TheoryLab

The collaboration between Claudia Benavente, PhD, and Michael Emanuele, PhD, is a perfect example of how cancer researchers with overlapping interests but very different expertise can come together to find a new path forward in cancer research.

They found each other through the American Cancer Society’s online community for current and former cancer research grantees.

The Benavente Lab had previously identified a new protein with exciting therapeutic potential that is critical for tumor metastasis. Independently, the Emanuele Lab found that this protein is tightly controlled by a cellular machinery that functions to eliminate proteins within the cell.

Together, they are collaborating on an ACS-funded research project to determine how this protein is made, how it functions, and how it’s eliminated, with the goal of creating novel target therapeutics for patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

2:55 – Claudia Benavente, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Michael Emanuele, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC Cancer Center.

4:04 – What is triple-negative breast cancer? What does ‘triple negative’ mean?

7:48 – On a protein called UHRF1 that has therapeutic potential in other cancers with similarities to triple-negative breast cancer. What does UHRF1 do in normal cells?

10:50 – Why is it important in cancer cells?

13:45 – How Dr. Emanuele and Dr. Benavente struck up a collaboration through TheoryLab, the American Cancer Society’s online community for current and former research grantees

17:35 – “…maybe we could take advantage of the cell’s innate ability to get rid of UHRF1 and sort of trick it into shutting it off itself—not just shut it off, but get rid of it altogether…”

21:47 – How their complementary skill sets and expertise will help them figure out the best approach to target how UHRF1 is made, how it functions, and how it’s eliminated, with the goal of creating novel target therapeutics for patients with triple-negative breast cancer

25:41 – Steps they will take to determine the potential of therapeutically regulating UHRF1 removal in triple-negative breast cancer

28:54 – What most excites them about this project

32:46 – Keys to a productive scientific collaboration

34:56 – On the impact of ACS funding on their research

37:33 – A message they’d like to share with cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

What does studying how cells communicate in round worms have to do with cancer in humans?

In order for cancer cells to multiply indefinitely and metastasize to another part of the body, they have to communicate with each other. Understanding how they do that is critical to developing the next generation of cancer therapeutics.

As American Cancer Society grantee Theadora Tolkin, PhD, puts it, “The signals that cancer cells use to communicate with one another are exactly the same signals that our healthy cells use every day to keep us alive and well. The difference between healthy communication and communication that leads to cancer, however, may have to do with the levels of signal sent or received. Sometimes, a cell becomes a cancer cell because it stops listening to the cells around it. Other times, cancer gets started when a cell thinks it hears a signal that’s not there.”

In this conversation, Dr. Tolkin helps us understand the signal that she’s studying, called Notch, and how problems with Notch signaling can lead to cancer in different ways.

Theadora Tolkin, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at NYU Langone Health in the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, in the lab of Jane Hubbard, PhD.

5:02 – Just a fantastic story about her unusual road to a career in science

10:42 – Why C. elegans, a round worm, is such a useful model system for understanding cancer

12:56 – Why it is particularly important to understand how/why/when cancer cells communicate

15:33 – On the critical cancer relevance of how proteins and chemicals used in communication are used to ‘signal’ from one cell to another and within individual cells

19:03 – On working towards a new understanding of cell communication

22:33 – “I think these are the biggest open questions when it comes to blood cancers…”

24:06 – How a deeper understanding of Notch is an important step towards better treatments for cancer patients

27:19 – How her American Cancer Society research grant application was selected by a donor group for funding and what it was like to find out that her work was funded

30:34 – How ACS funding has impacted her research and career goals

32:34 – A message for other women considering a career in science and bringing your whole self into the lab

What does studying how cells communicate in round worms have to do with cancer in humans?

In order for cancer cells to multiply indefinitely and metastasize to another part of the body, they have to communicate with each other. Understanding how they do that is critical to developing the next generation of cancer therapeutics.

As American Cancer Society grantee Theadora Tolkin, PhD, puts it, “The signals that cancer cells use to communicate with one another are exactly the same signals that our healthy cells use every day to keep us alive and well. The difference between healthy communication and communication that leads to cancer, however, may have to do with the levels of signal sent or received. Sometimes, a cell becomes a cancer cell because it stops listening to the cells around it. Other times, cancer gets started when a cell thinks it hears a signal that’s not there.”

In this conversation, Dr. Tolkin helps us understand the signal that she’s studying, called Notch, and how problems with Notch signaling can lead to cancer in different ways.

Theadora Tolkin, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at NYU Langone Health in the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, in the lab of Jane Hubbard, PhD.

5:02 – Just a fantastic story about her unusual road to a career in science

10:42 – Why C. elegans, a round worm, is such a useful model system for understanding cancer

12:56 – Why it is particularly important to understand how/why/when cancer cells communicate

15:33 – On the critical cancer relevance of how proteins and chemicals used in communication are used to ‘signal’ from one cell to another and within individual cells

19:03 – On working towards a new understanding of cell communication

22:33 – “I think these are the biggest open questions when it comes to blood cancers…”

24:06 – How a deeper understanding of Notch is an important step towards better treatments for cancer patients

27:19 – How her American Cancer Society research grant application was selected by a donor group for funding and what it was like to find out that her work was funded

30:34 – How ACS funding has impacted her research and career goals

32:34 – A message for other women considering a career in science and bringing your whole self into the lab

HPV, or Human Papillomavirus, is a common virus that can cause six types of cancer. While there is no treatment for HPV, there is a vaccine that can prevent it.

The HPV vaccine works best when given between ages 9 and 12, for boys and girls, and it is safe, effective, and long-lasting.

Jenny Grandis, MD, is at the forefront of translational research in head and neck cancer. She joined the podcast to talk about the prevalence of HPV-associated head and neck cancers, why they can be hard to detect, why the side effects can be so devastating, and why prevention through vaccination is so important.

She was joined on the podcast by Adrienne Murr, a high school student who recently completed a summer internship in the Grandis lab. Ms. Murr talked about what she took away from her experience in the lab. And she offered helpful advice for parents talking to their children about HPV vaccination. She wrote an op-ed on the subject titled, "HPV is a threat to your children. Vaccines are not.”

Jenny Grandis, MD, is the Robert K. Werbe Distinguished Professor in Head and Neck Cancer in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of California, San Francisco. She was named an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor for her seminal contributions to the field.

Adrienne Murr is a senior at Tamalpais High School in San Francisco, California.

Fore more information about HPV vaccination, visit: https://www.cancer.org/healthy/hpv-vaccine.html

5:18 – On the association of head and neck cancers with infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV)

6:52 – The increasing prevalence of HPV-associated head and neck cancers

9:51 – Why HPV-associated head and neck cancers are hard to detect

11:15 – How they are treated, and why the side effects can be problematic

14:07 – Prevention is the answer

15:28 – On why the vaccine needs to be administered at ages 9-12

18:14 – What it was like for Adrienne to work in Jenny’s lab

19:54 – How her experience in the lab changed her perspective on the HPV vaccine

21:59 – Why it is so important for girls AND boys to get the vaccine

25:42 – How parents can talk to their children about HPV vaccination, and some helpful resources to help parents communicate the importance of the vaccine

28:51 – On the strange but ultimately delightful experience of mentoring a high school student during a pandemic

30:57 – How her experience interning in Dr. Grandis’s lab informed an op-ed Adrienne wrote, "HPV is a threat to your children. Vaccines are not.”

33:26 – How funding from the American Cancer Society has impacted Dr. Grandis and her research

36:30 – Wonderful advice from Adrienne for other young women interested in a research career

HPV, or Human Papillomavirus, is a common virus that can cause six types of cancer. While there is no treatment for HPV, there is a vaccine that can prevent it.

The HPV vaccine works best when given between ages 9 and 12, for boys and girls, and it is safe, effective, and long-lasting.

Jenny Grandis, MD, is at the forefront of translational research in head and neck cancer. She joined the podcast to talk about the prevalence of HPV-associated head and neck cancers, why they can be hard to detect, why the side effects can be so devastating, and why prevention through vaccination is so important.

She was joined on the podcast by Adrienne Murr, a high school student who recently completed a summer internship in the Grandis lab. Ms. Murr talked about what she took away from her experience in the lab. And she offered helpful advice for parents talking to their children about HPV vaccination. She wrote an op-ed on the subject titled, "HPV is a threat to your children. Vaccines are not.”

Jenny Grandis, MD, is the Robert K. Werbe Distinguished Professor in Head and Neck Cancer in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of California, San Francisco. She was named an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor for her seminal contributions to the field.

Adrienne Murr is a senior at Tamalpais High School in San Francisco, California.

Fore more information about HPV vaccination, visit: https://www.cancer.org/healthy/hpv-vaccine.html

5:18 – On the association of head and neck cancers with infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV)

6:52 – The increasing prevalence of HPV-associated head and neck cancers

9:51 – Why HPV-associated head and neck cancers are hard to detect

11:15 – How they are treated, and why the side effects can be problematic

14:07 – Prevention is the answer

15:28 – On why the vaccine needs to be administered at ages 9-12

18:14 – What it was like for Adrienne to work in Jenny’s lab

19:54 – How her experience in the lab changed her perspective on the HPV vaccine

21:59 – Why it is so important for girls AND boys to get the vaccine

25:42 – How parents can talk to their children about HPV vaccination, and some helpful resources to help parents communicate the importance of the vaccine

28:51 – On the strange but ultimately delightful experience of mentoring a high school student during a pandemic

30:57 – How her experience interning in Dr. Grandis’s lab informed an op-ed Adrienne wrote, "HPV is a threat to your children. Vaccines are not.”

33:26 – How funding from the American Cancer Society has impacted Dr. Grandis and her research

36:30 – Wonderful advice from Adrienne for other young women interested in a research career

American Cancer Society scientists recently released a new report, “Blueprint for cancer research: Critical gaps and opportunities,” that sought to highlight the work needed to develop better tools and strategies to limit cancer as a major health concern.

Our guest, Lynne Elmore, PhD— Senior Scientific Director of Cell Biology and Preclinical Cancer Research at the American Cancer Society—led the effort to “integrate conversations with over 90 leading cancer experts to highlight current challenges, encourage a robust and diverse national research portfolio, and capture timely opportunities to advance evidence‐based approaches for all patients with cancer and for all communities.”

The full article, “Blueprint for cancer research: Critical gaps and opportunities,” can be found at: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21652

All eight ACS blueprint articles are available here: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.3322/(ISSN)1542-4863.ACS_Cancer_Control_Blueprints

2:37 – Dr. Lynne Elmore of the Extramural Discovery Science team at the American Cancer Society

3:58 – The role of this team in funding cancer research around the country, launching the careers of cancer scientists, and giving hope to cancer patients and caregivers

7:12 – What were the motivations behind writing “Blueprint for Cancer Research: Critical Gaps and Opportunities?”

10:41 – The collaborative approach taken to producing the Blueprint, which incorporated diverse perspectives from scientists and clinicians on the front lines of cancer treatment

15:30 – What major themes emerged from this Blueprint?

20:40 – The most surprising observations in the Blueprint, such as early detection developments related to liquid biopsies

23:59 – What she hopes readers will take away from the Blueprint, and three ways that cancer patients and survivors can help advance research

30:01 – Important parallels between the Blueprint and the work of the Extramural Discovery Science Department at the American Cancer Society

34:45 – A message she’d like to share with cancer patients, caregivers and survivors

American Cancer Society scientists recently released a new report, “Blueprint for cancer research: Critical gaps and opportunities,” that sought to highlight the work needed to develop better tools and strategies to limit cancer as a major health concern.

Our guest, Lynne Elmore, PhD— Senior Scientific Director of Cell Biology and Preclinical Cancer Research at the American Cancer Society—led the effort to “integrate conversations with over 90 leading cancer experts to highlight current challenges, encourage a robust and diverse national research portfolio, and capture timely opportunities to advance evidence‐based approaches for all patients with cancer and for all communities.”

The full article, “Blueprint for cancer research: Critical gaps and opportunities,” can be found at: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21652

All eight ACS blueprint articles are available here: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.3322/(ISSN)1542-4863.ACS_Cancer_Control_Blueprints

2:37 – Dr. Lynne Elmore of the Extramural Discovery Science team at the American Cancer Society

3:58 – The role of this team in funding cancer research around the country, launching the careers of cancer scientists, and giving hope to cancer patients and caregivers

7:12 – What were the motivations behind writing “Blueprint for Cancer Research: Critical Gaps and Opportunities?”

10:41 – The collaborative approach taken to producing the Blueprint, which incorporated diverse perspectives from scientists and clinicians on the front lines of cancer treatment

15:30 – What major themes emerged from this Blueprint?

20:40 – The most surprising observations in the Blueprint, such as early detection developments related to liquid biopsies

23:59 – What she hopes readers will take away from the Blueprint, and three ways that cancer patients and survivors can help advance research

30:01 – Important parallels between the Blueprint and the work of the Extramural Discovery Science Department at the American Cancer Society

34:45 – A message she’d like to share with cancer patients, caregivers and survivors

Early detection of cancer through screening reduces mortality from cancers of the colon and rectum, breast, uterine cervix, and lung (see https://www.cancer.org/healthy/find-cancer-early/cancer-screening-guidelines.html). Cancer mortality has declined in recent decades in part due to progress in cancer screening technologies, awareness, research, and the general population’s improved uptake in screening services.

But far too many individuals for whom screening is recommended remain unscreened, and this situation has been aggravated by the substantial decline in cancer screening resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the pandemic-related disruptions will likely exacerbate existing disparities in cancer screening and survival across groups of people who have systemically experienced social or economic obstacles to screening and care.

Deana Baptiste, PhD, MPH—the American Cancer Society’s Director of Guideline Development Process—joined the TheoryLab podcast to talk about why cancer screening remains a public health priority and an essential service.

REFERENCES:

ACS Guidance on Cancer Screening During COVID-19: https://www.acs4ccc.org/acs-guidance-on-cancer-screening-during-covid-19/

American Cancer Society screening guidelines: https://www.cancer.org/healthy/find-cancer-early/cancer-screening-guidelines.html

3:44 – The role that screening plays in decreasing cancer mortality

6:08 – Pre-pandemic, were we where we wanted to be as a country in terms of cancer screening?

9:05 – On the concerning drop in cancer screening resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic

13:58 – Have measures that have been put into place to make hospitals safe for patients during the pandemic had unintended consequences on screening?

20:09 – Why cancer screening remains a public health priority and essential service

24:36 – Strategies to get cancer screening back on track

31:42 – How screening disparities have been impacted by the pandemic

35:47 – Some ways to deal with the “unprecedented backlog in cancer screening”

43:10 – Lessons learned from the pandemic that will inform our ability to better deliver cancer screenings appropriately, safely, and equitably

Early detection of cancer through screening reduces mortality from cancers of the colon and rectum, breast, uterine cervix, and lung (see https://www.cancer.org/healthy/find-cancer-early/cancer-screening-guidelines.html). Cancer mortality has declined in recent decades in part due to progress in cancer screening technologies, awareness, research, and the general population’s improved uptake in screening services.

But far too many individuals for whom screening is recommended remain unscreened, and this situation has been aggravated by the substantial decline in cancer screening resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the pandemic-related disruptions will likely exacerbate existing disparities in cancer screening and survival across groups of people who have systemically experienced social or economic obstacles to screening and care.

Deana Baptiste, PhD, MPH—the American Cancer Society’s Director of Guideline Development Process—joined the TheoryLab podcast to talk about why cancer screening remains a public health priority and an essential service.

REFERENCES:

ACS Guidance on Cancer Screening During COVID-19: https://www.acs4ccc.org/acs-guidance-on-cancer-screening-during-covid-19/

American Cancer Society screening guidelines: https://www.cancer.org/healthy/find-cancer-early/cancer-screening-guidelines.html

3:44 – The role that screening plays in decreasing cancer mortality

6:08 – Pre-pandemic, were we where we wanted to be as a country in terms of cancer screening?

9:05 – On the concerning drop in cancer screening resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic

13:58 – Have measures that have been put into place to make hospitals safe for patients during the pandemic had unintended consequences on screening?

20:09 – Why cancer screening remains a public health priority and essential service

24:36 – Strategies to get cancer screening back on track

31:42 – How screening disparities have been impacted by the pandemic

35:47 – Some ways to deal with the “unprecedented backlog in cancer screening”

43:10 – Lessons learned from the pandemic that will inform our ability to better deliver cancer screenings appropriately, safely, and equitably

Every year the American Cancer Society estimates the number of new cancer cases and deaths that will occur nationally and in each state. Published annually since 1951, “Cancer Facts & Figures” provides the most current information about cancer. These widely cited projections serve as a basis for research, are a valued resource by policymakers, and are also readily understood by the public.

How many new cancer cases are there projected to be in 2021? What are the current cancer incidence, mortality, and survival statistics? What’s the latest information on cancer symptoms and risk factors?

The just-released “Cancer Facts & Figures 2021” and “Cancer Statistics 2021” provide a comprehensive breakdown of the most up-to-date cancer statistics. This year’s report also includes a special section on cancer and COVID-19. To find Cancer Facts & Figures 2021, as well as slides and an interactive tool where you can dive deeper into the data, visit http://cancer.org/statistics

Rebecca Siegel, MPH, is lead author of these publications. She is a cancer epidemiologist and Senior Scientific Director of Surveillance Research at the American Cancer Society. Ms. Siegel directs the production of 7 Facts & Figures publications and their accompanying scientific articles, including the Cancer Facts & Figures 2021, which was published January 12.

Her other research focuses on disparities in cancer incidence and mortality with an emphasis on colorectal cancer, particularly early-onset disease. Her research contributed to a shift in the age at which the American Cancer Society recommends beginning colorectal cancer screening.

3:00 – Rebecca Siegel on Cancer Facts & Figures 2021 and Cancer Statistics 2021

4:54 – Where does this cancer data come from?

8:01 – The differences between Cancer Facts & Figures 2021 and Cancer Statistics 2021

10:30 – What makes these publications so important?

13:16 – On the importance of her team’s findings on early onset colorectal cancer, and how this research led to an update in guidelines on when to start screening

17:37 – Findings shared in the special section on COVID-19 and cancer

22:15 – On what findings surprised her in this year’s edition

24:47 – A hopeful takeaway from Cancer Facts & Figures 2021