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 [...]

Everyone is encouraged to wear something blue to spark conversations about the importance of early screening for colon cancer during Dress in Blue Day on Friday, March 2. Dress in Blue Day was launched in 2009 by the Colon Cancer Alliance to raise awareness about colorectal cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer-related [...]

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 [...]

A protein critical in heart development may also play a part in colon cancer progression. Research led by investigators fromVanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the Vanderbilt Eye Institute suggests that the protein BVES (blood vessel endocardial substance) – which also is key in regulating corneal cells – may be a therapeutic target for halting colon cancer metastasis. The study, [...]