New research shows the nutritive needs of B cells are more flexible than previously thought, which could enable researchers to steer antibody production in the lymph nodes and spleen to better combat autoimmunity. Patients with high-risk diseases of the immune system, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus, could stand to benefit from the research findings. The study led by Mark Boothby, MD, and published in the Journal of Immunology, provides details regarding how murine B cells use different sugars as they mature into antibody-producing cells

Enrollment and outcomes were similar across racial and ethnic groups for children participating in therapeutic trials for Wilms tumor — the most common pediatric kidney cancer worldwide, according to a recent report in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

A research team led by Wei-Qi Wei, MD, PhD, reported their findings on February 26th in Nature Digital Medicine. Their study searched for new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by asking ChatGPT whether any existing drugs used for other problems might help patients with AD. ChatGPT is a cloud-based artificial intelligence program, a so-called large language model that’s been optimized for chat.

A research endeavor that seeks to develop a new cancer immunotherapy utilizing nanobody delivery and targeted heating of tumors has received funding from the Waddell Walker Hancock Cancer Discovery Fund. John Wilson, PhD, and Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, aim to create a novel therapeutic that will reprogram regulatory T cells, which typically suppress immune responses, into killer T cells with antitumor activity. The key to this reprogramming is the STING signaling pathway, and the force needed to unlock it is fever-relevant temperature — a hypothesis based on recent discoveries from the group on how fevers affect immune responses.

Michael Topf, MD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Cancer Surgery at Vanderbilt wondered why computer-aided design (CAD) technology hadn’t made it into operating rooms as a visual aid for real-time consultations... So he decided to create it.

A 10-year follow-up study of nearly 2,500 U.S. men who received prostate cancer treatment will help inform decision-making in terms of treatments and side effects for a diverse population. The CEASAR (Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Surgery and Radiation for Localized Prostate Cancer) study, coordinated by VUMC, is a multisite research study conducting long-term follow-up on men who were diagnosed with localized prostate cancer between 2011 and 2012.

The current standard of care for identifying targetable mutations in cancer treatment is to conduct molecular profiles on tumor tissue samples, but a study published Monday in JAMA Network Open authored by Wade Iams, MD, and colleagues indicates that adding liquid biopsy testing for circulating tumor DNA mutations increases targetable mutation detection rates.

When the Vanderbilt Amyloid Multidisciplinary Program (VAMP) launched in 2011, it was the first center in Tennessee dedicated to patients with amyloidosis – a rare, systemic disorder that encompasses myriad presentations and organ dysfunctions. Since then, VAMP has paved the way to coordinated care as a major referral center in the southeastern United States, growing to include over a dozen collaborating specialists working to provide structured, multidisciplinary care to adults navigating an amyloidosis diagnosis.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Academy for Excellence in Clinical Medicine (AECM) has selected 25 new members.

Immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy has become an important therapeutic treatment option in some patients with metastatic breast cancer. Which patients will benefit the most, however, remains unclear; current biomarkers such as PD-L1 that are used to predict response are mediocre at best. 

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Academy for Excellence in Clinical Medicine (AECM) has selected 25 new members.

Immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy has become an important therapeutic treatment option in some patients with metastatic breast cancer. Which patients will benefit the most, however, remains unclear; current biomarkers such as PD-L1 that are used to predict response are mediocre at best.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Academy for Excellence in Clinical Medicine (AECM) has selected 25 new members.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have discovered why most colorectal tumors escape detection and destruction by the body's immune system.

Vanderbilt Colorectal cancer expert Bob Coffey, MD, was recently invited to present his research to representatives of President Joe Biden’s reignited Cancer Moonshot initiative.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the first time have shown that activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is essential for the development of kidney fibrosis, tissue scarring following injury that can lead to kidney failure.

Vanderbilt researchers are working to better design immune therapies that attack tumors without also attacking healthy normal tissue in patients.

Vanderbilt researchers are working to better design immune therapies that attack tumors without also attacking healthy normal tissue in patients.

As she looks back on her 40-plus year career, what surprises Nancy Cox, PhD, an internationally known geneticist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is how much progress has been made, and yet how much more there is to learn about the role genetic variation plays in human disease.

Ken Lau, professor of cell and developmental biology, has been selected to receive a one-year research award from the Stanley Cohen Innovation Fund.

Researchers find that ASTX727, a new oral combination therapy, can prolong survival in TP53-mutated MDS.

Vanderbilts James E. Crowe Jr MD and Neil Osheroff PhD are among 12 individuals honored by the Association of American Medical Colleges during its 2023 Awards Recognition Event.

Newer treatments, the importance of early detection, and how comprehensive breast centers can help.

Human research will be more equitable, inclusive and stronger if the people who are participants in studies also help plan and guide the direction of those studies.

A multidisciplinary team of investigators has received a 2023 Endeavor Award from The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research to support four closely linked projects exploring the fundamental mechanisms that drive the obesity-cancer connection, taking advantage of a rich collection of matched tumor and adipose tissue samples from patients.

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a druggable target on natural killer cells that could potentially trigger a therapeutic response in patients with immunotherapy-resistant, triple-negative breast cancer.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine has received a grant to establish a research fellowship for genetic counselors that will prepare them to contribute more fully to the advancement of personalized medicine.

At the ripe age of 13, Jason Schwartz made a life-changing decision. Amid cancer treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Schwartz was handed an incredible gift that would fuel his life’s work.

Research provides insight into how these key proteins support kidney ducts' cellular integrity.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center's James Crowe Jr., MD, has been named to receive the 2024 American Society for Microbiology Award for Applied and Biotechnological Research.

Vanderbilt researchers at have found new genes that put people at higher risk for colon cancer and rectal cancer.

Research team refines method for diagnosis of indeterminant lung nodules using artificial intelligence and advanced learning.

Seven new leaders have been appointed to guide Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's research programs.

Seven new leaders have been appointed to guide Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's research programs.

Seven new leaders have been appointed to guide Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's research programs.

Seven new leaders have been appointed to guide Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's research programs.

International workgroup issues additional guidance on how to manage patients who carry inherited CHEK2 gene mutations that put them at a higher risk for cancer.

International workgroup issues additional guidance on how to manage patients who carry inherited CHEK2 gene mutations that put them at a higher risk for cancer.

Nancy Cox PhD director of the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute is the recipient of the 2023 ASHG Leadership Award from the American Society of Human Genetics.

A broad bioinformatics approach revealed that Hedgehog signaling is upregulated in dedifferentiated liposarcoma, suggesting this pathway may be an early indicator of poor prognosis and a potential therapeutic target.

Vanderbilt's Andreana Holowatyj, PhD, MSCI, has received the National Cancer Institute's Method to Extend Research in Time Award to support her ongoing investigation into how early-onset colorectal cancer and its treatments impact reproductive health.

Paul Harris, PhD, has been appointed to a new role as Vice President for Research Informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Pediatric oncologists and cardiologists collaborate on reducing cardiotoxic effects of cancer treatment.

Multifaceted study connects early amplified oncogene MDM2 with outcomes and therapy responses.

The expected course of a patient's cancer prognosis has traditionally been judged by its type, stage and microscopic aggressiveness, but patients with the same presentation can still have widely divergent outcomes. Researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have discovered that differences in tumor mutation burden are a major reason for this divergence.

Vanderbilt research shows that a liquid biopsy-based multicancer early detection (MCED) test could detect 12 types of cancers, including low DNA-shedding cancers and early-stage cancers.

An international collaboration led by biochemist David Cortez reached revelatory conclusions in exploration of how cells tolerate DNA damage and genome instability. Est. reading time: 2 mins.

The largest genomic analysis ever conducted of small cell lung cancer tumors (SCLC) has identified genetic subtypes and provided insights into the mechanisms of this aggressive and deadly cancer.

Vanderbilt is launching a clinical trial that pairs an experimental vaccine with an established immunotherapy for recurrent, human papilloma virus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer of the head and neck.

An international coalition of biomedical researchers co-led by Vanderbilts Alexander Bick MD PhD has determined a new way to measure the growth rate of precancerous clones of blood stem cells that one day could help doctors lower their patients risk of blood cancer.

Oluwole’s patients often call him “Dr. O,” and he is one of the nation’s top CAR T experts. He is an author of a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2017 that showed CAR T is an effective treatment for refractory large B-cell lymphoma.

Vanderbilt researcher P. Brent Ferrell, MD, is leading one of five projects selected by the 2022 Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research Global Scholars Program.

Vanderbilt's James Crowe Jr., MD, was among those to receive 2023 Advocacy Awards from Research!America at the biomedical research advocacy organization's annual awards program in Washington, D.C.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have made a generous financial gift to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in support of clinical trials for new and better therapies for breast cancer.

Vanderbilt's Neil Osheroff, PhD, is part of an international research collaboration resulting in what is on track to be the first new antibiotic treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections in more than 20 years.

A Vanderbilt study found that a molecular signature that predicts aggressive thyroid cancer could help guide treatment approaches for patients.

New screening method could pave the way for future cancer drug discoveries

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that vasopressin, which has long been thought to be produced only in the brain, is also produced in the kidney.

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that vasopressin, which has long been thought to be produced only in the brain, is also produced in the kidney.

Transcription factors — proteins that regulate gene expression — play critical roles in cell fate decisions and are frequent targets of mutation in a variety of human cancers.

Computed tomography scans for people at risk for lung cancer lead to earlier diagnoses and improve survival rates, but they can also lead to overtreatment when suspicious nodules turn out to be benign.

A study by Vanderbilt researchers has identified genomic alterations in early stage adenocarcinomas of the lung that may indicate whether the lesions develop into aggressive tumors.

A five-year follow-up study of U.S. men who received prostate cancer treatment is creating a road map for future patients to clarify expectations and enable men to make informed choices about care.

Travis Osterman, DO, MS, has been awarded a Microsoft Investigator Fellowship.

A new multisite study will examine whether co-occurring Alzheimer’s disease and stage 4 breast or prostate cancer alters pain perception, potentially leading to undertreated cancer pain.

Shari Barkin, MD, MSHS, division chief of General Pediatrics at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, was honored recently with the 2019 Academic Pediatric Association (APA) Research Award.

Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) is better than a tape measure for assessing a woman’s risk for developing lymphedema, painful swelling in the arm after breast cancer surgery, according to interim results of a recent study.

A recent study suggests that blocking the MYC protein could be “unexpectedly effective” in treating malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) is one of the most aggressive and lethal childhood cancers.

Changes in enzymes involved in lysophospholipid signaling can activate a pathway implicated in development of cancer, a recent study suggests.

Targeting specific molecules in breast tumors, called methylating agents, can turn up the immune response, potentially making tumors responsive to immunotherapy, suggests a new study published in Nature Communications.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to starve a tumor and stop its growth with a newly discovered small compound that blocks uptake of the vital nutrient glutamine.

Cancer investigators led by researchers at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center have co-developed a liquid biopsy blood-based assay used to identify specific gene mutations associated with the development or relapse of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC)

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes that modulate gene expression and have important roles in development and disease. HDAC inhibitors are active against lymphoma, and understanding the roles of specific HDACs is important for further therapeutic development. Scott Hiebert, Ph.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists are launching a research platform called ELVIS that is devoted to molecular underpinnings of early-childhood determinants of health.