Advancements have been made in the treatment of clear cell kidney cancer over the past decade largely due to efforts characterizing the disease through laboratory research. However, for rare kidney cancers such as those found with hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC), most centers only evaluate and treat a small number of patients each year limiting the ability of academic centers to access biological specimens to study the cancers and develop possible treatments. To address this concern, UCLA physician-researcher Brian Shuch, MD, associate professor of UCLA Urology and director of the UCLA IUO Kidney Cancer Program, has launched a unique repository to collect tumors from HLRCC patients around the nation. Dr. Shuch is leveraging the repository and related research to advance the science and improve therapy for HLRCC. Read more >
A new advance in radiation-therapy equipment is giving physicians the ability to better visualize tumors and internal anatomy, allowing more accurate delivery of necessary treatments. The equipment, called the MRIdian LINAC, is an improvement over older technologies, because it uses a built-in MRI to guide radiation treatment in real time. This form of external beam radiation therapy allows radiation oncologists to provide treatment while reducing the exposure of healthy tissues. The MRIdian is available only at a limited number of major medical centers, including UCLA, where it is being used in multiple clinical trials for prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and sarcomas. Amar Kishan, MD, UCLA Health radiation oncologist and IUO member, is leading this effort. UCLA Health Connect >
Dr. Johannes Czernin (left) & Dr. Jeremie Calais
From the joint efforts of two groups led by the nuclear medicine teams at UCLA and UCSF comes an important achievement that is likely to change patient care for men with prostate cancer. On December 1st, 2020 the FDA approved Gallium 68 PSMA-11 (68Ga-PSMA-11) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of prostate cancer. UCLA Newsroom >
What You Should Know
Please take extra measures to help protect yourself and reduce the transmission of the disease. This is particularly important for people with cancer. Read about precautions cancer patients need to take > What everyone needs to know about COVID-19 (vaccine updates, getting testing, positive test results): UCLA Health COVID-19 Coronavirus update >
UCLA launches clinical trial to help reduce severity of COVID-19 illness in men. The purpose of the HITCH study is to assess if temporarily suppressing male hormones will reduce the severity of COVID-19 illness by helping patients get out of the hospital faster, decrease the need for intubation and improve mortality. Matthew Rettig, MD, professor of urology and medicine at UCLA, member of the UCLA IUO and member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center is the principal investigator. JCCC news release
Paul C. Boutros, PhD, Robert Reiter, MD, and Huihui Ye, MD, of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, have received the 2020 Prostate Cancer Foundation Special Challenge Award to help improve the understanding of prostate cancer biology and identify new ways to help prevent, diagnose, prognose and treat lethal prostate cancer. All three researchers are members of the UCLA Institute of Urologic Oncology. Learn more >
