News

Max Rosett faced melanoma as a young adult and a decade later, he is cancer free. He describes how he felt after being diagnosed, the outstanding treatment he received at Huntsman Cancer Institute and the revolutionary immunotherapy clinical trials that helped save his life.

Adriana Coletta, PhD, MS, RD, discusses the amazing new work being done for metastatic prostate cancer patients, what the future of exercise cancer research could look like, and her violin skills in the latest Talks with Docs.

Huntsman Cancer Institute highlights two examples of clinical trials at HCI exploring new innovations in cancer, including the I-SPY2 trial, studying new approaches for breast cancer treatment, and the SWOG CLL Study S1925, or EVOLVE CLL, an international study evaluating a new approach to chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma.

Clinical trials bring hope to patients in the form of innovative treatments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, despite strict hospital safety protocols and staff switching to remote work, HCI clinical research teams found a way to make sure patients could safely enroll and stay on clinical trials—remaining steadfast in our commitment to bring promising research advances to patients.

An international group of cancer clinical research experts reported new recommendations that receiving a COVID-19 vaccination should not preclude a cancer patient from participating on a clinical trial. Huntsman Cancer Institute physician-scientist and professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah, Neeraj Agarwal, MD, was part of this newly formed group who reviewed the data and provided recommendations to patients, doctors, research centers, and the pharmaceutical research industry on this critical, emerging issue.

The first patient in the world to be enrolled on a clinical trial of a new investigational drug, AN0025, was treated at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah earlier this year. The drug is being studied for use in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and other solid tumors who have previously been treated with immunotherapy and whose cancers later developed ways to resist immunotherapy.

When Scott Vance went in for a COVID-19 test, he never expected it would lead to a diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer. Scott’s doctors learned a specific mutation was causing the cancer, and he began a new mutation-targeting drug approved by the FDA just two years earlier. Scott says his remarkable response to the drug has him feeling grateful clinical trials can bring these cutting-edge treatments to people like him.

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah presented the first outcomes evaluation of an adult oncology hospital-at-home program today at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting. The study evaluated patients participating in HCI’s Huntsman at HomeTM. The data demonstrate strong evidence for this care model, showing improved patient outcomes, including reduced hospitalizations and decreased visits to the emergency department.