News

Utah researchers report significant new insights into the development of blood cancers. Comparing DNA data in people with and without blood disorders, the researchers discovered genetic mutations in about 2% of the presumably healthy participants that were identical to those frequently observed in the cancer patients. These findings provide new clues about mutations that may initiate cancer development and those that may help cancer progress.

“I just love taking care of them, helping make them better,” says pediatric neurosurgeon Samuel Cheshier about the children he treats at Huntsman Cancer Institute and Primary Children’s Hospital. He talks about what he has learned from these kids and their parents, what patients should know about Huntsman Cancer Institute, and what he reads about in his spare time.

When Samuel Cheshier was 13 years old, his favorite cousin died of colon cancer. “I always think of him when I do cancer research,” Cheshier says. As a pediatric neurosurgeon, he witnesses firsthand the devastation that malignant brain tumors cause patients and their families. The desire to help them motivates his basic science research, with the goal of translating experiments into therapies. The 5 for the Fight Fellowship will help speed up the pace of his research, allowing him to start a new project.

5 For The Fight, a global movement inviting everyone to give $5 for the fight against cancer, today announced the inaugural recipients of the 5 For The Fight Cancer Research Fellowship in partnership with Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.

Holly was six years old when she was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma. Her treatment involved 39 radiation treatments at Huntsman Cancer Institute and 14 rounds of chemotherapy at Primary Children’s Hospital. All the while, Holly found ways to feel strong. She became an expert hand washer in order to help her immune system. She learned to take care of her own port. She weighed in on decisions about her treatment options.

Samuel Cheshier, MD, PhD, and the Neurologic Cancers Center team at Huntsman Cancer Institute are working to find better treatments for brain cancer, particularly pediatric brain cancer. Many primary brain tumors are incurable from the start, and currently, none are curable once they recur. The need for novel, effective therapies is critical. In 2020, the Engelstad Foundation funded a $100,000 grant at HCI to study a potential immunotherapy treatment for pediatric brain tumors.

Two researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah received awards from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to fund innovative childhood cancer research.

Construction at the Senator Orrin G. Hatch Proton Therapy Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute is well underway. On March 28, a 15-ton proton accelerator arrived and was installed at the future center. This marks a major milestone for the project slated for a December 2020 debut.