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It is an exciting time for cancer research, as our knowledge of the biologic underpinnings of cancer continues to grow exponentially, along with the potential for greater improvements in care and prevention. l'Eté du Vin's investment in the work of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center is making it possible for us to do innovative, high impact cancer research. A sampling of recent discoveries reported by our researchers includes:
- Results of a Phase I clinical trial, reported at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, that showed a new drug (PLX4032) that targets a specific genetic abnormality caused tumor shrinkage and extended progression-free survival among patients whose tumors had that abnormality. The finding is exciting because this mutation is found in more than 50 percent of melanomas, 10-15 percent of colorectal tumors and 8 percent of other "solid tumors." If this drug proves in further investigation to be effective only in patients with the mutation, it would be "personalized medicine at its best," said Dr. Jeffrey Sosman, who will lead the next round of trials. The hope of personalized oncology is to match patients with the treatments that will be effective for them based on the molecular make-up of their cancers, but spare patients treatments (and their side effects) that will not work.
- The discovery of a gene "signature" that helps predict clinical outcome for patients with breast cancer, particularly those whose tumors are estrogen receptor positive. Dr. Hal Moses' and his team reported the finding in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI). This gene signature is associated with signaling by the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) pathway, which has been the focus of research for the Moses' lab for decades. Their work is building understanding of how TGF-beta regulates tumor progression and metastasis and suggests that assessing a tumor's TGF-beta status could be helpful in predicting prognosis and guiding treatment decisions.
- Work by Fen Xia, M.D., and colleagues, also reported in JCI, to understand how lithium, a drug used to treat bipolar disorder, protects against brain damage from radiation therapy. The team discovered that lithium helps promote DNA repair in healthy cells but not in brain tumor cells (DNA damage is how radiation therapy destroys cells). The findings suggest that lithium could offer a way to protect healthy brain tissue from damage during cranial radiation treatment. This is increasingly important as treatments for both primary brain tumors and metastatic tumors in the brain become more effective; with patients surviving longer, reducing negative side effects is an important quality of life consideration.
Our strategy of using l'Eté du Vin funding to provide support of high-risk, high-payoff initiatives continues to yield significant return. We remain among the top 10 in competitive National Cancer Institute funding and continue to be recognized as one of the leading places for cancer care by US News & World Report - a list that places us among the top 0.01% of hospitals in the nation. The researchers and physician-scientists of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center - and most importantly the patients and families impacted by cancer today and in the future - remain grateful to l'Eté du Vin for its contributions to our work and to the worldwide fight against cancer. |
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