer as the most effective combination for patients.

Julia Milzer | December 08, 2022

Actress Kirstie Alley, best known for her role as Rebecca Howe on the 1980s sitcom “Cheers,” died Monday at age 71. According to a representative for the actress quoted in People magazine, Alley died from colon cancer after a short battle with the disease.

Greg Glasgow | December 06, 2022

New research from the University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center highlights the need for additional data collection for women hoping to have successful pregnancies while undergoing treatment for lung cancer. Specifically, they focus on the diagnosis of advanced oncogene-driven non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that disproportionately affects women of reproductive age.

Laura Kelley | December 02, 2022

Two important numbers to keep in mind are that 50.5% of the U.S. population is female, and that cancer will account for more than 606,000 deaths in the United States this year, making it the second-leading cause of death.

Rachel Sauer | November 28, 2022

A new study from researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has identified a less invasive way to treat a subset of head and neck cancers that could potentially change the standard of care for patients.

Kelsea Pieters | November 28, 2022

It was all his grandma’s doing, says University of Colorado Cancer Center member Paul Maroni, MD.

Greg Glasgow | November 21, 2022

In the course of her research studying employment and cancer, Cathy J. Bradley, PhD, MPA, deputy director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, has heard from people diagnosed with cancer who would skip a chemotherapy treatment rather than skip work and risk losing their job.

Rachel Sauer | November 16, 2022

Xander Bradeen began his undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado Boulder planning to major in neuroscience as a pre-med student, the first in his family to pursue a college education. Then he learned about prairie voles.

Rachel Sauer | November 14, 2022

New research conducted in the lab of University of Colorado Cancer Center co-deputy director James DeGregori, PhD, may explain why acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells that reside in the bone marrow are more resistant to medication than AML cells found in the blood and elsewhere in the body.

Greg Glasgow | November 11, 2022

Laura Foote is now three years out from her pancreatic cancer diagnosis, thanks to a surgery performed by Richard Schulick, MD, MBA, director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and chair of the Department of Surgery. 

Cancer Center | November 08, 2022

University of Colorado Cancer Center member Erin Schenk, MD, PhD, has been named one of the CU School of Medicine 2022 Translational Research Scholars and received four-year grant support to facilitate exploration and new lines of research.

Rachel Sauer | November 07, 2022

Corralling four research programs, 12 shared resources, a 28-member leadership team, and a $23 million grant is a huge job — but it’s one that Michaela Montour has performed at the University of Colorado Center with ease for more than 20 years.  

Greg Glasgow | October 31, 2022

Mammograms are a vital tool for breast cancer screening. They can detect tumors even before a woman experiences signs or symptoms of cancer, and are sensitive enough to register changes to breast tissue as small as a grain of sand.

A significant body of research has shown that having regular mammograms can lower a woman’s risk of dying from breast cancer.

Rachel Sauer | October 28, 2022

University of Colorado Cancer Center member Bryan Haugen, MD, always knew he was a science person. His question was if he wanted to be a MD or a PhD. After completing his bachelor’s degree at Saint Olaf College in Minnesota, he did a few years of research at the Mayo Clinic before starting medical school there.

Jessica Cordova | October 27, 2022

Cancer becomes especially dangerous when it metastasizes — or spreads — to other parts of the body, including the brain. Breast cancer is more likely than many other cancers to spread to the brain, due in part to the large amounts of estrogen present in areas including the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala. 

Greg Glasgow | October 26, 2022

Amanda Vegter did not have time for whatever it was that she felt on the side of her left breast.

She was six weeks into her fourth year of veterinary school, she had backpacking trips to go on with her boyfriend, walks to go on with her two dogs, plus plans for a summer externship in South Africa. She was busy and happy and it was probably nothing.

But that firm spot she first felt on her breast in January 2021 while working out at her boyfriend’s house didn’t just go away. Now she can look back and shake her head – of course it was breast cancer.

Rachel Sauer | October 21, 2022

Scarlet Doyle was 29 when she was diagnosed with angiosarcoma, a rare type of breast cancer. She had found a lump and had to advocate for herself to get her breast cancer diagnosis. After having her care transferred to the University of Colorado Cancer Center, she was seen by Breelyn Wilky, MD, associate professor of medical oncology and deputy associate director of clinical research at the CU Cancer Center, and Gretchen Ahrendt, MD, professor of surgical oncology. 

Cancer Center | October 20, 2022

Jan Lowery, PhD, MPH, who started her career as a researcher at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, returned September 1 as assistant director for dissemination and implementation for the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement at the CU Cancer Center. In her new role, Lowery will lead efforts to develop, conduct, and disseminate implementation-focused projects in cancer prevention, early detection, and survivorship.  

Greg Glasgow | October 18, 2022

A team of scientists and University of Colorado Cancer Center members are collaborating to understand pre-malignancy in lung cancer and decrease the risk of developing the disease, supported by a grant to promote such multi-investigator research.

Rachel Sauer | October 14, 2022

The best screening test for colorectal cancer is the screening that gets done, because it decreases a person’s chances of getting colorectal cancer and significantly reduces their risk of dying from colorectal cancer.

Rachel Sauer | October 13, 2022

As lead investigator or sub-investigator on numerous clinical trials at the University of Colorado Cancer Center — many of them investigating new treatments for head and neck cancer — Jessica McDermott, MD, has been instrumental in improving access to cancer clinical trials for patients from medically underserved communities.

Greg Glasgow | October 11, 2022

More than 85 researchers from five different institutions around Colorado, including the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Colorado State University, and CU Boulder, gathered in the newly opened Anschutz Health Sciences Building on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus on August 19 for the 2022 Genome Regulation Summer Symposium.  

Greg Glasgow | October 07, 2022

Former “TODAY” show anchor Katie Couric revealed last week that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in summer 2022. Couric appeared on “TODAY” on October 3 to talk about her diagnosis, saying she was lucky her cancer was detected during a routine mammogram and urging other women to keep up with their mammograms. 

Greg Glasgow | October 05, 2022

University of Colorado Cancer Center members Moumita Ghosh, PhD, and Eric Clambey, PhD, have received a grant from the American Lung Association (ALA) to study how epithelial progenitor cells and immune cells may impact each other to shape the outcome of lung cancer. 

Greg Glasgow | October 03, 2022

When a person has lived with colorectal cancer for a long time, and gotten to the point of not responding to therapies as much or at all, it’s common to develop cachexia. This debilitating condition is a multi-systemic wasting syndrome that can cause weight loss, a loss of muscle and bone mass, fatigue, and frailty.

Rachel Sauer | September 30, 2022

Researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have created a new way of measuring cancer lesions’ response to treatment that could better inform the development of new cancer drugs.

Kelsea Pieters | September 29, 2022

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and, when caught and treated early, is considered curable. But when prostate cancer becomes metastatic, meaning it spreads to distant organs, it is no longer considered curable and novel treatment strategies are needed.

Rachel Sauer | September 28, 2022

Prostate cancer is the second most common and deadly cancer in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that 1 in 8 men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. Treatment techniques range from aggressive therapies such as radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy to targeted therapies that treat only the affected cancer cells.

Noelle Musgrave | September 26, 2022

Every person who receives a cancer diagnosis experiences the symptoms of the disease and treatments differently. However, a common thread is that the disease can influence every aspect of life, even after a person reaches no evidence of disease (NED) status.

Rachel Sauer | September 23, 2022

People often tell Winona Williams that she’s brave, and she is. Ovarian cancer could easily become a dark cloud over her, shadowing every minute of every day.

Rachel Sauer | September 20, 2022

Thanks in part to clinical trials overseen by researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, a wearable, portable electrical device called Optune is proving successful at treating a type of brain tumor called a glioblastoma.

Greg Glasgow | September 19, 2022

September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, a time for bringing attention to leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, Hodgkin’s disease, and other blood cancers.

Greg Glasgow | September 16, 2022

As part of its ongoing efforts to eradicate childhood cancers, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation has awarded University of Colorado Cancer Center member Kelly Faulk, MD, a St. Baldrick’s Scholar grant to investigate a new method for treating infant leukemia. 

Greg Glasgow | September 08, 2022

A new phase 2 clinical trial led by University of Colorado Cancer Center member Robert Lentz, MD, may offer hope for patients with metastatic colon cancer for whom standard therapy is no longer effective. Lentz is mentored by Wells Messersmith, MD, associate director of clinical services at the CU Cancer Center.

Greg Glasgow | September 07, 2022

As genetic counseling and genetic testing continue gaining importance in the world of cancer, the new co-director of hereditary cancers in the University of Colorado Cancer Center is aiming to increase awareness of these important resources for patients.

Rachel Sauer | September 06, 2022

The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by the prostate gland. The PSA test is a blood test used to measure the amount of this protein found in the blood. Results are reported (ng/mL), which means nanograms of PSA per milliliter of blood. High levels of PSA have been found in men with advanced prostate cancer. 

Noelle Musgrave | September 02, 2022

Initially, the big picture looks severe: Pediatric brain tumors are now the number one cause of death for children diagnosed with cancer.

Though leukemia is four times more common in pediatric patients than brain tumors, about 90% of children diagnosed with leukemia will experience a cure “because we’ve done such a good job of researching leukemia, and treatments have come so far that cure rates have improved significantly,” says Rajeev Vibhakar, MD, PhD, MPH, a professor of pediatric hematology and oncology in the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “We need to see that same level of support and advancement in finding cures for pediatric brain tumors.”

Rachel Sauer | September 01, 2022

In research that reinforces the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s longstanding relationship with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), CU Cancer Center member Lauren Nicholas, PhD, MPP, is co-principal investigator on a new LLS-funded study to examine the role of Medicare plan selection in dealing with a blood cancer diagnosis.  

Greg Glasgow | August 30, 2022

Each year, about 27,000 women age 45 or younger are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Of those, about 4% are pregnant at the time of their diagnosis.

Rachel Sauer | August 27, 2022

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have discovered how to extract critical information about breast cancer tumors and disease progression by analyzing blood plasma rather than using more invasive tissue biopsies.

“This is simply a blood draw,” said the study’s senior co-author Peter Kabos, MD, associate professor of medicine in the medical oncology division at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and CU Cancer Center member. “This allows us to look under the surface to see the defining characteristics of the disease. The advantage is that we don’t need to do repeated tissue biopsies.”

David Kelly | August 25, 2022

Deaths from COVID-19 and drug overdoses grabbed a lot of the headlines in 2021, but recently released numbers from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment show that cancer was still a leading cause of death in the state, and the number-one cause of death for the 45–84 age range.  

Greg Glasgow | August 22, 2022

For Isaiah Richardson, conducting research as an American Cancer Society Diversity in Cancer Research Intern this summer was an important academic and professional experience, but it was also personal.

Rachel Sauer | August 18, 2022

Less than a year ago, Ken Herfert got a puppy and named her Bailey after the Colorado town where she was born.

This was a big deal for several reasons, including the responsibility of adopting a new family member, but perhaps the biggest was this: About six months after receiving a diagnosis of esophageal cancer in early 2018, Herfert’s oncologist in California told him he had maybe a year to live, maybe less.

Rachel Sauer | August 16, 2022

The effects of cancer are not just physical, especially in advanced stages of the disease. People living with a cancer diagnosis may experience depression, anxiety, and fear, or feel demoralized by the weight of new and unanticipated burdens.

Rachel Sauer | August 15, 2022

For many researchers, the end of a post-doctoral fellowship and entry into a junior faculty position can be a time without a map.

Rachel Sauer | August 12, 2022

Among the biggest obstacles in studying and treating brain tumors are the blood-brain and blood-tumor barriers (BBTB). Generally, just a small amount of drug that is injected into the blood to treat brain tumors is able to penetrate blood vessel walls and accumulate in the brain.

Rachel Sauer | August 10, 2022

After a 30-year, off-and-on battle with metastatic breast cancer, Australian-born actress and singer Olivia Newton-John died on August 8 at age 73. Best known for her role as Sandy in the 1978 movie musical “Grease,” Newton-John also hit the music charts with singles like “Physical” and “Magic.” 

Greg Glasgow | August 09, 2022

A cancer diagnosis can be difficult to work through in the best of circumstances, but factor in barriers related to language, insurance status, educational achievement, geographic location, income level, and more, and the cancer journey — everything from prevention and screening to diagnosis and treatment — can become nearly impossible to traverse. 

Greg Glasgow | August 05, 2022

When the 21^st Century Cures Act went into effect in April 2021, health care organizations began releasing electronic health information (EHI) to patients immediately.

Rachel Sauer | August 04, 2022

A new study released by the University of Colorado Cancer Center shows that more than 70 percent of breast cancer patients have reported changes that affect their sexual health during and beyond treatment.

Laura Kelley | August 02, 2022

Until 2007, about 1 in 20 lung cancer patients all had the same thing in common but did not know it.

Rachel Sauer | August 01, 2022

For people living with and beyond cancer, one of the most common and limiting side effects is cancer-related fatigue (CRF).

Rachel Sauer | July 29, 2022

A new study from the University of Colorado Cancer Center explores which lung cancer patients are the best candidates for novel therapies that directly target a gene identified as driving certain cancers.

Julia Milzer | July 27, 2022

Some 100 researchers from around the world were in Aurora last week to discuss the latest findings and news around Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV), the virus that causes a type of cancer known as Kaposi sarcoma.  

Greg Glasgow | July 21, 2022

The bad news about endometrial cancer — cancer that begins in the lining of the uterus — is that it is one of the few cancers that is increasing in incidence even as most other cancers are on the decline, thanks to advances in treatment and prevention.  

Greg Glasgow | July 18, 2022

Large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) is one of the most aggressive lymphomas and accounts for about 30% of all lymphoma diagnoses.

Rachel Sauer | July 14, 2022

Oncologists have many tools they use to treat cancer, and one of the most commonly used is radiation therapy. In use since the early 1900s, radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves — including x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, and protons — to destroy or damage cancer cells. The machine that delivers radiation therapy has a head that rotates 360 degrees, and patients lie on a special bench that swivels, allowing the radiation to be delivered from any angle.

Greg Glasgow | July 13, 2022

Ward McNeilly thought he was a goner.  

It was summer 2021, and the sarcoma that had started in the Denver resident’s left thigh seemed to be under control, subdued by radiation and chemotherapy following a surgery in 2018 to remove the initial tumor and another surgery in 2019 to remove cancerous tumors in his groin. McNeilly was doing so well, in fact, that his doctors at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital authorized a “chemo vacation” to give his body a break from some of the side effects of the treatment.

Greg Glasgow | July 11, 2022

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to reduce the number of biopsies of benign thyroid nodules, according to new research from University of Colorado Cancer Center member Nikita Pozdeyev, MD. 

Greg Glasgow | July 08, 2022

An exciting and innovative area of cancer research is immunoprevention, in which studies focus on preventing cancer before its onset by using vaccines, antibodies, and other immune mechanisms.

Rachel Sauer | July 06, 2022

Three University of Colorado Cancer Center scientists have received a combined total of almost $2 million in grant funding from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to support research addressing a broad spectrum of cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Rachel Sauer | July 01, 2022

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are among the latest tools being used by cancer researchers to aid in detection and treatment of the disease.

Greg Glasgow | June 29, 2022