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KaCrole Higgins was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. “In May 2020, I found a lump in my breast. I cried. By June, it was diagnosed as breast cancer, triple positive, stage 1A. While getting this cancer diagnosis was devastating, it also became an opportunity. Suddenly, the cancer gave me clarity. It gave me clarity about what was important, what was good in my life, what was toxic in my life, and what I needed to do.” Click below to read more of KaCrole’s story

https://momentum.vicc.org/2022/04/cancer-gave-me-clarity/

If Landon Ryan had been diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma 10, 20 or 30 years ago, she might not be here today with nearly perfect vision.Thanks to recent improvements in the treatment for this rare form of cancer that almost exclusively affects children under the age of 5, the diagnosis had the power to change Landon’s life when she was 11 months old, but not to take it — or her eyesight. Click below to learn more about Landon and her story.

https://momentum.vicc.org/2022/04/brighter-outlook/
Displaying 1 - 10 of 21

Study explores new urinary tract infection treatment

Submitted by sobecksm on

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.

https://news.vumc.org/2023/02/02/study-explores-new-urinary-tract-infection-treatment/
VUMC News & Communications
Locked

Clamping Down the Metabolic Pipeline to B Cells

Submitted by robbikm2 on

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

https://discoveries.vanderbilthealth.com/2024/02/clamping-down-the-metabolic-pipeline-to-b-cells/
Vanderbilt Health
Locked

Research Snapshot: DNA replication discovery opens pathways to understanding and treating cancer, aging and degenerative disease

Submitted by sobecksm on

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.

https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2023/05/02/research-snapshot-dna-replication-discovery-opens-pathways-to-understanding-and-treating-cancer-aging-and-degenerative-disease/
Marissa Shapiro
Locked

Testing What Happens When an Immunotherapy Drug (Pembrolizumab) is Given by Itself Compared to the Usual Treatment of Chemotherapy With Radiation After Surgery for Recurrent Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Head/Neck

This phase II trial studies the effect of pembrolizumab alone compared to the usual approach (chemotherapy \[cisplatin and carboplatin\] plus radiation therapy) after surgery in treating patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that has come back (recurrent) or patients with a second head and neck cancer that is not from metastasis (primary). Radiation therapy uses high energy radiation or protons to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Cisplatin is in a class of medications known as platinum-containing compounds. It works by killing, stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells. Carboplatin is also in a class of medications known as platinum-containing compounds. It works in a way similar to the anticancer drug cisplatin, but may be better tolerated than cisplatin. Carboplatin works by killing, stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving pembrolizumab alone after surgery may work better than the usual approach in shrinking recurrent or primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Head/Neck
II
Choe, Jennifer
NCT04671667
ECOGHNEA3191

Comparing Sentinel Lymph Node (SLN) Biopsy With Standard Neck Dissection for Patients With Early-Stage Oral Cavity Cancer

Head/Neck

This phase II/III trial studies how well sentinel lymph node biopsy works and compares sentinel lymph node biopsy surgery to standard neck dissection as part of the treatment for early-stage oral cavity cancer. Sentinel lymph node biopsy surgery is a procedure that removes a smaller number of lymph nodes from your neck because it uses an imaging agent to see which lymph nodes are most likely to have cancer. Standard neck dissection, such as elective neck dissection, removes many of the lymph nodes in your neck. Using sentinel lymph node biopsy surgery may work better in treating patients with early-stage oral cavity cancer compared to standard elective neck dissection.
Head/Neck
II/III
Topf, Michael
NCT04333537
NRGHN006

A Trial to Find Out How Safe REGN7075 is and How Well it Works in Combination With Cemiplimab for Adult Participants With Advanced Cancers

Multiple Cancer Types

This study is researching an investigational drug called marlotamig (REGN7075) by itself and in combination with cemiplimab with or without chemotherapy. The study is focused on patients with certain solid tumors that are in an advanced stage.

The aim of the study is to see how safe and tolerable marlotamig is by itself and in combination with cemiplimab (with or without chemotherapy), and to find out what is the best dose of marlotamig to be given to patients with advanced solid tumors when combined with cemiplimab (with or without chemotherapy). Another aim of the study is to see how effective marlotamig by itself, or in combination with cemiplimab (with or without chemotherapy), is at treating cancer patients.

The study is also looking at:

* Side effects that may be experienced by people taking marlotamig by itself and in combination with cemiplimab with or without chemotherapy
* How marlotamig works in the body by itself and in combination with cemiplimab with or without chemotherapy
* How much marlotamig is present in the blood when given by itself and in combination with cemiplimab with or without chemotherapy
* To see if marlotamig by itself and in combination with cemiplimab with or without chemotherapy works to treat cancer by controlling the proliferation of tumor cells to shrink the tumor
* Whether the body makes antibodies against the study drugs (marlotamig and cemiplimab) (which could make the drug less effective or could lead to side effects)
Adrenocortical, Bladder, Breast, Cervical, Colon, Esophageal, GIST, Gastric/Gastroesophageal, Gastrointestinal, Gynecologic, Head/Neck, Kidney (Renal Cell), Liver, Lung, Miscellaneous, Non Small Cell, Ovarian, Pancreatic, Phase I, Prostate, Rectal, Urologic, Uterine
I/II
Choe, Jennifer
NCT04626635
VICC-DTPHI24031

Gabapentin & Ketamine for Prevention/Treatment of Acute/Chronic Pain in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer

Multiple Cancer Types

This is a study to establish a safe and feasible dose for prophylactic use of a combination of gabapentin and ketamine in head and neck cancer patients undergoing chemoradiation.
Head/Neck, Phase I
I/II
Lockney, Natalie
NCT05156060
VICCHNP2173

Phase II Panitumumab-IRDye800 in Head & Neck Cancer

Head/Neck

The purpose of this study is to determine if panitumumab-IRDye800 is effective in identifying cancer, compared to surrounding normal tissue, and the further characterize the safety profile of this drug.
Head/Neck
II
Rosenthal, Eben
NCT04511078
VICCHN21109

Window Trial of Fluorescently Labeled Panitumumab (Panitumumab-IRDye800) in Head and Neck Cancer

Multiple Cancer Types

This study is exploring the use of Panitumumab in Head and Neck Cancer. Panitumumab is an approved drug named Vectibix and is used as an anti-cancer agent in other cancers such as colorectal cancer. It works by attaching to the cancer cell in a unique way that allows the drug to get into the cancer tissue. In addition to the Panitumumab, participants will also receive a Panitumumab-IRDye800 (Pan800) or a fluorescently labeled Panitumumab infusion. IRDye800 is an investigational dye that, when tested in the lab, helps various characteristics of human tissue show up better when using a special camera during surgery. Panitumumab-IRDye800 is a combination of the drug and the dye that attaches to cancer cells and appears to make them visible to the doctor when he or she uses the special camera during surgery.

The goal of this study is to use a novel and possibly safer approach to identify an optimal dose for panitumumab to treat cancer patients by using a new light-based therapy. In this study, different drug levels will be analyzed using this approach to understand how much drug reaches the tumor at different administered doses, which may help us provide safer and/or more effective therapies in the future.

The goal is to identify the correct amount or dose of a drug that is needed for effective cancer therapies. Often, clinical studies look at how much of the drug can be tolerated before patients become sick, rather than how much of the drug is required to be effective.

IRDye800 is an investigational dye that, when tested in the lab, helps various characteristics of human tissue show up better when using a special camera during surgery. Panitumumab-IRDye800 is a combination of the drug and the dye that attaches to cancer cells and appears to make them visible to the doctor when he or she uses the special camera during surgery. This will help the surgeon with clinical margins during surgery and will may have a clearer way to differentiate between cancer and healthy tissue.
Head/Neck, Phase I
Early I
Rosenthal, Eben
NCT06819228
VICCHNP24602

Testing the Use of Ado-Trastuzumab Emtansine Compared to the Usual Treatment (Chemotherapy With Docetaxel Plus Trastuzumab) or Trastuzumab Deruxtecan for Recurrent, Metastatic, or Unresectable HER2-Expressing Salivary Gland Cancers

Head/Neck

This phase II trial compares the effect of usual treatment of docetaxel chemotherapy plus trastuzumab, to ado-emtansine (T-DM1) in patients with HER2-postive salivary gland cancer that has come back (recurrent), that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body, or cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable). This trial is also testing how well trastuzumab deruxtecan works in treating patients with HER2-low recurrent or metastatic salivary gland cancer. Trastuzumab is a form of targeted therapy because it works by attaching itself to specific molecules (receptors) on the surface of cancer cells, known as HER2 receptors. When trastuzumab attaches to HER2 receptors, the signals that tell the cells to grow are blocked and the cancer cell may be marked for destruction by body's immune system. Trastuzumab emtansine contains trastuzumab, linked to a chemotherapy drug called emtansine. Trastuzumab attaches to HER2 positive cancer cells in a targeted way and delivers emtansine to kill them. Trastuzumab deruxtecan is a monoclonal antibody called traztuzumab, linked to a chemotherapy drug called deruxtecan. Trastuzumab is a form of targeted therapy because it attaches to specific molecules (receptors) on the surface of cancer cells, known as HER2 receptors and delivers deruxtecan to kill them. Docetaxel is in a class of medications called taxanes. It stops cancer cells from growing and dividing and may kill them. Trastuzumab emtansine may work better compared to usual treatment of chemotherapy with docetaxel and trastuzumab or trastuzumab deruxtecan in treating patients with recurrent, metastatic or unresectable salivary gland cancer.
Head/Neck
II
Choe, Jennifer
NCT05408845
NRGHN010