Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center has initiated tumor mutation testing for a limited number of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. This pilot project for colorectal cancer is part of VICC’s Personalized Cancer Medicine Initiative (PCMI), a program to identify genetic mutations in a patient’s tumor that may be useful in matching the appropriate therapy with each patient. [...]

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have identified a new population of intestinal stem cells that may hold clues to the origin of colorectal cancer. This new stem cell population, reported March 30 in the journal Cell, appears to be relatively quiescent (inactive) – in contrast to the recent discovery of intestinal stem cells that multiply rapidly [...]

Colon cancer development and progression involves alterations in several cell signaling pathways. Activation of the Wnt pathway is involved in the early stages of tumor development, while inactivation of signaling through the TGF-beta pathway (which typically suppresses tumor formation) is involved in later stages. However, the interactions between these pathways remain unclear. R. Daniel Beauchamp, [...]

Join us on March 20 for a FREE informative evening on your health and wellness. Event is located at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Green Hills 3810 Bedford Avenue Suite 100 Nashville, TN 37215 6 p.m. Registration & Refreshments 6:30 p.m. Speaker 7:15 p.m. Questions & Answers Quitting tobacco is the best thing that you can [...]

About half of colorectal tumors express elevated levels of COX-2, the key enzyme responsible for generating prostaglandins that promote cancer development. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is likely the primary mediator of most of COX-2’s tumor-promoting effects, and the PGE2 metabolite, PGE-M, can be measured noninvasively in urine. To assess the utility of PGE-M as a biomarker [...]

Individuals who are outside the “normal” range of expression for the APC gene have an increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study published in the January issue of Gastroenterology. Mutations in the APC (adenomatous polyposis coli) gene – and variations in the expression of the gene’s two copies (allele-specific expression) — are associated [...]

Jadranko “Yadi” Franjic describes lymphedema symptoms and what is done during therapy to help control the swelling in the lymphatic system. Lymphedema is most common among patients who experience trauma to their lymphatic system. Examples include cancer patients undergoing lymphatic node dissection or radiation therapy and those who suffer a traumatic injury. Swelling of the [...]

Identifying the molecular pathways that lead normal colon cells to become cancer cell could provide much needed biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Previously, Punita Dhawan, Ph.D., and colleagues showed that claudin-1 – a protein member of “tight junctions” that help bind cells together into an organized tissue structure – was greatly increased and mislocalized in colorectal [...]

Barbara Forbes, MSN, keeps a big jar of tar on her desk. The dark, goopy mess is a visual representation of the amount of tar that a smoker will ingest by smoking one pack of cigarettes per day for a year. Forbes is the director of the Smoking Cessation Institute at the Vanderbilt Dayani Center [...]

Vanderbilt colorectal surgeons now have improved mobility and precision when performing colorectal operations, especially in the pelvic area, thanks to the da Vinci robot. The robot will reduce recovery times, in comparison to open operations, while improving surgeons’ ability to make precise maneuvers and dissections in hard-to-reach spaces, according to Paul E. Wise, M.D., associate [...]