Safer, more effective radiation treatment and other advances

Join the 2011 Massey Challenge

VCU Massey Cancer Center is pleased to once again be an official charity of the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k presented by MARTIN'S.

If you're participating in the 10k, there's only one thing that could be more rewarding than crossing the finish line--raising money for cancer research along the way!

Join the Massey Challenge sponsored by Anthem and help support the fight against cancer right here in Richmond. Start a team, join a team or fund raise on your own! Get the details.

Join the Massey Challenge at www.run4massey.org

Massey can't run without you!

Healthy Lifestyle Expo

Presented by VCU Medical Center and WTVR-CBS 6

Promoting healthy living and total wellness, this free expo features special guest Dr. Oz, health screenings, fitness and cooking demonstrations, as well as product demonstrations and access to information about health care services at the VCU Medical Center.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Greater Richmond Convention Center

403 N. Third Street

For more information >>

16th Annual

Women & Wellness

Presented by the Jenkins Foundation and sponsored by VCU Massey and Wachovia, a Wells Fargo Company

Educating women about their health and healthcare options, this event includes a breakfast and luncheon and features keynote speaker Kelly Corrigan, a breast cancer survivor, University of Richmond graduate and the best-selling author of The Middle Place and Lift.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011
8:00 AM - 2:00 PM
The Jefferson Hotel
101 W. Franklin Street

For more information, contact Stephanie Jenks at
(804) 827-0642 or sjenks@vcu.edu

VCU RAMS "PINK OUT" FOR MASSEY

Go Pink with the VCU Rams!

Help raise breast cancer awareness and support Massey at the VCU Women's Basketball game against ODU on Thursday, February 17.

The Lady Rams will be sporting pink, and half-time will feature special Massey programming. Team Massey members (staff, donors, patients, supporters, etc.) get FREE game tickets as well as pink "VCU Rams Go Pink / Massey Cancer Center" t-shirts. The game starts at 7 PM at the Siegel Center (doors open at 6 PM.)

For tickets & t-shirts, contact John Wallace at wallacej@vcu.edu

or (804) 628-1550.

Clinical Trials Communication

101+ Workshop

Learn how to effectively communicate to increase participation in cancer clinical research.

The Cancer Plan Action Coalition is hosting a free interactive workshop at Massey for physicians, nurses, health professionals, researchers, patients and anyone else interested in learning about clinical trials. The workshop will feature Margo Michaels, a national expert in community-based cancer clinical research education.

Learn to:

· Dispel common misunderstandings about clinical trials

· Break down barriers to clinical trial participation

· Stimulate community engagement in research

· Promote inquiry about clinical trials through community healthcare providers.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences,

509 North 12th St.

RSVP required: contact Carlin Rafie at 628-2680 or crafie@vcu.edu

Someone you know is a cancer survivor, patient or caregiver:

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Volume 4, Issue 1

January 2011

Technique Introduces Safer, More Effective Radiation Treatment

Massey is First in Richmond to Use Cutting-edge VMAT Radiation Equipment

Massey has introduced a safer and more effective form of radiation therapy to treat cancer. The Center now offers volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) delivery using the Philips Pinnacle SmartArc software to provide radiation treatment for multiple tumor sites, including prostate, head and neck, brain, breast and lung. Massey is the first cancer center in the Richmond area to offer this cutting-edge radiation technique.

SPOTLIGHT ON CLINICAL TRIAL ADVANCES

Clinical Trial Explores Therapy to Reduce the Recurrence of Pancreatic Cancer

A clinical trial at VCU Massey is examining a new therapy aimed at decreasing the recurrence of pancreatic cancer. The Phase II trial assesses whether a chemotherapy combination typically given as a stand-alone treatment for pancreatic cancer helps improve patient outcomes when combined with surgery. To enhance the success of entirely removing cancerous tumors in the pancreas, the trial uses a combination of the chemotherapy agents gemcitabine (also known as Gemzar) and erlotinib (also known as Tarceva) before and after surgery.

"Pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat since it spreads rapidly and is seldom detected in early stages," says Dr. Brian Kaplan, lead investigator of this trial. "Neoadjuvant therapies, which are therapies given prior to surgery, can aid in surgically removing tumors by first shrinking them, thereby decreasing the chance of leaving behind residual amounts of the disease." Read more >>

Clinical Trial Helps Patient Beat the Odds

In 2007, Connie Madison, an active and healthy mother of two, was shocked to learn that she had stage III pancreatic cancer.

After Madison was told that her cancer was "inoperable and incurable," she made the decision to seek a second opinion and began exploring treatment options. When she discovered that VCU Massey Cancer Center is one of only a handful of cancer centers in the nation that offers a specialized clinical trial for pancreatic cancer, Madison scheduled an appointment at Massey with Dr. James Shaw. She chose to participate on the trial upon learning that it would offer her first access to promising new therapies.

Today, Madison is beating the odds. Read the full story >>

Connie Madison, second from left, with her family.

ROUNDUP OF THE LATEST RESEARCH DISCOVERIES

Too Many Cancer Screening Options Confuse Patients and Lead Them to Avoid Screenings Altogether

Adhering to cancer screening recommendations is one of the best things people can do to reduce their risk of dying from cancer. But research led by Dr. Resa M. Jones at Massey suggests that when patients are presented more than one colorectal cancer screening option, there is a greater chance of confusion and, therefore, a greater chance of neglecting screening recommendations.

The study was recently published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention and provides the first empirical evidence linking multiple screening options with patient confusion, and patient confusion with screening adherence.

Novel Therapy for Metastatic Kidney Cancer Developed

Massey researchers Drs. Paul Dent and Paul B. Fisher developed a novel virus-based gene therapy for renal cell carcinoma that has been shown to kill cancer cells not only at the primary tumor site but also in distant tumors not directly infected by the virus. Renal cell carcinoma is the most common form of kidney cancer in adults and currently there is no effective treatment for the disease once it has spread outside of the kidney. Their findings were reported recently in the journal Cancer Biology & Therapy.

New Approaches Refine Molecular Imaging for Detecting Cancer Metastasis

Scientists may be a step closer to improving the detection of metastatic tumors in an organism -- in real time -- using a noninvasive approach that pairs an imaging agent with a genetic element that only expresses itself when it is in cancer cells.

The work, a collaborative effort between Massey researcher Dr. Paul B. Fisher and Johns Hopkins University, could lead to improved and earlier detection of tumors and metastases in patients and allow clinicians to monitor the cancer's response to therapy. The research builds upon a genetic element previously discovered and characterized by Dr. Fisher. The study was published online in the December issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

Research at Massey led by Dr. Charles E. Chalfant discovered a previously unknown mechanism in non-small cell lung cancer cells that contributes to their ability to maintain and grow tumors. Narrowing in on this mechanism could provide a breakthrough for the development of effective therapies for NSCLC and other cancers. The findings were recently published in Journal of Clinical Investigation.

GOVERNOR RECOMMENDS INCREASED STATE FUNDING FOR MASSEY

Five Million Dollar State Budget Amendment Will Support Massey's Cancer Research

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell recently announced a five million dollar amendment to his state budget recommendations to support cancer research at VCU Massey.

This funding -- if approved by Virginia's General Assembly -- will assist Massey in meeting the requirements for Comprehensive status with the National Cancer Institute. In achieving this status, Massey would be the only NCI Comprehensive cancer center in Virginia and one of just 40 in the nation. Most important, this elevated honor would facilitate Massey in securing new funding, provide more resources to advance cancer research and support the Center in continuing to save lives and reduce the suffering and death of Virginians and others elsewhere afflicted with cancer.

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY AWARDS MASSEY $270,000 GRANT

Funding Supports Junior Investigators in the Initiation of New Research

The American Cancer Society (ACS) presented VCU Massey a $270,000 three-year award to fund Institutional Research Grants (IRGs). IRGs are block grants averaging $90,000 per year that are divided among promising junior investigators to support the initiation of basic, pre-clinical, clinical and cancer-control research studies.

A recent example of research at Massey funded by a previous ACS IRG includes a study by Hiroshi Miyazaki, M.D., Ph.D., on how two enzymes, ERK6 and ERK2, interact with the Scribble protein to affect tumor suppression resulting from human papillomavirus (HPV). The ACS IRG also supported work by David Williams, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., in examining a specific complex of proteins, MBD2-NuRD, known to be involved in the development of breast, colon, prostate and other types of cancer.

The research projects that this latest grant will support will be determined through applications approved by a review panel led by Principal Investigator Dr. David A. Gewirtz.

__________________________________

Momentum is published by VCU Massey Cancer Center.

David Raine, Jr.

Communications Coordinator

dlraine@vcu.edu

804-628-1829

If you have questions about cancer, cancer treatments or survivorship, please ASK MASSEY.

To learn more about VCU Massey Cancer Center, please visit our Web site at www.massey.vcu.edu.