News Center

This year, VCU Massey Cancer Center clinicians, researchers and staff once again dedicated their efforts to delivering innovative, patient-centered care informed by cutting-edge research and community conversations. Here are some of the top stories highlighting those efforts in 2022:

Ovarian cancer patient finds clinical support through survivorship care at Massey

Massey’s Survivorship Program helps provide Tiffany Stout a clinical bridge between her oncology care and overall wellness. Using a multidisciplinary approach that combines clinical care, patient education and research activities, the program offers a wide variety of services and is centered on helping people with cancer thrive throughout and beyond cancer treatment.
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With personalized medicine, a shelved cancer drug could get another shot

Through a study published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, Massey researchers Nicholas Farrell, Ph.D., and Jennifer Koblinski, Ph.D., showed that a 30-year-old drug called triplatin is effective against triple-negative breast cancer.
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Massey first between Pa. and Fla. to treat cancer patients with MRI-guided radiation

MRI-guided radiation therapy provides a novel treatment option for cancer patients with difficult-to-treat solid tumors, including prostate, lung, pancreas and liver tumors, among others.
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Clinical trials can help save lives

In this video, clinical social worker Freda Wilkins talks about how discussing the impacts of clinical trials can help us progress live-saving research.
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Black patients more likely to be excluded from pancreatic cancer clinical trials

A study led by senior author Jose Trevino, M.D., FACS, surgeon-in chief at Massey Cancer Center and chair of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the VCU School of Medicine, found that minority patient participation in cancer clinical trials is alarmingly low. This significant disparity creates a substantial gap between the patient populations in which the drugs are tested and those that are treated after drugs are federally approved.
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A Loving gift and a legacy of hope

After losing two children to brain cancer, the Loving family and the Noëlle C. Loving But Tomorrow Foundation committed a $200,000 leadership gift to name a family lounge at the new VCU Massey Cancer Center in the Adult Outpatient Pavilion. The state-of-the-art facility, which opened in December 2021, offers Massey patients a central, light- and hope-filled space for all downtown outpatient oncology and hematology services at Massey.
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New program allows low-income and uninsured women to get free cancer screenings

VCU Health is offering free breast and cervical cancer screening services to low-income and uninsured women in Virginia through a federally funded program. This includes clinical breast exams, mammograms, pelvic exams, Pap tests, as well as any other diagnostic tests as needed for breast or cervical cancer.
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Massey Cancer Center receives record investment from commonwealth

The cancer center received unprecedented support in Virginia’s 2022-24 budget, with $25 million approved in funding for Massey by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the General Assembly.
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Novel targeted therapy could be effective treatment option for deadly childhood cancer

New research from VCU Massey Cancer Center demonstrated that a novel targeted therapy could be an effective treatment option for a deadly pediatric cancer known as neuroblastoma.
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The trust-builder: a cancer center director’s try-it-all strategy for breaking the barriers between research and Black patients

In the second part of a series on health equity and diversity in clinical trials and cancer research, STAT News featured Massey’s community-guided research, including Dr. Winn’s visits to underserved communities in Massey’s catchment area.
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Empty Chairs

Massey Cancer Center unveiled a new TV ad filmed in Richmond, which embodies the hope and breakthroughs that Massey brings to the community.
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VCU Massey Cancer Center to lead Alliance for Equity in Cancer Care

VCU Massey Cancer Center will serve as the National Program Office for the Alliance for Equity in Cancer Care, an initiative funded by the Merck Foundation and designed to make cancer care more equitable in the United States by helping cancer patients living in underserved communities receive timely access to high-quality, culturally responsive care.
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VCU to lead $114 million Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials Award Program established by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation

The Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials Award Program (Winn Awards) is a national program created to transform the clinical research landscape with the goal of increasing diversity in clinical trials. The Winn Awards is based out of VCU Massey Cancer Center under the direction of Robert A. Winn, M.D., the center’s director and Lipman Chair in Oncology.
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Massey researchers and community members work to “close the gap” with Lung Cancer Summit

Researchers and community members came together to share and learn from each other at the inaugural Lung Cancer – Closing the Gap Summit in November. The event focused on the importance of community engagement in addressing health disparities in lung cancer screening and treatment.
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New Massey research partnership to create firefighter cancer registry

Virginia’s FCSN and the Richmond Professional Firefighters Association (RPFA), International Association of Fire Fighters Local 995, are partnering with VCU Massey Cancer Center to study links between their job and their frequently-diagnosed cancers.
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