SMAD4 clue to colon cancer
Study takes 3-D perspective on colorectal cancer
Despite dramatic recent advances in treatment, colorectal cancer killed more than 49,000 Americans last year, according to the National Cancer Institute, making it the second most lethal malignancy after cancers of the lung and bronchus. Determined to reduce the death toll, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently put on their 3-D “glasses” and took […]
Coffey lands major NCI award to support colorectal cancer research
Researchers find novel mechanism of resistance to anti-cancer drugs
The targeted anti-cancer therapies cetuximab and panitumumab are mainstays of treatment for advanced colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. However, many patients have tumors with genetic mutations that make them resistant to these anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies, or the cancers develop resistance during treatment.
Precision medicine already changing cancer treatment strategies
The ability to test patients’ cancers for individual differences, mainly at the genetic level, and to make treatment decisions based on those differences is the hallmark of precision medicine, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is among the leaders of this new approach to diagnosis and treatment. “Nationwide we’re seeing great promise with this approach […]