July 2024 Tip Sheet of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

This month’s tip sheet from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Sylvester Oncologist Shares Insights on Treating Rare, Complex Cancer

Sarcomas, or rare and complicated cancers of the bones and soft tissues, present unique challenges for clinicians. There are 175 types of sarcoma and it tends to be diagnosed at later stages, in part because there’s no screening for it, unlike breast, colon or prostate cancer. Gina D’Amato, clinical lead of Sylvester’s sarcoma oncology service line, thrives in her role. In a recent interview, she shared insights on the challenges and rewards of her work.

Recent Studies Show Certain Medications May Improve Bone Cancer Outcomes

While surgery remains the go-to treatment for osteosarcoma, the most common bone cancer, new studies have shown that certain medications can be beneficial in treating this disease. Francis Hornicek, Director of Orthopaedic Oncology and co-leader of the Sarcoma Multidisciplinary Care Group, says drugs that prevent bone loss may also prevent complications such as fractures in sarcoma patients, while immunotherapy medication used for other cancers shows promise for sarcomas as well.

Sylvester Surgeon First in U.S. to Use Blue Laser for Early Vocal Fold Cancer

David Rosow, Director of the Division of Laryngology and Voice, was the first U.S. surgeon to use the blue laser to treat early glottic cancer, the most common type of laryngeal cancer. A one-year follow-up of 49 patients, published recently in The Laryngoscope, showed the blue laser removed these tumors with excellent voice outcomes.

Hematologist Receives V Foundation Grant for Lymphoma Research

Jay Spiegel, Sylvester hematologist and transplant and cellular therapy physician, has been awarded a $200,000, two-year grant from the V Foundation to study better ways to tackle aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Spiegel’s trial will combine CAR T immunotherapy with two promising new drugs to treat B-cell lymphoma, the most common lymphoma in the U.S., comprising 85% of all cases.

Physician-Scientist Awarded Grant for Colorectal Cancer Research

Maria Abreu, Sylvester physician-scientist and director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center, was awarded a four-year, $800,000 grant from the V Foundation to advance her innovative research on colorectal cancer (CRC).

“We are linking diet and lifestyle changes that result in dysbiosis, or an abnormal microbiome, to an increased risk of CRC. We are hoping to generate a variety of strategies to prevent and treat the disease,” – she explained.

Third V Foundation Grant to Bolster Pancreatic Cancer Research

Immunotherapy has dramatically improved the lives of many cancer patients, especially those with blood cancers and some solid tumors. But pancreatic cancer remains one area where immunotherapy has been mostly ineffective. Now, a $660,000 grant to Sylvester researchers from the V Foundation will attempt to alter the treatment landscape. Peter Hosein and Jashodeep Datta will be co-principal investigators for this study, which aims to build on prior research involving the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes.

Graduate Student, Advisor Earn Prestigious Fellowship to Study Environmental Toxins

Destiny Tiburcio, a graduate student at the UM/Miller School and her thesis advisor, Michael Toborek, a Sylvester researcher and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, are among 50 student-advisor pairs chosen for a Gilliam Fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Tiburcio, under Toborek’s tutelage, will use the fellowship to study the effects of environmental toxins on the blood-brain barrier and the brain’s defenses against cancer cells.

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