Director's Message: June 30, 2009

In mid-August, University of Colorado Hospital will open a new radiation oncology facility near I-25 and Lincoln Ave. in Douglas County. This new facility meets two needs: to begin building a cancer care presence for UCCC in the south metro area, and to bring new radiation therapy technology to Denver—the TomoTherapy® system.

TomoTherapy combines three-dimensional computerized tomography imaging with targeted, high-intensity, 360-degree radiation treatment. Technicians view images of tumors in real time and can then modulate the shape and intensity of the radiation as the machine circles the patient.

“The machine rotates around the patient, delivering the radiation in complicated shapes,” UCCC Deputy AD for Clinical Sciences Laurie Gaspar, MD, professor and chair of Radiation Oncology at UCD, told the UCH Insider. “It’s capable of delivering radiation over longer distances than other technologies.”

The facility plans to deliver 2,880 treatments in the first year. The usual load is 15 to 30 treatments per day. One radiation oncologist, two radiation therapies, a nurse, a care team specialist and a physicist will staff the facility to start. Colorado’s only other TomoTherapy system is at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs.

“Patients are increasingly sophisticated,” Dr. Gaspar says. “They know about the treatment. We get questions and some of them drive to the Springs. But the machine still needs to be told what to do. The number one thing for patients is that they receive proper treatments with knowledgeable physicians directing their care. UCCC radiation oncologists are all national experts within their areas of interest.”

Chen is new Damon Runyon Fellow

University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine cancer researcher Jianfu Chen, PhD, has been named a Damon Runyon Fellow and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow. Chen was among 17 new Damon Runyon Fellows selected in 2009.

The recipients of this prestigious, three-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country. The fellowship is specifically intended to encourage the nation's most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding ($140,000 each) to work on innovative projects.

With his sponsor, Lee A. Niswander, PhD, division head of pediatric developmental biology at UCD School of Medicine, Chen studies molecular mechanisms of gene-folic acid interactions. The goals of Chen’s research are to understand how folic acid interacts with our genome and to determine whether it has a role in cancer prevention.  

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on supporting exceptional early career researchers and innovative cancer research. Of the 17 new Runyon Fellows, six, including Chen, will also be named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellows in recognition of support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which will fund $1 million in Damon Runyon Fellowships each year.

CCSP nets $30,000 from Undy 5000

Saturday's Undy 5000 5k event was the biggest inaugural event in the organization's history, raising more than $100,000 for colorectal cancer care-$30,000 of which will help fund UCCC's Colorectal Cancer Screening Program. The remaining money goes to the Colon Cancer Alliance for their survivor support chapters and groups. An estimated 1,024 runners and walkers wore anything from running shorts to their wildest pair of boxers as they took part in the 5K run and 1K fun run. Participants also received a commemorative pair of Undy 5000 boxers. Toby Morton, former writer of South Park and MadTV, in conjunction with the Colorado Cancer Coalition, was on hand to debut creating a short educational video at the race.

"Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the members of the Colorectal Task Force of the Colorado Cancer Coalition and our partners in the community, we were able to bring the Undy 5000 to Denver, and it was a blast," says Andi Dwyer, CCSP program manager.

Headlines

Cancer Letter: June 26, 2009

• NCI Could Fund Some Challenge Grants That Miss NIH Funding, Director Says. 
• NCI to Spend 40 Percent of Stimulus Funds On Contracts. 
• Emory Stops Patient Accrual After Discovering Problems In Management. 
• Arizona Cancer Center Wins Core Grant Renewal. 
• Obama Signs Bill Giving FDA Authority Over Tobacco Products. 
• PhRMA Offers Assistance For Part D "Doughnut Hole."

Clinical Cancer Letter, June, 2009

• Large, Conclusive Trials Provide Answers To Treatment Questions For GI Cancers. 
• Large Studies Show Promising Results For Targeted Therapies Alimta, Tarceva. 
• Some Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer May Not Require Surgery, Study Finds. 
• Skin Treatments Reduce Rash In Patients Taking Vectibix.

No ID

curetoday.com

Wells Messersmith, MD, interviewed about cancer of unknown origin (CUP).

More next week.

Tim Byers, MD, MPH
Interim Director, University of Colorado Cancer Center
Professor and Associate Dean, Colorado School of Public Health
Grohne Chair in Cancer Prevention and Control