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Cancer Research News
UF brain cancer investigators lead bold initiative with top peers to advance new treatments
The goal: achieving transformative improvement in long-term survival within the next decade for patients diagnosed with malignant brain tumors. To get there, University of Florida Health brain cancer experts are launching an exciting new venture with top peer institutions from across the nation and Canada.
The new UF Health-led collaboration, called The Legacy Program in Brain Cancer, will officially launch in February 2019 and bring together worldwide neuro-oncology experts and a community of empowered individuals who have been affected by brain cancer. Duane Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., co-director of the Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy at the University of Florida, publicly announced the initiative Sept. 21 during the Biden Cancer Summit in Washington, D.C. Mitchell’s talk can be viewed live at 3:35 p.m. by visiting www.bidencancer.org/summit. READ MORE.
Novel drug inspired by a marine natural product offers new approach to treat pancreatic cancer
A novel drug candidate based on a marine natural product discovered 20 years ago could be the basis for a new approach to treating pancreatic cancer, according to University of Florida researchers, who are continuing to evaluate it.
Less than 20 percent of pancreatic cancer patients live a full year after diagnosis. By 2030, pancreatic cancer is expected to become the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, surpassing breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. READ MORE.
2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: a turning point in the war on cancer
There are moments in the history of scientific achievement that benchmark the end of an era and the beginning of a new phase of reality for mankind.
The significance of these inflection points is sometimes readily apparent. NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong’s first step onto the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969, marked a new phase of space exploration. Other advances take many years for the historical significance to manifest, with an impact that appreciates over decades. That was the case with the development of the mechanized clock of the 15th century and the invention of the telephone in 1876. READ MORE.
Announcements
4H University
On July 31, 17 high school students from the 4H University program attended the UF Health Cancer Center discovery track workshop. The group learned about cancer research from the gene level to the protein level and how to identify different cancer causing mutations in DNA. Students participated in a hands-on DNA-extraction experiment and learned how DNA extraction can be used to personalize cancer patient treatments.
Physicians — Make Your Voice Count in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Rankings
As physicians here at UF Health Shands, the time you spend teaching, conducting leading-edge research and caring for our patients expertly and compassionately has propelled our hospital system to new heights, and UF Health to be one of the best academic health centers in the country. Now it’s time to share our story in advance of the next round of the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings. And we need your help.
Let’s let the nation know how special we are.
UF Health leadership urges all physicians, fellows, residents and alumni to claim their profile at Doximity.com no later than Nov. 15, 2018 so you are eligible to vote in U.S. News & World Report’s annual survey to determine the nation’s “Best Hospitals” rankings. U.S. News will once again survey physicians across the country to determine the reputation scores that contribute to these rankings.
Doximity has partnered with U.S. News & World Report to assist with the publication’s physician survey process for the annual Best Hospitals rankings. Physicians must be board-certified in one of the 16 adult or 10 pediatric specialties ranked and must be credential-verified members of Doximity before the specified U.S. News deadline to be guaranteed a vote in the survey process.
You must claim your profile by Nov. 15, 2018 on Doximity.com and become a Doximity member, so you have the chance to have your opinion count in the upcoming voting period early next year.
Learn more here: https://bridge.ufhealth.org/doximity
Patient-derived xenografts: opportunities for collaboration
Jose G. Trevino’s lab has a robust PDX resource here at UF with patient-derived tumors from multiple organ systems. This is a continuously renewable resource with our patient population and they are ready to start expanding the program to help other investigators who might find the use of PDX helpful.
Commercially available established cell lines are not representative of our current patient population with cancer. Whether it is because of the antiquity or the lack of the incredibly important tumor microenvironment, established cell lines are losing their impact in most if not all research funding organizations. Dr. Trevino proposes the use of patient-derived tumors to increase the impact, significance and innovation of research proposals.
Trevino’s lab currently has viable pancreatic, bladder, renal, breast and a variety of other tumors derived from surgically resected patients. They have performed more than 150 implantations of PDXs developed from surgically resected specimens. They also have significant expertise in patient-derived primary cell culture and 3D spheroid models.
They hope investigators will take advantage of this incredible continuing resource. They are establishing tumor models in a variety of cancer types and want to collaborate with groups interested in expanding their research. Trevino’s lab will be happy to discuss how their resources can advance the field of cancer research at the University of Florida:
Jose G. Trevino, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Surgery
University of Florida
Phone: (352) 265-0761
E-mail: jose.trevino@surgery.ufl.edu
Need to Update Your Professional Portrait?
UF Health Creative Services offers open studio hours at Communicore C2-20 every month. Simply stop by during one of the time slots listed on the bottom of their webpage — there’s no need to sign up beforehand, and it only takes five minutes! Here are some of the upcoming sessions:
11/01 3-4 p.m.
11/14 3-4 p.m.
