Research Headlines
UF Health researchers win national award for identifying brain tumor intervention
A study identifying a possible new intervention to treat the deadliest of brain tumors garnered a Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Award for 2015 from the Clinical Research Forum for UF Health brain cancer researcher Duane Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., and his research team, who were honored for an outstanding accomplishment in clinical research. Their early clinical results are now the subject of a large and randomized Phase II clinical trial. READ MORE
Grant to support research of deadliest form of prostate cancer
A UF researcher Dietmar W. Siemann, Ph.D., has received a five-year, $1.7 million grant to study when, how and why prostate cancer, which physicians consider highly curable, sometimes spreads, and to develop treatment options for this uncommon but life-threatening occurrence. The NCI-supported study is focused on bone metastasis, which occurs when cancer cells spread from the original site to other places in the body and is linked to high mortality in prostate cancer patients. READ MORE
Targeting wayward tumor cells in triple-negative breast cancer
A UF Health neuro-oncologist David D. Tran, M.D., Ph.D., has been awarded a $1.78 million grant from the Florida Department of Health’s Bankhead-Coley Cancer Research Program to develop new strategies to target disseminated tumor cells in triple-negative breast cancer. Researchers are developing a treatment technology in the lab to activate these slowly dividing cells to render them sensitive to chemotherapy. If the cells can be made to divide faster by forcing them out of quiescence, it’s possible they will be more sensitive to treatment. READ MORE
In the hunt for cancer treatments, dogs are man’s best friend yet again
A UF College of Veterinary Medicine researcher is immersed in two clinical trials that could ultimately improve the survival time for bone cancer and melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Rowan Milner, Ph.D., is also about halfway through a two-year study that uses a vaccine to induce an immune system response that slows the spread of osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. Hundreds of dogs with naturally occurring osteosarcoma have been enrolled by their owners to participate in the studies. READ MORE
Researchers learn more about drink that aids post-radiation recovery
When patients get treated for cancer, radiation therapy causes difficult side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Now, a group of UF Health researchers has learned more about how a set of amino acids, formulated as a rehydration drink, helps the small intestine repair itself after radiation therapy. The researchers were already aware that the formulation improved gastrointestinal function, but the new findings reveal its beneficial action on intestinal stem cells. “This is a way to reduce the gastrointestinal complications associated with radiation and chemotherapy. It’s a way to help improve patients’ quality of life during cancer care,” said Sadasivan Vidyasagar, M.D., Ph.D. READ MORE
Patient with chemotherapy-induced heart failure first to receive stem cells
In collaboration with the Blood and Marrow Transplant and Leukemia Program, UF Health cardiologists led by Carl Pepine, M.D. have, for the first time, implanted stem cells into the heart of a breast cancer survivor with heart failure in a phase I clinical trial that will examine the feasibility and safety of treating these kinds of patients with stem cells. In subsequent clinical trials, researchers will study whether stem cells from healthy subjects can improve heart function in patients who have been treated with a group of drugs called anthracyclines, chemotherapy drugs that are still used today. READ MORE
UF Health researcher investigates natural treatment for liver cancer
UF Health researcher Thomas Schmittgen, Ph.D. is studying a natural therapy for treating liver cancer and identifying novel treatments and new ways to deliver those therapies by restoring microRNA in the hopes of finding options for people with the disease. Liver cancers can form when certain microRNA molecules disappear from healthy cells. In a $3.2 million NIH-funded study, researchers are attempting to restore the microRNA within cells to healthy levels. READ MORE
Researchers identify new strategy for discovering colorectal cancer drugs
UF Pharmacy researchers have identified novel drug targets and a new screening method for drugs affecting the signaling pathways in colorectal cancer. Many of the proteins currently under investigation as possible targets for cancer therapy are found in these pathways, so the researchers have devised a strategy whereby multiple cancer pathways may be targeted simultaneously for drug discovery.
“Our multiplex screen has potential to target multiple pathways at once. If you do a relatively smart screen early on, you can focus on the more promising drug candidates, and that could translate into a shorter discovery and development timeline,” said Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., a professor and chair of the department of medicinal chemistry.
For this study, Luesch’s team screened a subset of marine natural product compounds that were previously isolated in his lab from cyanobacteria, a rich source of bioactive molecules found in marine environments. UF scientists found two of the compounds, which were identified by Luesch’s lab team, to be novel inhibitors of the KRAS and HIF pathways. One of the compounds, largazole, was discovered in cyanobacteria collected by Luesch’s team off the coast of the Florida Keys, and it has shown characteristics of being highly effective at reprogramming cancer cells and inhibiting cancer growth. READ MORE
Lower-carb diet slows growth of aggressive brain tumor in mouse models
UF Health researchers have slowed a notoriously aggressive type of brain tumor in mouse models by using a low-carbohydrate diet. Glioblastoma, the most common brain tumor in adults, has no effective long-term treatment, but researchers found a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that included a coconut oil derivative helped reduce the growth of glioblastoma tumor cells and extended lifespan in mouse models by 50 percent. “While this is an effective treatment in our preclinical animal models, it is not a cure. However, our results are promising enough that the next step is to test this in humans,” said Brent Reynolds, Ph.D., READ MORE
Cancer cells’ transition can drive tumor growth
A team led by UF researchers Jianrong Lu, Ph.D, and Brian K. Law, Ph.D., has established how some tumors bolster their own blood supply, fueling their growth. Certain cancer cells can convert into blood vessel-supporting cells that drive tumor growth, according to the researchers’ findings. The study is the first to elucidate how that process sustains blood vessels. READ MORE
UF Health research shows a tiny laser could help diagnose kidney tumors
UF Health researchers are working to determine whether a tiny laser imaging probe can help detect whether a kidney tumor is cancerous or benign prior to subjecting a patient to an invasive needle biopsy or surgery. Twenty percent of tumors that are surgically removed end up being benign; the researchers’ goal is to save those 20 percent of patients an unnecessary surgery. “A diagnostic needle biopsy that invades the tumor risks bleeding or leaching of cancer cells into surrounding tissues, or results in insufficient tissue to make an accurate diagnosis,” said Li-Ming Su, M.D., the paper’s lead author. READ MORE