August 31, 2015
Case CCC IN THE NEWS
WJHG.com - Aug 26, 2015
Melanoma is a cancer that starts in a certain type of skin cell. Skin cancer is almost always curable when caught and treated early. Dr. Brian Gastman treats Melanoma at Cleveland Clinic. He said most of the time Melanomas come from moles on the skin, so it's critical to inspect your body. "Look at those funny brown things on your skin and see how large they are. Have they changed? Probably change is the most important thing, and change not only in width and diameter but also elevation," explained Dr. Gastman, also a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. 
Nanoparticles Hit Cancer's Moving Target
Chemical & Engineering News - Aug 26, 2015
Though most cancer therapies treat tumors as monoliths, the cells evolve and change their behavior over time. For example, they can alter their gene expression pattern to escape from the primary tumor and spread throughout the body. Now, researchers have developed a nanoparticle that targets cancer cells at two different stages of metastasis, which could make it possible to prevent the disease from spreading (ACS Nano 2015, DOI:10.1021/acsnano.5b01552). About 90% of cancer deaths are caused not by the initial tumor but by secondary tumors, or metastases, that often take root in the lungs, bone, liver, or brain. These metastatic cells commonly survive chemotherapy and are "buried in the large population of healthy cells in the body," says Efstathios Karathanasis, a biomedical engineer at Case Western Reserve University and member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. "To kill them all, the concentration of the drug would have to be so high that you would kill the patient."
The News Herald - Aug 25, 2015
Vichai and Patrawadee Duangjak have spent decades caring for patients at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center. Though they have both retired, they've seen the crippling effects of cancer and plan to continue their care. The result is a gift to UH Seidman Cancer Center at UH Geauga Medical Center. The donation will fund the creation of a new position, called a patient navigator, whose role is to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment process for cancer patients. "This is a great way to have an immediate impact on the community," said Dr. Judah Friedman, a hematologist and oncologist at UH Geauga. "It's a very personal impact. After the diagnosis, this is the person you're going to see right away, who's going to help you understand what's happening to you and where you go next, to kind of keep you organized, which takes a lot of worry out of the diagnosis."
Wall Street Journal - Aug 24, 2015
Breast-cancer specialists are sharply divided over a new radiation technique that costs less and is more convenient than conventional therapy. The technique, known as intraoperative radiation therapy, or IORT, involves administering a single dose of radiation at the same time a patient is having lumpectomy surgery to remove a tumor. A large, randomized controlled trial concluded that IORT has fewer side effects and appears to prevent the return of cancer nearly as well as traditional treatment, in which patients undergo radiation sessions five days a week for up to seven weeks..."A lot of women who hear about this option make an informed decision to use it," says Stephen Grobmyer, member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and director of the breast center at the Cleveland Clinic, which is collecting data on nearly 1,000 patients who have had the treatment at 19 U.S. centers.
CNN- Aug 21, 2015
Hearing a diagnosis of advanced melanoma, former President Jimmy Carter said he thought he had a few weeks to live, but was "surprisingly at ease" and that he trusted in the treatment prescribed by his doctors at Emory University. The 39th president had learned in May that he had a "small mass" on his liver and decided to have the elective surgery to remove it on August 3. At that time the Carter Center, his nonprofit organization, released a statement saying "the prognosis is excellent for a full recovery."... On Wednesday, the hospital fitted him with a mask that will hold his head perfectly still to make sure the radiation goes into the right places in his brain. "Focused radiation as compared to general radiation has shown some success," said Dr. Manmeet Ahluwalia. "That they are really small makes it more likely that these lesions can be controlled." Ahluwalia is Cleveland Clinics director of the Brain Metastasis Research Program, associate director for clinical trials and member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, and he has tested this kind of treatment.

Related:

WebMD - Aug 20, 2015
MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
Colon Cancer Researcher Sanford Markowitz Receives Distinguished University Professorship
Sanford Markowitz joins fellow Distinguished University Professors Nathan Berger and Stan Gerson at fall convocation
Groundbreaking medical research offers Sanford Markowitz the best of two worlds. He thrives on solving tough scientific puzzles that come with medical research in a top-flight academic center. He also finds immense gratification that his work may someday help someone with serious illness such as colon cancer.

Profound dedication to colon cancer and oncology research has earned Markowitz a major Case Western Reserve University honor: 2015 Distinguished University Professor. He joined Donald L. Feke, vice provost for graduate education, and Ica Manas-Zloczower, engineering professor, in receiving Distinguished University Professor honors during fall convocation Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Markowitz serves as head of the Cancer Genetics Program of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and as principal investigator of the Case GI Cancers SPORE Center, an NCI-designated program of research excellence in gastrointestinal cancers. He also is an attending physician at the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

Most notable have been Markowitz's discoveries in colon cancer. The illness is of direct personal interest to him because his father was diagnosed with colon cancer when Markowitz served as an intern, which made the disease a natural focus for his research. [more]
Madabhushi Team Awarded Patent in Digital Pathology, Biomarker Quantification
Anant Madabhushi, Director of the Center for
Dr. Anant Madabhushi
Anant Madabhushi
Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been awarded U.S. patent 9,111,179, titled "High-throughput Biomarker Segmentation Utilizing Hierarchical Normalized Cuts."
 
The invention relates to a novel algorithm and methodology that enables quantitative and rapid analysis of biomarkers in tissue samples. The algorithm allows for rapidly identifying all stained regions of a digitized pathology image, enabling a quantitative output of the extent of biomarker stain present in that image.

Co-inventors include Andrew Janowczyk (research associate, Case Western Reserve University) and Sharat Chandran (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay).
NCCN UPDATES

NCCN Publishes New Patient Education Resources for Kidney Cancer

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network� (NCCN�) has published the NCCN Guidelines for Patients� and NCCN Quick Guide™ for Kidney Cancer, the newest addition to the library of NCCN patient education resources. Made available through support of the NCCN Foundation� and, in part, through general sponsorship from the Kidney Cancer Association, the NCCN Guidelines for Patients and the NCCN Quick Guide™ for Kidney Cancer are available to download free of charge on NCCN.org/patients. For information about print copies, visit NCCN.org/patients. [more]

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Association of American Medical Colleges Advancing Implementation Science in Community/Academic Partnered Research
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is teaming up with The Patrick Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation to issue a request for proposals for Advancing Implementation Science in Community/Academic Partnered Research. The partnership offers an opportunity for academic medical centers to collaborate on research that has the potential for near-term impact to improve population health outcomes. The research should facilitate collaborations among researchers, community organizations, and health system leaders. 

The award principal investigator must be a member of the AAMC Research on Care Community (ROCC). If you are not already a member, submitting the proposal will enroll you in ROCC and the ROCC health equity subgroup. 

Deadline: October 16
Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2
Applications to the Fiscal Year 2015 Breast Cancer Research Program are being solicited for the Defense Health Agency, Research, Development, and Acquisition Directorate, by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity. 

The intent of the Breakthrough Award is to support promising research that has high potential to lead to or make breakthroughs in breast cancer. 

The critical components of this award mechanism are: 
  • Impact: Research supported by the Breakthrough Award will have the potential for a major impact and accelerate progress toward ending breast cancer. The impact may be near-term or long-term, but must be significant and move beyond an incremental advancement. Applications must articulate the pathway to making a clinical impact for individuals with, or at risk for, breast cancer, even if clinical impact is not an immediate outcome. 
  • Research Scope: Research proposed under this award mechanism may be small- to large-scale projects, at different stages of idea and research development. Two different funding levels, based on the scope of the research, are available under this Program Announcement.
Investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent) are eligible to submit an application. Postdoctoral fellows are eligible to submit and are encouraged to apply.

Pre-Application (LOI) Deadline: November 18
Application Deadline: December 2
NIH BULLETIN - Notices and Funding Opportunities

Notice of Change to Funding Opportunity PA-15-305, "Supplements to Support Evaluation of the NCI Cancer Genomics Cloud Pilots (Admin Supp)"(NOT-CA-15-028)

Translational Research on Adducts in Cancer Risk Identification and Prevention (U01)(PAR-15-307)

Innovative Basic Research on Adducts in Cancer Risk Identification and Prevention (R01)(PAR-15-308)


Innovative Basic Research on Adducts in Cancer Risk Identification and Prevention (R21)(PAR-15-309)


Abuse Liability Associated with Reduced Nicotine Content Tobacco Products (R01)(RFA-OD-15-006)
EVENTS
Tues, Sep 1
Immunology Seminar Series
Yan Li, PhD
Dept of Immunology 
CWRU
Elucidating 3D Regulome in Signal-dependent Transcription and Stem Cell Differentiation
12p WRB 1-413
THOR Seminar
Yong Li
Staff, Cancer Biology
Cleveland Clinic
Noncoding Germline and Somatic Mutations in Cancer
1p R3-027 Cleveland Clinic
Wed, Sep 2
Hem/Onc Division Research Conference
David Mansur, MD
Division Chief, Radiation Oncology, UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology and Pediatrics, 
CWRU SOM
Radiation Oncology Overview
8a Lerner B-151
Fri, Sep 4
Hem/Onc Fellows Seminar
Joe Baar, MD, PhD
Shiveta Vinayak, MD
CWRU/UHCMC
Adjuvant/Neoadjuvant Breast Cancer Treatment
8a Breen Conference Room

Taussig Cancer Institute Grand Rounds
Eren Berber, MD
Endocrine Surgery
Cleveland Clinic
An Update on Minimally Invasive Surgical Treatment of Metastatic Liver Tumors
8a R3/002-003 Cleveland Clinic
Tues, Sep 8
Pharmacology Invited Seminar
Mukesh K. Jain, MD 
Ellery Sedgwick Chair & Distinguished Scientist
Professor, Medicine
Founding Director, Case Cardiovascular Research Institute
Scientific Director, Harrington Discovery Institute
Chief Research Officer, Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute
Chief Scientific Officer, UH Health System
CWRU/UH
KLFs and Metabolic Control
12p SOM W331/Webster Conf Rm
Enrique Ecker Lecture and Immunology Seminar
Ellen Rothenberg, PhD
California Institute of Technology
Launching the T-cell Program: a gene regulatory transformation
12p WRB 1-413
Wed, Sep 9
Hem/Onc Division Research Conference
Peter Faulhaber, MD
Professor, Radiology 
CWRU/UH
Radiopharmaceuticals/Nuclear Medicine
8a Lerner B-151
A Hanna Symposium: Genome Instability and Evolution
Outside Speakers: Bernard Dujon of Pasteur Institute, James Haber of Brandeis University, Philip Hieter of University of British Columbia
2-9p BRB 105 
Thurs, Sep 10
Genome Instability and Evolution
Bernard Dujon
Pasteur Institute (Hanna Lecturer)
Retrospective Talk
12p Wood Building 331

Immunology Journal Club

Janice Jun

Cobb lab, Immunology

CWRU

A Conserved Histidine in the RNA Sensor RIG-I Controls Immune Tolerance to N1-2/o-Methylated Self RNA

12p WRB 5-136

Fri, Sep 11
Hem/Onc Fellows Seminar
8a Breen Conference Room

Taussig Cancer Institute Grand Rounds
Priscilla Brastianos, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Shifting Clinical Paradigms in Brain Tumors: Genomics as a Tool
8a R3/002-003 Cleveland Clinic
Cancer Center Seminar Series
Halle Moore, MD
Staff Physician, Taussig Cancer Institute
Cleveland Clinic 
Breast Cancer Survivorship
12p BRB 105

Case CCC Calendar

 

LRI Calendar

 

ADDITIONAL UPCOMING SYMPOSIUMS & EVENTS

Genetics and Genomics: Integration into Clinical Practice
Sep 10
InterContinental Hotel

Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) Community Forum

Cancer Center Scientific Series: AYA Research
Sep 18 3-6p
BRB 105

Neuroendocrine Tumor Regional Conference
Multidisciplinary Management of NET Cancers
Nov 7
Embassy Suites - Independence
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED OPPORTUNITIES

Deadline: Sep 2

Deadline: Sep 17

Pre-Application Deadline: Sep 19
Application Deadline (Invited): Dec 21

Deadline: Sep 24

American Society of Hematology Physician-Scientist Career Development Award
Deadline: Sep 30


Case Comprehensive Cancer Center 
11100 Euclid Avenue, Wearn152
Cleveland, OH 44106-5065