Cancer

Dr. Keving Becker showing patient a brain image

High-Profile Brain Tumor Therapy Trial Chooses UConn Health

An immunotherapy derived from the polio virus has shown improved survival rates in early-phase trials in patients with an aggressive type of brain tumor known as glioblastoma. UConn Health will be one of a select few sites in the U.S. for the second phase, which will pair it with the cancer immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda).

UConn Health Minute: Preventing Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is a leading cause of death in the U.S. because when it is detected late, it is very difficult to treat. Dr. Murali Dharan, director of the Advanced Endoscopy Program at UConn Health, explains that having a screening colonoscopy is an important step in prevention since it can identify and remove the polyps […]

UConn Health Minute: Understanding Brain Tumors

Cancerous or malignant, brain tumors tend to grow quickly and disrupt the way your body works, and this can be life-threatening. As UConn Health neuro-oncologist Dr. Kevin Becker explains, interdisciplinary collaboration and a patient-centered approach to care is key in identifying brain and spine tumors early and providing the most advanced treatments available.

Pancreatic Cancer Takes the Lives of Beloved U.S. Icons

Alex Trebek and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg brought awareness to the disease that is the 3rd leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. that has a 5-year survival rate of 10%.

A view of the UConn Health campus.

3D Printed Prosthetic Breast Grant Awarded to UConn Health

The Connecticut Breast Health Initiative has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Biomedical Engineering Department at UConn Health.   The grant announced during Breast Cancer Awareness month is the largest of three to be awarded.  It will be used to fund its Personalized 3D Printed Breast Forms Project, which will create personalized 3D breast forms for […]

Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer Reveals Rare Disorder

An odd lump on Elizabeth Cowles Johnston’s breast prompted a Friday morning call to her primary care physician Rebecca Andrews at UConn Health. Dr. Andrews quickly fit her in, and upon checking the lump sent her to Dr. Alex Merkulov, Section Head of Women’s Imaging at the Beekley Imaging Center at UConn Health for a […]

anatomic image of central nervous system

A United Fight Against Brain and Spinal Tumors

UConn Health, in collaboration with The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, establishes a brain and spinal tumor board to enhance its unique position to provide precision treatment.

Taking More From Cancer Than It Takes From Me

Paige Dunion was inspired by the story of Marisa Dolce, the first patient at UConn Health to use the Dignicap® to preserve her hair while she was going through chemotherapy. Little did she think that a month later she would be diagnosed with breast cancer and faced with the prospect of losing her hair. After […]

Leaky Blood Vessels. Two conceptual images of a cancer tumor blood vessel. In (A), the right side of the blood vessel (marked by the dark gray bar below the pore) is leaky, with a large pore that allows too much fluid to leave the vessel. The left side shows the same blood vessel after dexamethasone treatment; the pore is smaller and the vessel less leaky. Dexamethasone treatment does the same thing to the vessel pores in (B). The smaller pores allow more anti-cancer drug (green dots) to travel further inside the tumor, leading to more effective treatment. (John Martin, University of Tokyo, and Matthew Stuber, UConn)

Common Steroid Could Soften Up Tumors for Chemo

A drug used to alleviate side effects of cancer treatment may also make the treatment more successful if given beforehand, researchers say.

Nurse with a patient undergoing chemotherapy. (Getty Images)

Dental Researchers Get at Root Causes of Cancer Patients’ Mouth Sores

Oral mucositis, a common side effect of chemotherapy, is associated with detrimental changes in the oral microbiome, says new School of Dental Medicine research.