News and Announcements

A drug called palbociclib, used in combination with standard treatment, improved survival for women with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer.

In a recent clinical trial, a drug called apalutamide added to standard therapy slowed cancer progression in men with prostate cancer, while maintaining quality of life.

Arthur Prindle, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, has been named a 2018 Packard Fellow, one of 18 scientists across the globe recognized for their pursuit of scientific discovery.

Roughly one in eight American women will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. And so, in a way, will her family and friends. Though the diagnosis of any illness—or even the news of increased risk—inevitably has an impact on a patient’s relationships, the fallout is perhaps never more varied and unpredictable than with breast cancer.

Advances in subtype-specific treatments, immunotherapy, ongoing issues with younger patients, the optimal use of neoadjuvant and adjuvant regimens, and molecular testing will all be at the forefront of discussion during the 20th Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.

National Cancer Institute Director, Norman “Ned” Sharpless, MD, visited the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University on October 2, one year after becoming the 15th director of the nation’s principal agency for cancer research and training, and the world’s largest funder of cancer research.

Since 2016, when Jill Haagenson learned that her breast cancer had spread to her brain, Jill has seen oncologists from five different hospitals in three different states, including Priya Kumthekar, MD, director of the brain metastases program at the Northwestern Medicine Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

What we eat, how much we exercise, where we live and how we handle stress — Lifang Hou, MD, PhD, says these are just some of the variables that interact with our genes in cancer development. And she intends to prove it.

On September 27, Lurie Cancer Center hosted the seventh annual Chung Lee Lecture, held to honor Chung Lee, PhD, professor emeritus in the Department of Urology at the Feinberg School of Medicine.

Led by Melissa Simon, MD, MPH, the Center for Health Equity Transformation will build research infrastructure, conduct workforce development and support community partners in the effort to advance population health equity.