Fox Chase Cancer Center News

PHILADELPHIA (June 30, 2011) – Scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center have discovered a new mechanism used by cells in the body to turn on silenced genes. This process is critical in preventing the development of cancer—suggesting the possibility of new therapies that might target the specific changes underlying the disease. The findings will be published online in the journal Cell on June 30, 2011.

PHILADELPHIA (June 28, 2011) — David S. Weinberg, MD, MSc, Chair of the Department of Medicine and Director of Gastroenterology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been appointed to the Audrey Weg Schaus and Geoffrey Alan Weg Endowed Chair in Medical Science. Fox Chase's 16 endowed chairs, each supported by generous philanthropists, allow the institution to recognize outstanding clinicians and researchers and ensure funding for promising lines of research.

PHILADELPHIA (June 28, 2011)—J. Robert Beck, MD, Senior Vice President, Chief Academic Officer, and Chief Medical Officer at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been appointed the inaugural holder of the H.O. West and J.R. Wike Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. Fox Chase's 16 endowed chairs, each supported by generous philanthropists, allow the institution to reward outstanding clinicians and researchers and ensure funding for promising lines of research.

PHILADELPHIA (June 14, 2011) – Fox Chase Cancer Center, one of the nation’s leading cancer research and treatment institutions, today announced it has entered into an agreement with Life Technologies Corporation that will underpin a new program to provide next-generation sequencing analysis of solid tumors. The agreement is a foundational element in the planned Cancer Genome Institute at Fox Chase, a facility that will foster new discoveries and treatments and establish the institution as a leader in developing personalized medicine strategies for cancer care.

CHICAGO, IL (June 6, 2011) –– When women with a history of breast cancer learn they have breast cancer again, one of the first questions they and their doctors ask is: Has my cancer come back, or is this a new case? Now, new data from Fox Chase Cancer Center suggest that both new and recurring cancers will differ significantly from the original tumors, regardless of how many months or years women spent cancer-free, and doctors should tailor treatment to the specific qualities of the second tumor, regardless of whether it's old or new.

CHICAGO, IL (June 5, 2011) — Each year, kidney cancer is diagnosed in nearly 60,000 people in the U.S. Many of these patients undergo surgery to remove the affected kidney, but this procedure can be risky for the elderly and those who have other health problems. Unfortunately, the prognosis of kidney cancer patients often cannot be determined until tumor samples are surgically removed and evaluated.

CHICAGO, IL (June 4, 2011) — The standard treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a combination of two old-fashioned cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs. The combination, however, comes with substantial toxicity. Now, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers report that a combination of two molecularly-targeted agents may provide similar therapeutic benefit with less toxicity.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (May 16, 2011) — Today’s anticancer drugs often work wonders against malignancies, but sometimes tumors become resistant to the effects of such drugs, and treatment fails. Medical researchers would like to find ways of counteracting such resistance, but first they must understand why and how it happens.