Below are recent stories in the news about the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and the UPMC Cancer Centers. The links listed will take you to the original media articles. If you are unable to access an article, please email Clare Collins at collcx@upmc.edu for a copy of the story.
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and National Association Name Area Hospitals as Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare CancersForbes.com, March 11, 2008 – Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has named Allegheny General Hospital, UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside and UPMC Passavant as Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers.
Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers are facilities within participating Blue Cross and Blue Shield network service areas that offer comprehensive inpatient cancer care programs for adults.
UPCI and UPMC Cancer Centers Director Dr. Ronald Herberman Interviewed on WDVE-FMDr. Herberman was interviewed on January 20, 2008, on the Pittsburgh Sunday Morning show. The complete interview file is below (Flash plugin required).
Reposted with the permission of WDVE
Pitt Researchers Link Virus to Rare Type of Skin CancerPittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 23, 2008 – A newly discovered virus may play a role in the development of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and lethal skin cancer that afflicts mainly the elderly and those with weak immune systems, according to a study in the latest edition of the journal Science.
"This is actually the beginning of a long process because there are so many things that can be done now that we have a target," said Patrick Moore, a professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, in a telephone interview. "Within the next couple of years, I would hope there would be a test that would help diagnose infection with this virus and that we could target treatment against this virus."
Killing Cancer Cells Without Chemotherapy, Radiation Or Surgery May Be Getting CloserNBC, December 10, 2007 – Besides Erie and Houston, Texas, work is now being done by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Liver cancer specialist Dr. David Geller, M.D., co-director of the Starzel Transplantation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has been using carbon and gold nanoparticles with the Kanzius machine for two years.
CT Scan Overuse May Up Cancer RiskABC News, December 10, 2007 – ...Dr. Devra Davis, director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, explains there are two main reasons for this large increase.
First, we are tempted to use technology simply because it is available even when it's not necessary," she says. "We tend to use this kind of technology without thinking about negative health impacts down the road.
"Second are issues of defensive medicine. The growth in lawsuits has put doctors on high alert to use all technologies at their availability to diagnosis patients."
Video interview with Dr. Davis
Hampton University gets NCI grant for teaching program in partnership with UPCINBC News, December 10, 2007 – Hampton University was recently awarded a $440,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The grant, Environmental Oncology Partnership, was awarded to the HU Schools of Pharmacy and Science in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI).
The $440,000 grant has two components, education and research. The education initiative will consist of two new courses that will be implemented in the cancer curriculum at HU. The two courses will be jointly taught by HU and University of Pittsburgh professors via videoconference and will focus on molecular and environmental epidemiology.
Also reporting on this story: Daily Press, Virginian-Pilot
Residents Warned of Mercury Found in FishPittsburgh Tribune Review, November 4, 2007 – After finding high levels of mercury in fish sampled in the Kittanning section of the Allegheny River, a University of Pittsburgh professor is advising adults against consuming fish caught there or five miles upstream and downstream more than once a month.
Last week, Conrad Daniel Volz, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Center for Environmental Oncology, released preliminary results from a study showing mercury contamination in channel catfish in the Allegheny River at Kittanning to be about three times higher than catfish in Pittsburgh.
Mellon Foundation: $23 Million for Child Health InstitutePittsburgh Post Gazette, October 24, 2007 – Two days after giving Carnegie Mellon University $25 million, the Richard King Mellon Foundation today announced a separate $23 million gift to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The officials who were in Oakland today for the announcement acknowledged that the Mellon gift is one of the largest ever for pediatric research anywhere in the country. University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, in recognizing the Mellon family for its longtime contributions to the area, noted that in the mid 1980s the same foundation provided $10 million toward the creation of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, now a key institution in Pittsburgh's drive to cure cancer.
Briefs: Restaurants Sets Cancer Center FundraiserPittsburgh Tribune Review, October 24, 2007 – On Nov. 4, big Burrito Restaurant Group will donate 100 percent of its evening food sales to the Hillman Cancer Center for research and patient care.
The big Benefit kicks off at 5 p.m. and runs throughout the evening at Casbah, Eleven, Kaya, Soba and all nine Mad Mex locations.
Redpath’s Growth Spurs Move to Strip DistrictPittsburgh Tribune Review, October 19, 2007 – Biotechnology firm RedPath Integrated Pathology Inc. will more than triple its office and laboratory space when it moves early next year from the North Side to a new headquarters in the Strip District.
The company’s PathFinder TG product is in use in more than 25 of the 50 or so major cancer centers in the United States, including the Hillman Cancer Center in Shadyside, Brady said. Community and regional hospitals and private physician practices are a target market.
Dr. Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, said experts at the institute’s Hillman Cancer Center have used the RedPath test and “have found it very predictive in helping us discriminate which pancreatic cancer patients need further surgical treatment.”
A Vital Cancer-Fighting Tool. Clinical Trials Make a Difference. A Pa. Bill Would Expand Insurance Coverage.The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 19, 2007 – Each year, about 30,000 Pennsylvanians die from cancer. And while the overall trend of cancer mortalities and new cancer cases has been declining, the rates in Pennsylvania - and Philadelphia in particular - remain well above the national averages.
Our state is home to three of the nation’s 39 comprehensive cancer centers, a title that recognizes cancer centers with a strong research base that serves to benefit the prevention, care and education of cancer in the community, region and nation. The esteemed University of Pennsylvania, Fox Chase Cancer Center, and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute are each recognized by the National Cancer Institute.
Brain Cancer Patients Could Survive Longer With New TreatmentThe Pittsburgh Channel, October 18, 2007 – There is new hope for brain cancer patients with the poorest prognosis. Patients with a particularly deadly tumor could survive longer with a drug that chokes off a tumor’s blood supply.
At the Hillman Cancer Center in Shady Side, researchers are always trying to find ways to extend the lives of patients, and they think they have found a good way with a combination therapy.
A Crusader at Pitt Tells How Cancer Prevention was Stymied Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 5, 2007 – As the events marking National Breast Cancer Awareness Month begin this week, a new book by a University of Pittsburgh researcher has been garnering national attention with charges that America’s efforts to prevent cancer have been largely ignored for political and commercial reasons.
Medical science has down-played prevention in favor of a massive campaign to cure the disease, Devra Davis, director of Pitt’s Center for Environmental Oncology, says in her book, “The Secret History of the War on Cancer.”
Also reporting on story: NPR.org, Telegram.com
ABC News OnCall + Breast Cancer Center ABC News, October 1, 2007 – Victor G. Vogel, M.D., M.H.S., Director, Magee-Womens Breast Cancer Prevention Program, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, answers the following questions:
If I Have Had Breast Cancer Before, How Likely Am I to Get it Again?
What Does The Phrase "Risk Factor" Mean In Terms Of Breast Cancer?
Do Fibrocystic Changes Increase Breast Cancer Risk?
What Is Atypical Hyperplasia and Does It Increase Breast Cancer Risk?
’Driving’ to Support Skin Cancer Research Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 9, 2007 – There’s no sign in Beaver Falls that No. 13 will bring anything but more success in the battle against melanoma. The annual Grant Channell Memorial Golf Outing is named after a former lifeguard who died in 1994 from an unusually aggressive form of the skin cancer. He was 27.
The 13th yearly outing, is set Saturday at the Black Hawk Golf Course in Beaver Falls. Thanks to his wife, Lisa Channell Huntley, of Kennedy, his physician, Dr. John Kirkwood, and dozens of friends as well as strangers, the outings have raised $123,000.
The memorial foundation has sponsored free skin cancer screenings in Beaver, while the outing has supported ongoing research for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute’s Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program headed by Dr. Kirkwood.
UPMC Plans Research Center in Historic BuildingPittsburgh Tribune Review, July 28, 2007 – The former Ford Motor Building in Shadyside may soon become a research center for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
UPMC is ranked among the top cancer programs in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report magazine. With more than $150 million in cancer research grants, the UPMC Cancer Centers and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute comprise one of the largest networks for cancer care and research in the nation.
Dr. Ronald Haberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Center, said approval of the funding would make the difference between a 200,000-square-foot and a 400,000-square-foot facility.
Also reporting on the story: Pittsburgh Business Times
Iron Will Helped U.S. Steel Boss Overcome Melanoma, SurgeriesPittsburgh Business Times, July 27, 2007 – At first, Thomas Usher had no pain. The only indication something was wrong with the then-chairman and CEO of U.S. Steel Corp. was an odd-looking mole on his back.
A trip to the dermatologist and later the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute confirmed he had a more advanced stage melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Nearly 60,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with melanoma this year alone, according to UPCI.
State Law Could (sun)Block Teens From TanningPittsburgh Tribune Review, July 26, 2007 – She says she doesn’t obsess about it, but having a bronze skin tone is important to Paige Smith. So is getting her parents’ permission to use a tanning bed.“ Of course my parents know,” said Smith, 16, a Penn Trafford High School student who lives in Harrison City. “There should be parental consent, because until a person turns 18 the parents control what they can and cannot do. And if a parent thinks that their 14-year-old daughter shouldn't be tanning like all the ‘older girls,’ then its their decision, not hers.”
State lawmakers and some indoor tanning operators agree that parents should be involved in a teenager’s decision to tan.
Each year, more than 100,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, said Dr. John Kirkwood, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Melanoma Center.“ I think this is a true epidemic,” Kirkwood said.
From Industry Castoff to Potential Medicine – Scientists Turn to Old Chemicals for Cure for Melanoma, Other CancersThe Boston Globe, July 16, 2007 – By poking through thousands of industrial chemicals, scientists report that they have found a new drug that, for the first time, improves the grim outlook for patients with the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
Although the research and clinical trials are still in early stages, preliminary data suggest that the new drug, called STA-4783, doubles patients’ survival time to 12 months, with very few side effects, said Safi Bahcall, president and chief executive of Synta Pharmaceuticals, a small biotechnology firm in Lexington that developed the drug. His company recently announced the results at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
“The key thing will be to validate these early, significant results,” said Dr. John Kirkwood, a leading melanoma specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.
2nd Annual Grant Channell Memorial Skin Cancer ScreeningPiittsburghlive.com, July 16, 2007 – Physicians from UPMC Cancer Centers, the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and the University of Pittsburgh Physicians Department of Dermatology will perform free skin cancer screenings at this second annual event.
The event is open to the public on a first come, first served basis. Enjoy light refreshments and live music and take home some educational materials.
Some 40 Cancer Patients Treated Daily at Whitfield Cancer CentreKilkenny Advertiser, May 17, 2007 – More than 40 cancer patients are being examined and treated each weekday at UPMC Whitfield Cancer Centre in Waterford.
Commenting on the figures, Michael Costelloe, Managing Director, UPMC Cancer Centres Ireland said: “The Waterford facility is an increasingly important part of the region‘s medical infrastructure.”
UPMC Extends Reach AbroadPittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 15, 2007 – Officials at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said Monday they are talking with potential partners in the United Kingdom to open a cancer center there.
It would be the hospital system‘s third international cancer center, following yesterday's opening of a center in Dublin.
UPMC Opens Cancer Center in IrelandPittsburgh Business Times, May 14, 2007 – Beacon Hospital Cancer Centre opened in Dublin, Ireland on Monday, the newest cancer treatment facility linked to the Hillman Cancer Center in Shadyside and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center‘s second international cancer center, according to a news release issued by UPMC.
The network allows medical physicists based at Hillman to share information and expertise with radiation specialists at satellite facilities, according to UPMC‘s release.
Also reporting on this story: Irish Independent, Irish Times, Irish Examiner.The Cure: Western Pa. has Become an Important Player in the Fight to Stop CancerPittsburgh Tribune Review, May 7, 2007 – Doctors in New York believed they did everything they could to help Dr. Harvey Herberman fight cancer. They told him last year to go home and die comfortably.
The Manhattan urologist wasn't ready to give up -- nor was his only brother, one of the nation's top cancer researchers who has directed the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute since its founding in 1984.
Wine Festival Goes Smoothly, Receipts IncreasePittsburgh Tribune Review, May 3, 2007 – This year, the on-site take -- bottles sold at Heinz Field, where the PLCB set up banks of cash registers -- was $98,000, $7,000 better than the final sales figures from the 2006 festival.
This year's festival events raised more than $230,000 for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and Magee Womens Hospital Foundation, plus $1 million for the Stanley M. Marks, M.D. Endowed Research Fund.
Pittsburgh Wine Festival will Feature Dinners, Seminars, TastingsPittsburgh Tribune Review, April 18, 2007 – The fifth annual Pittsburgh Wine Festival will begin Saturday with former White House chef Walter Scheib preparing a gourmet meal at The Carlton Restaurant, Downtown, and will wrap up with an informative cocktail buffet in Lawrenceville on April 27, sponsored by Slow Food Pittsburgh.
The festival is presented by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and Comcast. Proceeds benefit the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.
Indian Herbal Remedy Cancer HopeBBC News, April 17, 2007 – An Indian herbal remedy could one day be used to help fight pancreatic cancer, scientists hope.
A team at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute found extracts of triphala slowed the growth of human pancreatic tumours grafted onto mice.
Salk fund is key to new Hillman Cancer Center in ShadysidePittsburgh Tribune Review, April 14, 2007 – The size and scope of a planned second Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood could depend on legislation that would create a $500 million Jonas Salk Legacy Fund, state and local officials said Friday.
Approval of the fund could make the difference between a 200,000-square-foot and a 400,000-square-foot facility to provide new space for research that no longer is available at the existing Hillman center on Centre Avenue, said officials who touted the need for the Salk fund.
The new research space could be created at either the nearby former Ford Motor Co. building already owned by UPMC or at an eight-acre site across Baum Boulevard from the center, said Dr. Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. The eight-acre site was formerly targeted for a private development project known as Luna Square.
Local Catfish Found to be Missing GenitaliaPittsburgh Tribune Review, April 18, 2007 — Dan Volz noticed something missing as he dissected channel catfish caught in the water off Point State Park -- their genitalia.
"It was kind of like a streak of tissue, and we couldn't tell whether it was male or female," said Volz, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health professor who is leading a project to test local fish for contaminants. About 25 percent of the catfish Volz dissected couldn't be categorized as male or female.
Also reporting on story: Scientific American.com
New Drugs Target Cancer KillersRed Herring, April 18, 2007 — Body heal thyself, with a nudge from science.
In the fight to beat deadly cancers, researchers are finding that therapeutic vaccines may boost survival rates. These vaccines play off the body's natural defenses to stop the spread of existing cancers or kill cancer cells that survived prior treatments.
Article No Longer Available
Cancer Vaccines Are Proving Their MettleHealth Day, April 17, 2007 — Vaccines against deadly pancreatic and head and neck cancers are showing real promise and may one day become an important part of treatment, researchers report.
Researchers are also confirming that cervical cancer vaccines are both highly effective and long-lasting, according to two other studies. All of the new findings were presented Tuesday at the American Association of Cancer Research's annual meeting in Los Angeles.
In one report, a team led by Andrew Lepisto, a postdoctoral researcher in the department of immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, presented the results of a phase I trial of a vaccine for pancreatic cancer.
Lifespan of Survivorship: Impact Across the Cancer ContinuumState College, March 30, 2007 – New findings that address the best methods and strategies to improve cancer survivorship across the state will be presented at "Lifespan of Survivorship: Impact Across the Cancer Continuum," the Third Annual Summit of the Pennsylvania Cancer Control Consortium (PAC3). Nearly 150 researchers, physicians, health care professionals, community and business leaders and cancer advocates from across Pennsylvania will attend the summit from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today at the Toftrees Resort & Conference Center in State College, Pa.
Also reporting on this story: UPMC / Health Sciences News Bureau
Cancers You Can CatchMSN.com, Feb 20, 2007 — Most people know that viruses can cause a host of unpleasant illnesses - skin rashes, stomach flu and the common cold, to name a few. But many of us may not realize these clever microorganisms play a key role in triggering a surprising number of cancers. In fact, one-fifth of cancers may be linked to viral pathogens.
"It seems clear that more and more viruses will be implicated in more cancers," says Dr. Robert Ferris, associate professor of immunology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.
Article No Longer Available Online
UPMC buys site for possible cancer center expansionPost-gazette.com, Feb 17, 2007 — The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has a contract to buy an eight-acre site in Shadyside where it may build a new cancer research facility across the street from the Hillman Cancer Center.
It is unknown how much UPMC might pay for the site, which sits across the street from the Hillman Cancer Center.
State development officials announce $13.4M planPittsburgh Tribune-Review, Feb 16, 2007 — State health and economic development officials announced today a plan to spend $13.4 million a year to commercialize medical products and provide venture capital for new biotech businesses.
Dr. Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, said this morning that it plans to ask the state for $100 million from the legacy fund to expand the Hillman Cancer Center in Shadyside.
Dioxane on the DefensiveLiving on Earth, Feb 16, 2007 — A recent study finds levels of dioxane, a chemical that causes cancer in mice and rats, in several name brand soaps and shampoos for kids. Dioxane is banned from cosmetics in the European Union but the U.S. federal government has not set limits for dioxane in consumer products.
Living on Earth’s Ashley Ahearn interviews UPCI’s Dr. Devra Davis.
A Thousand ThreatsNewsweek, Feb 15, 2007 — Toxic chemicals don't just hurt us in big doses. An environmental oncologist argues that myriad tiny amounts of cancer-causing agents in our environment - and even in our shampoo - can make us sick.
The goal of public-health policy is to prevent harm, not to prove that it's already happened. The Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute advises that personal-care products that contain hormones may, in part, account for the continuing and unexplained patterns of breast cancer in African-Americans under age 40, and also may explain why more girls are developing breasts at younger ages.
