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CU Cancer Center News and Stories

Research

Research    lymphoma

CU Cancer Center Members Spotlight New Treatments for Relapsed Lymphomas

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date March 11, 2024
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Research   

Cameroon Native Emily Baiyee Toegel, MD, Brings International Perspective to Her Gastrointestinal Cancer Work

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 28, 2024
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Research    Esophageal Cancer

Endoscopic Surgery Device Wins Anschutz Acceleration Initiative Grant

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).


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 23, 2024
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Research   

CU Cancer Center Psychologist Tests Bright White Light Therapy as a Remedy for Cancer-Related Fatigue

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 21, 2024
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Research    Head and Neck Cancer    Medical Oncology

CU Cancer Center Leaders Using a Molecule as a Weapon Against Cancer

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).


Author Mark Harden | Publish Date February 20, 2024
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Research   

Shared Resources Pilot Grant Opens New Frontiers in 3D Cell and Tissue Printing

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 14, 2024
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Research    Cancer    Clinical Trials

‘We’re All In This Together’: CU Cancer Center Leaders Share Insights With Colorado Legislators

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.


Author Mark Harden | Publish Date February 07, 2024
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Research    Breast Cancer    Clinical Trials   

Clinical Trial Aids Patient With Recurrent Metastatic Breast Cancer

Margaret Taylor thought she had reached the end of her breast cancer journey.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 05, 2024
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Research    Funding    Awards    Cell and Gene Therapy

Project to Rev Up Cancer-Fighting Cells Wins Anschutz Acceleration Initiative Grant

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.


Author Mark Harden | Publish Date February 02, 2024
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Research    Breast Cancer    Medical Oncology

Tablets Show Promise as an Alternative to Chemotherapy in CU Cancer Center Member’s Breast Cancer Study

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.


Author Mark Harden | Publish Date January 29, 2024
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Research    Skin Cancer   

CU Cancer Center Member’s Skin Cancer Study Wins Anschutz Acceleration Initiative Grant 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 26, 2024
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Research    Community    Pediatric surgery    Cervical Cancer   

CU Doctor Works to Increase HPV Vaccine Uptake to Prevent 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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 17, 2024
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Research    Press Releases    Colorectal Cancer

CU Cancer Center Leader Part of Team Overseeing Multimillion Dollar Colorectal Cancer Initiative  

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 12, 2024
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Research    Pancreatic Cancer

V Foundation Grant Enables Research On Radiation Resistance in Pancreatic Cancer Treatment 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 09, 2024
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Research    Thyroid Cancer

The Role of Fibronectin in BRAF-mutant Thyroid Cancer Treatment 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 08, 2024
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Research    Community    Lung Cancer   

How Unusual is ‘Big Bang Theory’ Actress Kate Micucci’s 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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date December 15, 2023
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Research    Cancer    Clinical Trials   

What to Know About Supportive Care 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.


Author Mark Harden | Publish Date December 12, 2023
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Research    Pancreatic Cancer    Surgical Oncology

CU Study Finds Advantage in Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Even in Resectable Pancreatic Cancer Tumors

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 30, 2023
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Research   

CU Cancer Center Member Oversees New NCCN Guidelines for Cancer-Related Fatigue 

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). 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 29, 2023
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Research    Gynecologic Cancer    Magazine    Ovarian Cancer

Innovations in Ovarian Cancer Research

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 27, 2023
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Research    Ovarian Cancer

CU Cancer Center Researchers Land Major Grant to Investigate Ovarian Cancer Disparities

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.


Author Mark Harden | Publish Date November 20, 2023
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Research    Community    Magazine

Part of the Plan

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 17, 2023
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Research    Community    Breast Cancer    Magazine

To Trust or Not to Trust Your Breast Cancer Risk Calculation

Why are some women skeptical when given their personalized risk for developing breast cancer? The inquiring mind of Laura Scherer, PhD, wants to know.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 14, 2023
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Research    Community    Lung Cancer

CU Cancer Center Involved in Effort to Build Research Group of Lung Cancer Survivors

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 09, 2023
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Research    Patient Care    Community    Lung Cancer    Clinical Trials

After Lung Cancer Clinical Trial, Betty and Bill Moren Give Back as Patient Advocates for Thoracic Oncology Research Group

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 02, 2023
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Research    COVID-19    Esophageal Cancer   

Exploring the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Effect on Barrett’s Esophagus and Esophageal Cancer Screening 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 25, 2023
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Research    Pediatric Cancer

Addressing Early Death in Childhood Cancer 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 16, 2023
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Research    DNA    Awards

Karolin Luger, PhD, Honored By World Laureates Association

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 13, 2023
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Research    Breast Cancer    Clinical Trials

Why Are Clinical Trials So Important in Breast Cancer Treatment? 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 10, 2023
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Research    Philanthropy    Breast Cancer    Magazine    Surgical Oncology

Breast Cancer Experience Leads to Donation for Lymph Node Research

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 05, 2023
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Research    Head and Neck Cancer

New Study Aims to Better Treat Head and Neck Cancer in Dogs and Humans

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.  


Author Carie Behounek | Publish Date September 28, 2023
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Research    Sarcoma

Research Underscores the Complexity of Sarcoma Biology 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 26, 2023
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Research    Blood Cancer

CU Cancer Center Members Spotlight the Latest Leukemia Treatments 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 11, 2023
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Research    Education    Community    Blood Cancer

Elijah Johnson Came to the CU Cancer Center to Research the Mutation That Makes Him More Likely to Develop 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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date August 30, 2023
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Research    Community

Surprising Finding in Cannabis Research: The Drug Improves Cognition in Cancer Patients 

Can using over-the-counter cannabis products help cancer patients cope with issues like pain, anxiety, sleeplessness, and depression? 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date August 21, 2023
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Research    Data analysis

NCI National Cancer Plan: Maximize Data Utility 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date August 04, 2023
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Research    Ovarian Cancer    Multiple Myeloma

Guidelines for Preventing Blood Clots in People With Cancer 

Many of the side effects of cancer treatment are well-known, including nausea, fatigue, and weight loss. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 28, 2023
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Research    Melanoma    Immunotherapy   

R01 Grant Will Help Find a Way to Overcome Resistance to Immunotherapy in Melanoma  

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


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 26, 2023
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Research    Lung Cancer   

Studying the Role of Sox9 in Lung Cancer

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 24, 2023
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Research    Community    Equity Diversity and Inclusion

NCI National Cancer Plan: Optimize the Workforce 

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 21, 2023
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Research    Press Releases

The Largest Study of Its Kind Shows a Need for Improvement in Esophageal Cancer Screenings

A new study published in Gastroenterologyaims to improve the effectiveness of screening and surveillance practices for early cancer detection in Barrett’s esophagus (BE).


Author Julia Milzer | Publish Date July 20, 2023
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Research    Leadership

Diana Cittelly, PhD, Named Co-leader of Tumor Host Interactions Program 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 18, 2023
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Research    Press Releases    Cancer   

Research Offers Insight into Improving Efficacy of PD-L1 Immunotherapy for Cancer Patients

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.


Author Julia Milzer | Publish Date July 06, 2023
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Research    Community    Clinical Trials

NCI National Cancer Plan: Engage Every Person  

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 23, 2023
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Research    Lung Cancer   

CU Cancer Center Researcher Receives Gilead Grant to Study Persister Cells in Lung Cancer 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 19, 2023
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Research    Breast Cancer    Awards

Clinician Scientist Development Grant From the American Cancer Society Will Help Sarah Tevis, MD, Advance Her Research on Breast Cancer Outcomes 

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). 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 14, 2023
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Research    Blood Cancer    Awards

Overcoming Drug Resistance in Multiple Myeloma 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 12, 2023
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Research    Community

NCI National Cancer Plan: Developing Effective Treatments   

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 09, 2023
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Research    Community    Cancer    Magazine    Mental Health   

Understanding Cancer in the Mind and the Heart

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date June 05, 2023
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Research    Community    Philanthropy    Magazine   

Endowed Chairs Fund Vital Research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 31, 2023
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Research    Pediatric Cancer    Brain and Spinal Cancer

Finding New Ways to Treat Diffuse Midline Gliomas 

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


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 22, 2023
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Research    Pancreatic Cancer    Surgical Oncology    Transplant Surgery

Data Analysis Offers Promising News for Transplant Patients with Previous Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms Diagnosis

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 10, 2023
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Research    Community    Colorectal Cancer

NCI National Cancer Plan: Eliminating Inequities  

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date April 28, 2023
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Research    Community    Health equity

Lower-Income, Working Cancer Caregivers Experience Harder Financial Impacts

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date April 27, 2023
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Research    Press Releases    Pancreatic Cancer    Clinical Trials

New Pancreatic Cancer Research Could Boost Survival Rates

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.


Author Julia Milzer | Publish Date April 27, 2023
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Research    Pediatric Cancer    Kidney Cancer    Urology

Research Shows that Lymph Node Sampling During Kidney Tumor Surgery Is Safe

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


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date April 26, 2023
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Research    Blood Cancer    Immunotherapy    lymphoma

What is the Best Lymphoma Treatment After CAR T Therapy Fails? 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date April 25, 2023
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Research    Community    Cancer   

Where Advanced Cancer Patients Are Discharged After Hospitalization Affects Outcomes

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date April 12, 2023
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Research    Pediatric Cancer    Sarcoma    Radiation

Study Shows that Equivocal Scan Results Don’t Predict Higher Risk of Pediatric Cancer Relapse

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date April 05, 2023
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Research    Lung Cancer    Radiation   

Research Shows Targeted Therapy Allows Certain Lung Cancer Patients to Avoid Whole-Brain Radiation

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 29, 2023
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Research    Community    Cancer    ColoradoSPH at CU Anschutz   

Growing Health and Wellness in the Community Garden

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 28, 2023
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Research    Surgical Oncology    Awards

CU Cancer Center Member Named to National Cancer Institute Early-Stage Surgeon Scientist Program 

For her innovative research on how cannabinoids affect the tumor immune microenvironment in melanomaUniversity 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). 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date March 24, 2023
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Research    Head and Neck Cancer

Studying the Oral Cancer Immune Landscape in Dogs 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date March 21, 2023
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Research    Pediatric Cancer    Bone Cancer    Data analysis

Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity Shown to Impact Pediatric Bone Cancer Outcomes

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 17, 2023
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Research    Awards

Sojourns Scholar Award Will Support Hospice Research in Communities of Color

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 07, 2023
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Research    Philanthropy    Esophageal Cancer

Gift From Patient’s Family Funds Exploration of New Treatment for Esophageal Cancer 

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


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date March 06, 2023
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Research    Head and Neck Cancer    Clinical Trials

Innovative Technology Shows Great Promise Against Certain Head and Neck Cancers

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 03, 2023
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Research    Blood Cancer   

Eric Kohler, MD, PhD, Receives Award to Improve CAR T-Cell Therapy 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 24, 2023
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Research    Bone Cancer

V Foundation Funds CU Cancer Center Research on Pediatric Osteosarcoma That Spreads to the Lungs 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 23, 2023
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Research   

Junior Faculty at CU Cancer Center Selected for 2023 American Cancer Society Grants 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 17, 2023
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Research    Cancer    Surgical Oncology

Most People Diagnosed with Cancer Seek Information Even Before Their Appointments

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date February 13, 2023
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Research    Cancer    Genetics

Research Illuminates a Therapeutic Strategy to Induce Cancer Cell Death

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date February 10, 2023
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Research    Lung Cancer   

Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation Funds Efforts to Increase Lung Cancer Screening 

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 23, 2023
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Research    Community   

CU Cancer Center Member Leads Conference on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancers 

In addition to the research and clinical work she performs as a member of the University of Colorado Cancer CenterSwati 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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 17, 2023
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Research    Faculty    Lung Cancer   

Balancing Science and Medicine to Benefit Lung Cancer Patient Care

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date January 12, 2023
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Research    Community    Immunotherapy   

What is Immunotherapy? 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 11, 2023
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Research    Prostate Cancer    Cancer   

Using Big Data to Help Understand when a Treatment is Right for Prostate Cancer Patients

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date January 09, 2023
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Research    Blood Cancer    Funding   

New Grant Funding Supports Researcher in Understanding Early Factors in Blood Cancer

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date January 06, 2023
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Research    Cancer

CU Cancer Center Top Stories of 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.


Author Cancer Center | Publish Date December 19, 2022
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Research    Patient Care    Head and Neck Cancer    Clinical Trials    Immunotherapy

Clinical Trial Participation Helps Woman Diagnosed with Laryngeal Cancer Enjoy Every Day Without the Disease

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date December 16, 2022
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Research    Melanoma

Drug Combination for Stage 4 Melanoma Shows Success in CU Cancer Center Trial

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date December 15, 2022
Full Story

Research    Press Releases    Pancreatic Cancer   

Largest Study of its Kind Reveals Adjuvant Chemotherapy Improves Overall Survival for Pancreatic Cancer Patients

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.


Author Julia Milzer | Publish Date December 08, 2022
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Research    Lung Cancer    Women's Health   

New Research from the University of Colorado Cancer Center Explores Options for Motherhood in Lung Cancer Patients

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.


Author Laura Kelley | Publish Date December 02, 2022
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Research    Community    Cancer    ColoradoSPH at CU Anschutz   

Focusing on Cancer, Work, and Employment

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date November 16, 2022
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Research    Education    Community    Equity Diversity and Inclusion

PIKE-PREP Supports Scholars from Underrepresented Backgrounds in Pursuing Top-Tier Education

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date November 14, 2022
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Research    Leukemia

CU Cancer Center Research Finds the Pathway AML Cells Use to Avoid Therapeutic Elimination

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 11, 2022
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Research    Lung Cancer    Funding   

Translational Research Scholar Grant Supports Further Study of Immune Cell Changes During Lung Cancer Treatment

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date November 07, 2022
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Research    Community   

Michaela Montour Celebrated as Research Administrator of the Year 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 31, 2022
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Research    Patient Care    Breast Cancer    Plastic Surgery

Multi-Faceted Treatment Helps Young Breast Cancer Patient Through Her Cancer Journey

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date October 21, 2022
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Research    Lung Cancer    Funding

CU ASPIRE Grant Supports Multi-Investigator Research Focusing on Lung Cancer Pre-Malignancy

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date October 14, 2022
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Research

Colorado Researchers Gather in Aurora for Genome Regulation Symposium 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 07, 2022
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Research    Lung Cancer   

American Lung Association Award Funds CU Research on Epithelial Progenitor Cells 

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


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 03, 2022
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Research    Colorectal Cancer    Cancer    Funding

R01 Grant Supports Deep Dive into Protein Associated with Cachexia in Late-Stage Colorectal Cancer

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date September 30, 2022
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Research    Lung Cancer   

CU Anschutz Researchers Create New Method to More Accurately Measure Cancer Lesions’ Response to Treatment

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.


Author Kelsea Pieters | Publish Date September 29, 2022
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Research    Prostate Cancer    Cancer   

Ongoing Research Studying Effect of High-Dose Testosterone in Treating Prostate Cancer

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date September 28, 2022
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Research    Patient Care    Brain and Spinal Cancer

A Wearable Device to Treat Brain Tumors

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 19, 2022
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Research    Pediatric Cancer    Blood Cancer    Leukemia    Clinical Trials

St. Baldrick’s Funds CU Study of New Pediatric Leukemia Drug 

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


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 08, 2022
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Research    Colorectal Cancer    Clinical Trials    DOM Newsletter

CU Cancer Center Leading Clinical Trial of New Drug to Treat Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 07, 2022
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Research    Pediatric Cancer    Brain and Spinal Cancer

CU Cancer Center Is Home to One of the Largest Groups of Pediatric Brain Tumor Researchers in the Country

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.”


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date September 01, 2022
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Research    Blood Cancer    Leukemia

New Research Grant Underscores the CU Cancer Center’s Long Relationship With the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date August 30, 2022
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Research    Breast Cancer    DNA   

Researchers Find Less Risky Way to Monitor Breast Cancer Progression

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.”


Author David Kelly | Publish Date August 25, 2022
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Research    Education    Students    Diversity   

Diversity in Cancer Research Program Hosts Undergraduate Students for Hands-On Experience at CU Cancer Center

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date August 18, 2022
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Research    Patient Care    Awareness    Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal Cancer Patient Thriving and Optimistic after Multidisciplinary Care

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date August 16, 2022
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Research    Cancer    Clinical Trials

Studying Psychedelics to Treat Psychiatric Distress in Late-Stage Cancer

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date August 15, 2022
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Research    Community    Faculty   

First In-Person Nuclear Receptors IMPACT Meeting Focuses on Support and Collaboration

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


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date August 12, 2022
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Research    Brain and Spinal Cancer   

Lipid Nanoparticles Show Significant Promise in Carrying Cancer Drugs to Tumors

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date August 10, 2022
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Research    Community    ColoradoSPH at CU Anschutz   

Emphasizing The Importance of Patient Navigation 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date August 05, 2022
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Research    Breast Cancer

Research Shows Low Patient Comprehension of Terms Commonly Found in Electronic Health Information

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


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date August 04, 2022
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Research    Breast Cancer   

Study Could Lead to Better Education and Treatment of Sexual Health for Breast Cancer Patients

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.


Author Laura Kelley | Publish Date August 02, 2022
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Research    Community    Lung Cancer

ALK Positive Summit Focuses on Community and Survivorship

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


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date August 01, 2022
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Research    Community    Cancer

Newly Developed Reference Chart Helps Monitor Cancer-Related Fatigue Improvements Through Exercise Program

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


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date July 29, 2022
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Research    Press Releases    Lung Cancer   

CU Cancer Center Study Aims to Predict Critical Markers for Lung Cancer Treatments

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.


Author Julia Milzer | Publish Date July 27, 2022
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Research    Sarcoma

CU Cancer Center Hosts Conference on Kaposi Sarcoma Herpesvirus 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 21, 2022
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Research    Endometrial Cancer   

Access to National Patient Data Aids CU Cancer Research  

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 18, 2022
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Research    Immunotherapy    lymphoma

Research Shows CAR T Cell Therapy Is Effective Second-Line Treatment for Large B-Cell Lymphoma

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


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date July 14, 2022
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Research    Patient Care    Sarcoma    Clinical Trials   

Beating a Deadly Sarcoma 

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 11, 2022
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Research    Thyroid Cancer   

AI Can Recognize Thyroid Nodules That Are Very Unlikely To Be Cancerous 

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. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 08, 2022
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Research    Lung Cancer    Immunotherapy

CU Cancer Center Researcher Focusing on Multiple Avenues of Immunoprevention for Lung Cancer

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date July 06, 2022
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Research    Cancer    Funding

American Cancer Society Supports CU Cancer Center Researchers with Almost $2 Million in Grant Funding

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date July 01, 2022
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Research    Breast Cancer

Using Big Data to Better Understand Cancerous Mutations

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


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 29, 2022
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Research    Support    Cancer    Funding

CU Cancer Center Researchers Receive AB Nexus Grant Support for Intercampus Collaboration

University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers from the Anschutz and Boulder campuses are collaborating on a broad range of research that recently received AB Nexus support.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date June 24, 2022
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Research    Breast Cancer    Genetics

Commonly Mutated Gene Shown to Drive Therapeutic Resistance in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

PIK3CA is a gene that makes an enzyme called PI3K, which is involved in many important cell functions. When PIK3CA mutates, however, it can make the PI3K enzyme become overactive and cause cancer cells to grow.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date June 22, 2022
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Research    Community    Pediatric Cancer

Wheels of Justice Cycling Team Raises Money for Cancer Research and Treatment Provided by CU Cancer Center Members 

The cancer journey can be a solitary one, whether you’re a patient, a survivor, or a friend or family member of someone who died from the disease. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 06, 2022
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Research    Patient Care

National Cancer Survivors Day 2022

In recognition of National Cancer Survivors Day on June 5, we wanted to share how far cancer survivorship has come, our efforts at the University of Colorado Cancer Center to further the research that results in survivorship, and some of our survivor stories from the past year.


Author Shelly Lange | Publish Date June 03, 2022
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Research    Bladder Cancer   

Older Adults with Advanced Bladder Cancer Prioritize Honest Information about What to Expect

The median age for receiving a bladder cancer diagnosis is 73, and a significant number of those living with the disease are in their 70s and 80s.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date June 01, 2022
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Research    Cancer    Funding    Animal

Four Collaborative Human/Canine Cancer Research Projects Receive Pilot Grant Funding

Four research projects conducted by University of Colorado Cancer Center members from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Colorado State University recently each received $50,000 pilot grant funding from the Joint Pilot Program of the CU Cancer Center and CSU Flint Animal Cancer Center.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 26, 2022
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Research    Community    Magazine    Clinical Trials

Growing Evidence Shows Increasing Overlaps Between Human and Companion Animal Cancer Research

Molly the golden retriever was a fan of cookies. Whenever there was a plate of them nearby, she kept her eye on it, waiting for her chance to sneak one or five. She was a fan of water, too, even after she had surgery to remove her left front leg following an osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, diagnosis in April 2017.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 19, 2022
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Research    Community    COVID-19    Cancer

Early Days of COVID-19 Pandemic Brought Increased Anxiety for Some Cancer Survivors

Among the many lessons collectively learned during the initial months of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic was this: The experience was uncharted psychological and emotional terrain. It wasn’t uncommon for people across the globe to express uncertainty about how to navigate new stresses and new emotions.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 16, 2022
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Research

Natalie Serkova, MSc, PhD, Named Deputy Associate Director of Shared Resources at CU Cancer Center 

She was recognized by her peers in 2021 for her leadership at the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Animal Imaging Shared Resource. Now Natalie Serkova, MSc, PhD, is bringing her expertise to a new role: deputy associate director of all shared resources at the CU Cancer Center.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 11, 2022
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Research    Prostate Cancer

How Tumor Cells Use Mitochondria to Keep Growing 

Hormone therapy is often used to treat prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, but many patients develop resistance to hormone therapy, causing their disease to become more aggressive and potentially more deadly. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 10, 2022
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Research    Community    Support    Magazine    Multiple Myeloma

A Woman Who Lived in the Light Inspires Research of the Cancer She Wouldn’t Let Defeat Her

Michael Joseph Roark – Mike to his friends – met Mary Jo Dougherty in a ski fitness class taught by Anne Kashiwa at the former International Athletic Club in downtown Denver.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date May 05, 2022
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Research   

National Cancer Research Month 2022

There are four broad categories of cancer research. The University of Colorado Cancer Center has researchers working in each of these four areas, collaborating to prevent and conquer cancer.


Author Cancer Center | Publish Date May 02, 2022
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Research    Community    Lung Cancer   

New TORI Director Looking Forward to Supporting Multidisciplinary Research and Building Relationships

This year, lung cancer will account for an estimated 130,000 deaths in the United States – approximately 25% of all cancer deaths. Among those deaths, people who are Black will be disproportionately represented.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date April 29, 2022
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Research    Pediatric Cancer

How Creative Arts Therapy Helps Young Cancer Patients Through Their Treatment Journey

 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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date April 28, 2022
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Research    Melanoma

A Potential Way Around Immunotherapy Resistance 

The development of the anti-cancer immunotherapy drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors has improved treatment for many cancer patients, but patients with mucosal melanomas — melanomas that occur not on the skin but in the mucous membranes in the head, neck, eyes, respiratory tract, and genitourinary region — are particularly resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitors for reasons researchers don’t fully understand. 


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date April 25, 2022
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Research    Cancer    Genetics

Drug Developed in CU Lab Shows Promise Against a Novel Oncogene that Supports Cancer Progression

An enzyme that has been identified as instrumental in the progression of many types of cancer is meeting its match in inhibitors synthesized and evaluated by University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center researchers.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date April 04, 2022
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Research    Community    Faculty    Equity Diversity and Inclusion    ColoradoSPH at CU Anschutz   

Rising Star Position Will Support Health Disparities and Shared Decision-Making Research

While conducting research for her doctoral dissertation, Channing Tate, PhD, MPH, spoke with 144 older Black adults about hospice care – what they knew about it, whether they’d consider it, what their experiences with hospice had been.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 25, 2022
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Research    Community    Awareness    Colorectal Cancer   

Younger Patients Increasingly Being Diagnosed with Late-Stage Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer, the third most commonly-diagnosed cancer in the United States (excluding skin cancers) and second leading cause of cancer-related mortality, is increasingly affecting people in their 20s and 30s, recently published research shows.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 23, 2022
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Research    Lung Cancer

Studying the Role of Different Signaling Pathways in RET-Positive Lung Cancer Treatment Resistance 

University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center member Tejas Patil, MD, is one of three researchers to receive a combined $1 million grant from the Hamoui Foundation and LUNGevity Foundation to study RET-positive lung cancer


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date March 21, 2022
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Research    Awareness    Pediatric Cancer    Brain and Spinal Cancer

Youngest Brain Tumor Patients Have Significantly Poorer Outcomes than Older Pediatric Patients

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 18, 2022
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Research    Melanoma    Surgical Oncology   

Changing the Standard of Care for Stage III Melanoma Surgery 

For years, surgery for patients with stage III melanoma — melanoma that has spread to the lymph nodes — involved removing those lymph nodes along with the primary tumor. Known as completion lymph node dissection (CLND), the surgery was meant to ensure that no cancer remained after surgery.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date March 04, 2022
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Research    Community    Pediatric Cancer    Sarcoma

Research Finds a Specific Gene Is Critical for the Progression of Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma Tumors

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.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date March 02, 2022
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Research    Community    Kidney Cancer   

5 Things to Know About Kidney Cancer 

March is Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, and to get the latest information on the disease, we spoke with University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center member Elaine Lam, MD, FACP, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date March 02, 2022
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Research    Community    Awareness    Gynecologic Cancer    Vaccinations    Cervical Cancer

HPV Education and Patient Navigation Project Seeks to Raise Awareness of Need for HPV Vaccine

Even as exciting developments are happening in cervical cancer research, an estimated 14,100 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date February 16, 2022
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Research    Community    Cancer

Cancer Clinical Trials Office Welcomes New Medical Director

The University of Colorado Cancer Center is pleased to announce that Marie Wood, MD, has been named the medical director of the Cancer Clinical Trials Office (CCTO).


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date February 11, 2022
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Research    Breast Cancer    Pediatric Cancer    Melanoma    Funding

CU Cancer Center Members Receive Grants to Conduct High-Tech Research 

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.  


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 10, 2022
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Research    Breast Cancer

Dietary Strategies for Preventing Breast Cancer Recurrence

Can dietary strategies like intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating help breast cancer survivors prevent their tumors from recurring? It’s a question researchers at the University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center are looking to answer with a new study funded by a $3 million R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 09, 2022
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Research    Esophageal Cancer

Improving Detection of Esophageal Cancer in Patients with Barrett’s Esophagus

On a mission to increase early detection of esophageal cancer, University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center member Sachin Wani, MD, is leading a study to see if a novel diagnostic platform can help endoscopists better identify the disease in patients with a condition called Barrett’s esophagus.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date February 07, 2022
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Research    Community   

CU Cancer Center Research Highlights Objectives of Biden's Moonshot Initiative

On this World Cancer Day, the University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center looks back to earlier this week when President Biden reignited his Cancer Moonshot initiative, setting ambitious goals to “reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer — and by doing this and more, end cancer as we know it today.” 


Author Shelly Lange | Publish Date February 04, 2022
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Research    Faculty    Magazine    Oncology

Wells Messersmith, MD, Named CMO of Oncology Services at UCHealth

University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center leader Wells Messersmith, MD, has been named chief medical officer of oncology services at UCHealth. In this new role, Messersmith will oversee cancer care at all UCHealth locations with a focus on expanding advanced treatments and the clinical trials UCHealth offers in partnership with the CU Cancer Center.


Author Cancer Center | Publish Date January 27, 2022
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Research    Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Louie Anderson’s Death Brings Attention to Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

 Comedian Louie Anderson — known for his stand-up routines, as well as a hosting stint on “Family Feud,” his animated series “Life With Louie,” and a more recent role on the FX comedy series “Baskets” — died January 21of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. He was 68.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 25, 2022
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Research    Faculty    Pilot Award

Five CU Cancer Center Members Receive Grants From Golfers Against Cancer

Three research teams at the University of Colorado Cancer Center have received $50,000 grants from the Denver Chapter of Golfers Against Cancer to support their research in fighting the disease.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date January 13, 2022
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Research    Patient Care    Prostate Cancer    Clinical Trials

New Testosterone Treatment Options for Prostate Cancer Patients

Carlos J. Castro transferred his care to Elizabeth Kessler, MD, University of Colorado Cancer Center member, after learning about a clinical trial that gave him a new treatment option for his stage 4 prostate cancer.


Author Cancer Center | Publish Date January 12, 2022
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Research    Community    Awareness    Cancer   

Molecular and Cellular Oncology Program Co-Leaders Focus on Growing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Research

In the past, molecular and cellular oncology research often began with the idea that cells are cells and proteins are proteins, and it didn’t especially matter who provided the sample.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date December 22, 2021
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Research    Education    Community

CU Cancer Center Top Stories of 2021

This was another exciting year for the University of Colorado Cancer Center, and we were able to share more than 80 stories spotlighting our members and their research. We also shared the cancer journeys of some of our patients.


Author Cancer Center | Publish Date December 16, 2021
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Research    Faculty    Pancreatic Cancer    Funding

Cancer Immunotherapy Research Receives Significant Support from R01 Grant

Some battles begin before a shot is even fired, with an army building bridges and grading roads, clearing and smoothing the path to make the invading force stronger and more effective.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date December 14, 2021
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Research    Blood Cancer

New Hope for Patients With Relapsed Large B-cell Lymphoma

Of the 18,000 people diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma each year, only half will be successfully treated with chemotherapy. The 9,000 remaining patients typically have poor outcomes, with only 25% responding to additional, higher-intensity chemotherapy, followed by a stem cell transplant.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date December 13, 2021
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Research    Community    Faculty    Cancer

New Program Leadership at the CU Cancer Center

The University of Colorado Cancer Center is pleased to announce several leadership transitions that will support the center in its mission to overcome cancer through innovation, discovery, prevention, early detection, multidisciplinary care, and education.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date December 10, 2021
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Research    Faculty    Cancer

Research Demonstrates that Cells with Cancer-Associated Mutations Overtake Human Tissue with Age

It’s worth noting, in light of recently published research, that a majority of people won’t be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 40% of people will, which means 60% won’t.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date December 03, 2021
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Research    Community    Magazine    Child & Adolescent

Addressing the International Childhood Cancer Crisis

Sandra Luna-Fineman, MD, treats children and adolescents with cancer from around the U.S. in her role as a pediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, but she knows that children in low- and middle-income countries around the world need her help the most.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date December 01, 2021
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Research    Melanoma    Surgical Oncology

AB Nexus Funds Intercampus Research on Sepsis

Looking to improve methods to treat patients with sepsis, Richard Tobin, PhD, an assistant research professor of surgical oncology in the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Laurel Hind, PhD, an assistant professor in the biomedical engineering program at the University of Colorado Boulder, are teaming up to study the role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in sepsis.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 29, 2021
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Research    Faculty    Pancreatic Cancer    Surgical Oncology

Two CU Cancer Center Members Recognized as World Experts in Pancreatic Neoplasms

Two University of Colorado Cancer Center physicians have been recognized as world experts in in pancreatic neoplasms by the 2021 Expertscape rankings.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date November 19, 2021
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Research    Pediatric Cancer

Using PET Scans to Better Treat Cancer Patients

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 18, 2021
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Research    Community    Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer Screening Rates Increase With Access to Medicare

Lung cancer screening is recommended only for those who are at high risk for the disease — adults ages 50­–80 who smoke at least 20 packs a year — but even among members of that high-risk group, screening rates remain low, ranging from 5% to 20% of those eligible for the screening CT scan.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 15, 2021
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Research    Patient Care    Magazine   

Driving Revolutionary Advances in Cancer Treatment

“When you lose hope, you lose everything,” says Ron Randolph. “It’s like you’re in the bottom of a hole and you see this light at the top of the hole. It’s a very small light, but there’s no way to escape.”


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 11, 2021
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Research    Community    Lung Cancer    Magazine

Improving Survivorship for Individuals Diagnosed With Lung Cancer

There are two things most people believe about lung cancer, says Jamie Studts, PhD, co-leader of the Cancer Prevention & Control Program at the CU Cancer Center: Those who suffer from it most likely caused it by using tobacco, and the prognosis for surviving the disease is poor.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date November 02, 2021
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Research    Community    Breast Cancer    Magazine    Surgical Oncology

Breast Cancer Research Gathers Data to Help Women Understand Well-Being Outcomes After Surgery

When a woman receives a breast cancer diagnosis, she may have many questions about her immediate future – the stage of the disease, what treatment she’ll receive, where it will happen.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date October 22, 2021
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Research    Thyroid Cancer    Clinical Research    Clinical Trials

Clinical Trial Experience Motivates Participant to Become Advocate

Tommy Stewart was already a prostate cancer survivor when, during his annual physical in 2004, his physician felt a nodule on his neck.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date October 04, 2021
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Research    Community

Keeping Up Exercise Levels for Cancer Survivors

The cancer survivorship journey can have many components, but one of the most important is regular exercise. Physical activity for individuals who have completed cancer treatment can build stamina, reduce anxiety, improve quality of life and physical fitness, and even improve survival outcomes.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date October 01, 2021
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Research    Faculty    Lung Cancer

LUNGevity Award Supports Ongoing Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Research

One of the reasons why cancer continues developing and growing is not just because cancer cells exist, but because they can recruit help from the body’s own blood vessels, stromal cells, and immune cells.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date September 30, 2021
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Research    Pediatric Cancer

Targeting a Rare Secondary Cancer in Children

 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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 28, 2021
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Research    Melanoma

Why Don’t Adrenal Gland Metastases Respond to Immunotherapy?

Recent advances in immunotherapy have allowed doctors at the University of Colorado Cancer Center to more effectively treat melanomas that spread to other parts of the body. Immunotherapy drugs such as checkpoint inhibitors, which are commonly used to treat melanomas, work to strengthen a patient’s immune system so that it can prevent a tumor from “turning off” the ability of the immune system to fight it.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 23, 2021
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Research    Head and Neck Cancer    Clinical Trials

Research Leading to Clinical Trial Testing Two-Armed Approach to Treating Head and Neck Cancer

A crucial challenge in cancer research is figuring out how to make immunotherapies more effective, channeling, and selectively guiding the body’s own immune responses in targeting and killing tumors.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date September 21, 2021
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Research    Breast Cancer

Putting a Target on Breast Cancer That Spreads to the Brain

Breast cancer patients whose cancer spreads to the brain may soon have new treatment options, thanks to research led by CU Cancer Center member Diana Cittelly, PhD.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 20, 2021
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Research    Pediatric Cancer    Leukemia

CU Cancer Center Member M. Eric Kohler, MD, PhD, Receives Award to Develop Immunotherapy Treatment for Pediatric Leukemia

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.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 17, 2021
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Research    Brain and Spinal Cancer

Studying Resistance to Therapy in BRAF-Mutated Brain Tumors

Looking to understand why some brain tumors with a specific mutation can start to reject drugs commonly used to treat them, CU Cancer Center member Jean Mulcahy Levy, MD, led researchers from institutions around the country — including several from the University of Colorado School of Medicine — to study samples of brain tumors before and after being treated with the drug.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date September 15, 2021
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Research    Cancer    Ovarian Cancer

Innovative Ovarian Cancer Research Newly Supported by R37 MERIT Award

One of the most impactful advancements during the past decade in treating ovarian cancer is the use of PARP inhibitors (short for poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase). PARP inhibitors are a type of cancer drug that blocks the PARP enzyme from helping to repair DNA damage in cancer cells.


Author Rachel Sauer | Publish Date September 13, 2021
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Research    Innovation

GOAL Consortium Facilitates Group Purchases and Knowledge Sharing for Academic Pathology Testing Labs

When Dara Aisner, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, was approached by a colleague at another university about splitting the cost of a bulk purchase of new clinical testing products, she initially declined. Although it would be a valuable resource — and might even save her lab money in the long-term — the short-term cost was prohibitive.


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date September 07, 2021
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Research    Breast Cancer

Seeking a Unique Treatment for Lobular Breast Cancer

Though the two main histological types of breast cancer — lobular and ductal — are treated with the same hormonal therapies, women with lobular breast cancer often have recurrence or metastasis of the disease several years after their initial treatment.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 28, 2021
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Research    Education    Magazine

Educational Pipelines Ensure Future Interest in Cancer Research

When you ask a classroom full of middle schoolers what they want to be when they grow up, you’re likely to get a range of answers, from “pro athletes” and “astronauts” to “musicians” and “movie stars.”


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date July 26, 2021
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Research    COVID-19    Clinical Trials

Adjusting to the Virus Has Long-Term Advantages for Clinical Trials

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic were an adjustment period for medical professionals across the board, but they brought up particular challenges for the Cancer Clinical Trial Office (CCTO) at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. A number of procedures that used to take place in person or in the office — collecting signatures from patients and doctors, delivering medications, submitting data to trial sponsors — suddenly had to be done in a whole new way.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 22, 2021
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Research    Lung Cancer

Study Identifies MET Amplification as Driver for Some Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers

A study led by D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, director of thoracic oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and CU Cancer Center member, has helped to define MET amplification as a rare but potentially actionable driver for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date July 19, 2021
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Research   

Helping Working Cancer Caregivers Manage Stress

It’s difficult enough when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, but employed spouses of those who receive the diagnosis also are confronted with an array of practical problems. It’s now up to them to untangle issues around medical leave, health insurance, caregiving benefits, and more.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 14, 2021
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Research    Brain and Spinal Cancer   

Study Sheds Light on Mechanism of Liposome Accumulation in Tumors

Dmitri Simberg, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and a CU Cancer Center member, has released the results of a new study of the effectiveness of different types of fluorescent labels used to monitor the accumulation of liposomes in tumors.


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date July 08, 2021
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Research    Honors    Magazine

Director of CU Cancer Center’s Animal Imaging Shared Resource Honored for Contributions to the Field

As director of the Animal Imaging Shared Resource at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, Natalie Serkova, PhD, has played an integral part in many groundbreaking projects on the Anschutz Medical Campus.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 07, 2021
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Research

CU Cancer Center Researchers Showcase Their Work at Virtual Event

Nearly 30 researchers and physicians from the University of Colorado Cancer Center shared the results of their work at a June 15 online event titled “Collaborating to Conquer Cancer: A virtual conversation benefiting the CU Cancer Center.”


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date July 06, 2021
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Research    Magazine

Metabolism is a Key Research Area at the CU Cancer Center

All cells use the process of metabolism to turn nutrients into energy — including cancer cells. Metabolism is a fundamental function whose role in cancer is being explored by researchers across the CU Cancer Center.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 30, 2021
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Research    Blood Cancer

Two Studies by CU Cancer Center Researchers Explore Link Between Inflammation and Leukemia

Two recent collaborative publications by CU Cancer Center members provide insights into how chronic inflammation can serve as a key factor in the development of leukemia and other blood cancers.


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date June 28, 2021
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Research    Breast Cancer

Promising New Research for Metastatic Breast Cancer

A discovery by CU Cancer Center member Traci Lyons, PhD, is providing new hope for women with metastatic breast cancer.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 25, 2021
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Research    Honors    Blood Cancer

Effect of Oil and Gas Exposure on Childhood Leukemia Risk Studied by CU Cancer Center Researcher

A pilot study of childhood leukemia patients living near Colorado’s oil and gas drilling sites recently led to an American Cancer Society (ACS) grant award for CU Cancer Center member Lisa McKenzie PhD, MPH.  


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date June 09, 2021
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Research    Honors    Head and Neck Cancer    Magazine    Funding

CU Cancer Center Receives Highly Competitive SPORE Grant for Head and Neck Cancer

Research and treatment of head and neck cancers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center reached a new level this month with a highly competitive Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The SPORE was approved by NCI Scientific Program leadership for FY2021 funding; the projected starting date is July 1.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date June 07, 2021
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Research    Pediatric Cancer    Magazine

CU Cancer Members Recognized for Contributions to Immunotherapy in Pediatric Cancer

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).


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 28, 2021
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Research    Patient Care    Esophageal Cancer    Surgical Oncology    Clinical Trials

Investigating a Better Treatment Sequence for Esophageal Cancer

Looking for better ways to treat patients with esophageal cancer, University of Colorado Cancer Center member Martin McCarter, MD, is investigating whether a new treatment sequence will result in better outcomes.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 25, 2021
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Research    Patient Care    Community    Lung Cancer

From Debilitating Chemo to One Pill a Day for Lung Cancer

One of the most difficult nights of Hank Baskett Sr.’s life was the night he told his wife he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 24, 2021
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Research    COVID-19   

Are the COVID-19 Vaccines Good News for Cancer Care?

Long before RNA and mRNA became important parts of the COVID-19 vaccine conversation, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine were studying how RNA biology can improve diagnostics and therapeutics for a range of diseases.


Author Greg Glasgow | Publish Date May 18, 2021
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Research    Cancer

May Is National Cancer Research Month

May is National Cancer Research Month, during this time we aim to raise awareness of the high-quality, innovative cancer research happening at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. This research continues to help the more than 16.9 million people in the United States who are living with, through, and beyond their cancer diagnoses. 


Author Cancer Center | Publish Date May 06, 2021
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Research    Blood Cancer

From Start-Up to Established: Lymphoma Program Celebrates Six Years

When Manali Kamdar, MD, joined the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Division of Hematology as clinical director of lymphoma services in January 2015, she was fresh off her third fellowship (a bone marrow transplant and lymphoma fellowship at Stanford) and ready for a new challenge.  


Author Valerie Gleaton | Publish Date May 05, 2021
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CU Cancer Center In the News

EurekAlert

Sensory Nerves Appear to Drive Head and Neck Cancer Growth

news outletEurekAlert
Publish DateMarch 06, 2024

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus found that drugs like botox may slow head and neck cancer progression by targeting nerve interactions in tumor environments, impacting immune responses. This study could lead to new treatments for patients intolerant to traditional therapies.

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Mile High Magazine

Mile High Magazine - March is Colorectal Awareness Month

news outletMile High Magazine
Publish DateFebruary 25, 2024

Christopher Lieu, MD speaks on March being Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and the importance of screening.

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National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIH research network to evaluate emerging cancer screening technologies

news outletNational Institutes of Health (NIH)
Publish DateFebruary 21, 2024

In 2024, the network will launch a pilot study, known as the Vanguard Study on Multi-Cancer Detection, to address the feasibility of using multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests in future randomized controlled trials.

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MHealthIntelligence

Leveraging RPM to Enable At-Home Care for High-Risk Cancer Patients

news outletMHealthIntelligence
Publish DateFebruary 05, 2024

Glen Peterson, DNP, ACNP, RN, from CU Cancer Center, discusses RPM & telehealth benefits for cancer patients on Healthcare Strategies podcast.

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