DALLAS — Nov. 2, 2005 — Designation by the National Cancer Institute as a "Comprehensive Cancer Center" is the gold standard that defines broad excellence in oncology. Currently, there are 39 such centers in the United States.
Dr. James Willson, MD, director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center, wants the 40th to be here.
His ambitious plan to enable the Simmons Center to receive this elite distinction has been enthusiastically supported by Harold C. Simmons and his wife, Annette, whose most recent gift of $50 million to UT Southwestern will provide Dr. Willson and his colleagues with the resources to succeed. Click here for full story.
DALLAS — Nov. 2, 2005 — Dallas entrepreneur Harold C. Simmons and his wife, Annette, have given $50 million to accelerate development of a nationally ranked cancer program at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The gift will enable the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center to implement a broad range of supporting programs and recruit 30 top cancer specialists to provide a critical mass for the major varieties of cancer, empowering it to achieve recognition as a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center on an accelerated timetable.
"My family and I are very encouraged about the major progress being made [at the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center], and we want to do what we can to ensure that the people of Texas have access to the finest cancer care in the country," said Mr. Simmons. "We feel that UT Southwestern can make it happen, and we're excited about what the future will bring." The $50 million gift, part of the medical center's $500 million Innovations in Medicine campaign, equals the largest gift in UT Southwestern's history as well as the largest gift ever made to a Dallas organization. Click here for full story.
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UT Southwestern researcher seeks minority women for study aimed at improving breast cancer survival rates
DALLAS — Oct. 20, 2005 — A leading breast-cancer researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center is seeking several hundred minority women who have had breast cancer or are at high risk for developing it for a study aimed at improving survival rates among Hispanic, Asian and black women.
The study is funded by a $250,000 grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
"The knowledge obtained in this study will be useful in tailoring breast-cancer genetic counseling and testing protocols to different populations, both locally and nationally," said Dr. Gail Tomlinson, co-director of the Mary L. Brown Breast Cancer Genetic Risk Assessment Program in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. "This new knowledge will in turn help provide effective breast-cancer screening and early detection practices." Click here for full story.
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Researchers find drug that blocks spread of lung cancer in mice
DALLAS — Sept. 1, 2005 — Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a compound that shows promise as a way to block the spread, or metastasis, of lung cancer.
The researchers found that the compound blocks an enzyme that is known to keep cells immortal and that is implicated in almost all human cancers. From results in mice, they determined that the compound, called GRN163L, also works rapidly and in doses that would be reasonable for therapy. It may be particularly useful after surgery or in combination with chemotherapy or radiotherapy to prevent residual cancer cells from spreading.
"We showed for the first time that this drug can work in animals," said Dr. Jerry Shay, professor of cell biology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study, which appears in the September issue of the journal Cancer Research. Click here for full story.
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DALLAS — Oct. 24, 2005 — A UT Southwestern Medical Center faculty member who specializes in gene regulation has been elected to the Institute of Medicine, a component of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, it was announced today.
Dr. Steven McKnight, chairman of biochemistry, was one of only two Texans among the 64 new members elected in 2005 to the organization, which addresses national health issues.
He brings the total number of current UT Southwestern faculty members inducted into the institute to 17, the largest representation at one institution in Texas and surrounding states.
Dr. McKnight's work reaches back 20 years, when he found that a protein that binds to DNA resembled proteins that cause cancer. He correctly predicted that the so-called oncogene proteins would also bind to DNA and cause cancer by improper gene regulation. Click here for full story.
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DALLAS — Aug. 15, 2005 — Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that stem cells in a certain region of the brain may be the source of a particular type of incurable brain tumor and may be implicated in other types of brain cancers as well.
The research, conducted in mice, appears in the August issue of the journal Cancer Cell. The findings support growing evidence that adult stem cells may play a role in the development of some forms of cancer, said Dr. Luis Parada, senior author on the paper and director of the Center for Developmental Biology and the Kent Waldrep Center for Basic Research on Nerve Growth and Regeneration at UT Southwestern.
"Continued research into the biology of adult stem cells will aid in the understanding of how cancers originate and develop and may lead to possible new therapies for treating aggressive, currently incurable brain tumors," said Dr. Parada.
Malignant astrocytoma, or glioma, is one of the most common types of brain tumor in adults. The tumors are thought to arise from glial cells, which are non-nerve cells that provide support and nutrition to cells of the nervous system. Click here for full story.
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DALLAS — May 15, 2005 — An antibody that targets the blood vessels nourishing tumors significantly reduced breast cancer formation and growth in mice when combined with a current cancer drug, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Their work appears in today's issue of Cancer Research.
"This antibody could enhance the therapeutic efficacy of the drug docetaxel in breast cancer patients," said Dr. Philip Thorpe, professor of pharmacology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the research. "The combination merits further scrutiny as a potential treatment for human cancer." Docetaxel is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic drugs for treating breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, but its use in treating other cancers is limited by its toxicity. Click here for full story.
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Simmons News Archive 2007
Simmons News Archive 2006
Simmons Media Contact: Connie Piloto, 214-648-3404 connie.piloto@utsouthwestern.edu
Subscribe to our medical news updates at www.utsouthwestern.edu/receivenews
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