Fox Chase Cancer Center News

ORLANDO, FL (April 5, 2011) – Women who have children, particularly early in life, have a lower lifetime risk of breast cancer compared with women who do not. Now, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have identified a gene expression pattern in breast tissue that differs between post-menopausal women who had children and post-menopausal women who did not. The results will help scientists understand why pregnancy reduces breast cancer risk and may help them develop chemopreventive strategies that can provide similar protection for women who did not have children.

ORLANDO, FL (April 5, 2011) –Tumor suppressor genes normally control the growth of cells, but cancer can spring up when these genes are silenced by certain chemical reactions that modify chromosomes. Among the most common culprits responsible for inactivating these genes are histone deacetylases, a class of enzymes that remove acetyl groups from DNA-scaffolding proteins, and DNA methyltransferases, a family of enzymes that add methyl groups to DNA.

ORLANDO, FL (April 5, 2011) – A nutrient found in carrots and sweet potatoes may prove key to fighting breast cancer at early stages, according to a new study by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Sandra Fernandez, PhD, an assistant research professor at Fox Chase, will present the findings at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011 on Tuesday, April 5.
   

ORLANDO, FL (April 4, 2011) – Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among American men. Yet population-wide screening programs have not reduced the number of deaths from the disease. By focusing screening programs on the men who are at greatest risk for aggressive disease or diagnosis at a young age, researchers think they could improve mortality rates and personalize the screening approach. For that reason, scientists have been looking for genetic markers to help them identify exactly which men are at high risk and require regular screening.

ORLANDO, FL (April 4, 2011) – New findings by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers link a common variant of the powerful anticancer gene p53 to increased inflammatory responses following DNA damage. The results may help explain why African Americans, who more frequently possess this variant, tend to be more susceptible to certain kinds of inflammation-related diseases and cancers, such as type II diabetes and colorectal cancer.

PHILADELPHIA (March 14, 2011) – Fox Chase Cancer Center will open its 2011 Author Series with a reading of The Foremost Good Fortune by breast cancer survivor Susan Conley on March 30, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. in the Center’s auditorium (Center Building, 333 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia). The event is FREE and open to the public with pre-registration. 

PHILADELPHIA (March 8, 2011) – The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) announced today that Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Beatrice Mintz, PhD, has been awarded the 6th Annual Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research.  Dr.

PHILADELPHIA (March 1, 2011) – Fox Chase Cancer Center has been listed among the top 15 best places in the nation for postdoctoral researchers—also known simply as “postdocs”—to work by The Scientist’s annual Best Places to Work for Postdocs survey. Fox Chase was the only top-ranked institution in Pennsylvania and ranked 8th overall in the U.S.