Research
Apr 13, 2021
E-cigarettes that deliver a cigarette-like amount of nicotine are associated with reduced smoking and reduced exposure to the major tobacco-related pulmonary carcinogen, NNAL, even with concurrent smoking, according to a new study led by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and Penn State...
Research
Apr 01, 2021
Oncologists and clinical cancer researchers from across the state gathered virtually for VCU Massey Cancer Center’s tenth annual Cancer Symposium and Clinical Research Affiliate Network Retreat on March 20. The symposium provided continued professional education for clinicians while the retreat he...
Research
Mar 30, 2021
Preclinical research from VCU Massey Cancer Center published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that the combination of two existing drugs can exploit the metabolic “hunger” of a particularly aggressive type of neuroblastoma to kill cancer cells without inflicting ...
Research
Mar 23, 2021
Most people relate cholesterol to heart health, but it is also a critical component in the growth and spread of brain cancer. VCU Massey Cancer Center researcher Suyun Huang, Ph.D., recently discovered how cholesterol becomes dysregulated in brain cancer cells and showed that the gene responsible fo...
Research
Mar 22, 2021
The tumor microenvironment remains a major hurdle for the ultimate success of immuno-oncology due to its poorly immunogenic and highly immunosuppressive nature. New research conducted by Xiang-Yang (Shawn) Wang, Ph.D., co-leader of the Developmental Therapeutics research program at VCU Massey Cancer...
Community Engagement & Health Equity, Research
Mar 19, 2021
Two women, one Black and one white: Though the white woman has a higher lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer, the Black woman has a 41% greater risk of dying from the disease. Two neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia: In one, 5% of individuals live below the poverty line; in the other,...
Research, Prevention & Control
Mar 15, 2021
This week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued new recommendations that double the number of Americans eligible for annual low-dose CT lung scans. The revised guidelines lower the eligibility age to 50 from the original 55-years of age and reduces the number of pack-years of cigarette smo...
Research
Feb 24, 2021
When First Lady of the United States Jill Biden, Ed.D., visited Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center on Wednesday, she met with several scientists about advancements in preventing, detecting and treating cancer and the importance of addressing cancer disparities. Cancer disparities ...
Research
Feb 19, 2021
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that develops in nerve tissue, most commonly in the glands around the kidneys. The gene MYCN is overexpressed in 20-25% of neuroblastoma, and MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma contributes to a considerable percentage of pediatric cancer-related deaths. Anthony Faber, Ph.D., and...
Research
Jan 27, 2021
Doctors are increasingly using genetic signatures to diagnose diseases and determine the best course of care, but using DNA sequencing and other techniques to detect genomic rearrangements remains costly or limited in capabilities. However, an innovative breakthrough developed by researchers at Virg...
Research
Dec 08, 2020
Approximately 200,000 cancer patients are diagnosed with brain metastases each year, yet few treatment options exist because the mechanisms that allow cancer to spread to the brain remain unclear. However, a study recently published in the journal Cancer Cell by VCU Massey Cancer Center scientist Su...
Research
Nov 16, 2020
At age 40, Kathy Funk received her first cancer diagnosis. After hearing the sobering news, she remembers vividly the advice a nurse gave her as she left her doctor’s office: Get over to VCU Massey Cancer Center. Kathy has rarely been so grateful for the advice that saved her life. “I have had a...
Research
Oct 29, 2020
Last year, 12 patients in the Supportive Care Clinic at VCU Massey Cancer Center stepped inside a conference room, donned motion sensors and engaged in a facilitated life review, acting out various parts of their lives through a virtual avatar displayed on a projection screen. Recently, the unique c...
COVID-19, Research
Oct 13, 2020
For every two deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S., a third American dies as a result of the pandemic, according to study findings from Steven Woolf, M.D., M.P.H., member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at VCU Massey Cancer Center. The study, published in the Journal of th...
Research
Sep 21, 2020
A team of scientists led by Paul Dent, Ph.D., at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center has discovered that an experimental cancer drug called AR-12 inhibits the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, from infecting cells and replicating. Their findings were published o...
Research
Sep 14, 2020
VCU Massey Cancer Center researcher Nicholas Farrell, Ph.D., received the University Award of Excellence during VCU’s annual Faculty Convocation ceremony on September 10. VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., acknowledged that the six faculty members honored with various awards during the ceremony embod...
Research
Jul 02, 2020
Faculty members at VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research are expanding the curriculum for the Cancer and Molecular Medicine (CAMM) Ph.D. program at VCU to better meet the nation’s needs for the next generation of cancer scien...
Research
Jun 30, 2020
Cancer immunotherapy empowers a patient’s own immune system to fight back against tumor cells. Multiple therapeutic strategies for immunotherapy have been clinically tested to a beneficial extent, including cell therapy, immune checkpoint blockade and cancer vaccination. However, many times the long...
Research
Jun 08, 2020
The laboratory of VCU Massey Cancer Center scientist Paula D. Bos, Ph.D., has joined forces with 18 other international laboratories to develop the first collaborative platform to streamline research into brain metastases. The effort, called the Brain Metastasis Cell Lines Panel (BrMPanel), has alre...
Research
May 19, 2020
To prevent domestic shortages of critical medications, the Medicines for All Institute, based in the Virginia Commonwealth University College of Engineering and led by VCU Massey Cancer Center researcher B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D., has joined forces with pharmaceutical industry leaders to bring manufact...
Treatments in clinical trials may be more effective or have fewer side effects than the treatments that are currently available. With more than 200 studies for multiple types of cancers and cancer prevention, Massey supports a wide array of clinical trials.
Massey supports hundreds of top cancer specialists serving the needs of our patients. Massey’s medical team provides a wealth of expertise in cancer diagnosis, treatment, prevention and symptom management.