Rare melanoma type highly responsive to immunotherapy

11-Jan-2018 - Desmoplastic melanoma is a rare subtype of melanoma that is commonly found on sun-exposed areas, such as the head and neck, and usually seen in older patients. Treatment is difficult because these tumors are often resistant to chemotherapy and lack actionable mutations commonly found in other ...

New targets for approved cancer drug discovered

11-Oct-2017 - Developing new drugs to treat cancer can be a painstaking process taking over a decade from start to Food and Drug Administration approval. Scientists are trying to develop innovative strategies to identify and test new drugs quicker and more efficiently. A team of researchers at Moffitt Cancer ...

Two-drug immunotherapy deemed safe for lung cancer patients

03-Jun-2016 - Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents approximately 14 percent of all types of lung cancer. Many patients with SCLC respond to initial chemotherapy; however, they eventually relapse and develop progressive disease that has no effective treatment options. A new Moffitt Cancer Center study being ...

Moffitt develops novel cancer treatment to inhibit chemo-resistance

26-Feb-2016 - Despite numerous advances in oncology since the War on Cancer began, many patients develop resistance to standard therapies and eventually relapse. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers hope to improve treatment outcomes with development of a novel therapeutic strategy, called adaptive therapy, which ...

How to boost Hispanics' participation in clinical trials?

Researchers create culturally targeted educational materials aimed at empowering Spanish patients to make health care decisions

28-Jun-2013 - Hispanic cancer patients rarely participate in clinical trials, but researchers want to tailor a Spanish DVD to help change this. To create a relevant educational tool, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers investigated why awareness of and participation in trials are so low in this population. Using ...

Researchers analyze how Spanish smoking relapse booklets are distributed

Active, passive methods do not necessarily target the right population

21-May-2013 - Researchers from Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida have evaluated how Florida health care and social service agencies distribute "Libres para Siempre" ("Forever Free®"), a Spanish smoking relapse prevention booklet series. Their analysis found that 10 agencies distributed ...

Moffitt researchers analyze HPV vaccination disparities among girls from low-income families

Pediatricians and private practice physicians have higher vaccination rates; Doctors practicing in multi-specialty settings less likely to vaccinate

28-Mar-2013 - Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of Florida studied health care providers to determine the factors associated with disparities in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among girls, ages 9 to 17, from low-income families. They found that physician vaccination ...

Moffitt Cancer Center researchers study use of dasatinib for patients with high-risk MDS

Drug safe but with limited efficacy; those with trisomy 8 chromosomal disorder may benefit

22-Mar-2013 - Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have completed a phase II clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of dasatinib for patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, or acute myeloid leukemia resulting from MDS and have failed treatment ...

Moffitt researchers find potential new therapeutic target for treating non-small cell lung cancer

IKBKE kinase, induced by tobacco carcinogens, may be a target for treating tobacco-associated lung cancer

18-Feb-2013 - Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have found a potential targeted therapy for patients with tobacco-associated non-small cell lung cancer. It is based on the newly identified oncogene IKBKE, which helps regulate immune response. The study appeared in the online issue of Oncogene. The IKBKE ...

Moffitt Cancer Center researchers validate molecular signature to predict radiation therapy benefit

Technology opens door to biologically guided radiation therapy

17-Aug-2012 - Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, working with colleagues in Sweden, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico, have validated a radiosensitivity molecular signature that can lead to better radiation therapy decisions for treating patients with breast cancer. The results appeared in Clinical Cancer ...