Fox Chase Cancer Center News

PHILADELPHIA (January 14, 2013)—Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Office of Health Communications and Health Disparities (OHCHD) recently received a grant from the National Breast Cancer Foundation to fund community-based patient navigation services. The one year grant will allow the OHCHD to expand its current navigation program for women who are screened for breast cancer on Fox Chase’s mobile mammography van and receive abnormal results. The vitally needed navigators will help those women obtain follow-up services at Fox Chase (or elsewhere if desired).

PHILADELPHIA, PA (January 14, 2013)—Shutting down a specific pathway in cancer cells appears to improve the ability of common drugs to wipe those cells out, according to new research from scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center, published in the January issue of Cancer Discovery.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (January 14, 2013)—Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States. Many of these deaths occur when there is an initial diagnosis of invasive or metastatic disease. A protein called NEDD9—which regulates cell migration, division and survival—has been linked to tumor invasion and metastasis in a variety of cancers.

PHILADELPHIA (January 7, 2013)—Fox Chase Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, is now offering patients with advanced cancer a cutting-edge clinical test that will provide them with a unique blueprint of their cancer genes.

PHILADELPHIA (December 20, 2012)—By all accounts, a combination of colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure can be a recipe for medical disaster. Now, a new study led by a surgical oncologist and researcher at Temple University School of Medicine and Fox Chase Cancer Center has shown just how deadly this mix can be.

SAN ANTONIO, TX (December 8, 2012)—Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a very rare and aggressive disease that progresses rapidly and is associated with a very low survival rate. To understand how this type of cancer spreads, it's crucial to characterize the interactions between cancer cells and their 3D environment. Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have developed a novel, 3D culture system that mimics the environment surrounding these cancer cells. This model could be used to test new anticancer drugs capable of inhibiting the spread of IBC tumors.

SAN ANTONIO, TX (December 7, 2012)—Blocking a specific protein renders tumors more vulnerable to treatment in mice, suggesting new therapies could eventually achieve the same in humans, according to new research from Fox Chase Cancer Center to be presented at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on Friday, December 7, 2012.

SAN ANTONIO, TX (December 7, 2012)—Previous research has shown that a family of genes, proteins and enzymes called the uPA system (for urokinase plasminogen activator) plays an active role in different facets of cancer's biology, including tumor cell invasion, the spread of metastases, and the growth of a primary tumor.