CU Cancer Center News and Stories

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

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

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

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

 As a former dancer and dance instructor, CU Cancer Center member Jennifer Raybin, PhD, knows the power the creative arts hold to help people through challenging times. As a nurse practitioner who led the Palliative Care Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado, she knows the creative arts can be especially helpful for children and young adults with cancer. Creative activities help patients deal with symptoms, improve their mood, and even ease disease and treatment symptoms like pain, nausea, and fatigue.

Greg Glasgow | April 28, 2022

A University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center researcher has found, through extensive data analysis, that the youngest patients with brain tumors – those ages birth to 3 months – have about half the five-year survival rate as children ages 1 to 19.

Rachel Sauer | March 18, 2022

In normal human development, the SIX1 gene is critical for embryonic muscle development. After a person is born and as they mature, SIX1 is downregulated, or becomes less prevalent in cells.

Rachel Sauer | March 02, 2022

The Tumor-Host Interactions Program (THI) at the University of Colorado Cancer Center has awarded four CU Cancer Center researchers $30,000 each to gain preliminary data using the Multiplex Ion Beam Imager (MIBI) housed in the cancer center’s Human Immune Monitoring Shared Resource (HIMSR) to support a competitive national grant proposal. The selected researchers are expected to submit a national competitive grant proposal within six months of completing their THI-MIBI pilot studies.  

Greg Glasgow | February 10, 2022

In 2021, a Crested Butte family received a life-changing diagnosis. During the holiday season, their story is an apparent reminder that sometimes the best gifts are never found under a tree.

Denver 7 | December 23, 2021

One of the primary tools that oncologists use to stage cancers is the PET (positron emission tomography) scan, an imaging test that uses a small amount of radioactive sugar to detect metabolically active areas within the body.

Greg Glasgow | November 18, 2021

Three researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center have received grants from the V Foundation, a cancer research nonprofit founded in 1993 by college basketball coach Jimmy Valvano, who died of cancer.

Greg Glasgow | October 20, 2021

 It’s one of the most heartbreaking things Adam Green, MD, sees as a pediatric oncologist: children who beat their cancer, only to see an incurable brain tumor arise five years later.

Greg Glasgow | September 28, 2021

University of Colorado Cancer Center member M. Eric Kohler, MD, PhD, was awarded a three-year, $270,650 Young Investigator Grant from CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, in partnership with the SebastianStrong Foundation, to develop a new treatment approach for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rare blood cancer in children.

Greg Glasgow | September 17, 2021

Three members of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and a longstanding supporter of the campus are part of a group of more than 200 researchers nationwide who were recognized in April with the Team Science Award from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

Greg Glasgow | May 28, 2021

Thirty days of radiation treatments — five days a week, with Saturdays and Sundays off — are difficult for even the toughest of adults. But for a child, they’re even harder to bear. They involve fasting, waking up early, and lying in a dark room alone, without even your parents there for support.

Greg Glasgow | April 21, 2021

Although rare, kidney cancer is the third most common type of solid tumor affecting children. Thankfully, pediatric kidney tumors are generally treatable and most have high cure rates. Treatment outcomes depend on several factors including age, tumor type, staging, genetics, the overall health of the patient, and the risk of treatment side effects.  

Noelle Musgrave | April 09, 2021

M. Eric Kohler’s commitment to both cancer research — particularly CAR T-cell therapy — and clinical care make him a double threat when it comes to battling pediatric blood cancer.   

Valerie Gleaton | March 26, 2021

Three projects from University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers have received grants from the Denver-based Michele Plachy-Rubin Fund for Pilot Grants in Brain Cancer Research. Receiving $40,000 each to fund their work around brain cancer are Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD; and the teams of Philip Reigan, PhD, and Michael Graner, PhD; and Natalie Serkova, PhD, and Nicholas Foreman, MD, MBChB.

Cancer Center | March 04, 2021

The Denver chapter of Golfers Against Cancer this week named University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center researchers Matthew Sikora, PhD, Jamie Studts, PhD, and Jenna Sopfe, MD, as the beneficiaries of three $50,000 grants for cancer research and clinical trials.

Cancer Center | February 12, 2021

University of Colorado Cancer Center member and associate professor of Pathology Paul Jedlicka, MD, PhD, has received the St. Baldrick’s Research Grant with generous support from Marlee’s Smile. His research will focus on better understanding the mechanisms behind rhabdomyosarcoma, a common and aggressive cancer type in children. The goal of the research is to identify new approaches to interfering with disease progression.

Cancer Center | July 29, 2020

U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) released its 2020-21 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings this week. In the category of best hospitals for pediatric cancer, Children’s Hospital Colorado was ranked ninth in the country. Pediatric cancer services are provided by University of Colorado (CU) School of Medicine faculty who many are members of the CU Cancer Center.

Cancer Center | June 19, 2020

Cancer researchers have known for years that Black and Hispanic patients have worse outcomes than their non-Hispanic White peers. At least when it comes to adults. But few studies have explored these same disparities in pediatric patients, and fewer still have looked for racial/ethnic differences in treatment outcomes in pediatric brain cancer patients.

Cancer Center | March 12, 2020

When Matthew Murray started experiencing some double vision after school during baseball practice his mother took him to be checked out by an eye doctor. They were told not to be too concerned unless his double vision became constant. Less than two weeks later during a double-header game, Matthew’s double vision would not go away.

Taylor Abarca | September 09, 2016