2016 - Page 11 of 24 - UNC Lineberger

Carey Anders, MD, is a UNC Lineberger member and associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine

Brain radiation prolongs life for patients with cancer, but can cause serious side effects like memory delays or verbal impairments. In an editorial published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, UNC Lineberger researchers say a new study has resolved a debate about the optimal treatment for patients with one to three brain metastases, finding “little role” for whole brain radiation.

Michelle Roughton, MD, is an assistant professor of surgery and the program director for the UNC School of Medicine Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Researchers say breast reconstruction can help with self-esteem, sexuality and body image after cancer treatment. But a UNC Lineberger study led by Michelle Roughton, MD, has found that the type of insurance a woman has as well as distance to a plastic surgeon's office can be barriers to the procedure.

When Beth Silverstein tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation, she knew she had to make some tough decisions about her health. But she wasn't alone. Her faith, her family and her multi-disciplinary health care team at UNC Lineberger were with her every step of the way.

Two UNC Lineberger groups, including David Wyatt in the Ramsden lab and Wanjuan Feng in the Gupta lab, worked together to describe how a new DNA repair pathway functions, and explain why many breast cancers become addicted to using it.

Though many online cigarette sellers have moved overseas in the wake of federal regulation, online tobacco sales to minors continues. Williams found that nearly one in three minors were able to buy cigarettes online.

Rebecca Williams, MHS, PhD, has studied the online sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products for nearly two decades. Through her research, including a recent paper in Tobacco Control, she has uncovered the ways the industry has gotten around government oversight, especially as it applies to sales to minors.

UNC Lineberger's leadership, past and current, recently got together to both look back on our achievements, and to look forward to the future. Former Directors Drs. Joe Pagano (1974-1997), Shelley Earp (1997-2013) and current Director, Dr. Ned Sharpless.

In 1975, UNC Lineberger was named a "Designated Cancer Center" by the prestigious National Cancer Institute, a title that signifies we are an organization delivering high-level cancer care to patients throughout our community, state and nation. Most NCI-Designated Cancer Centers are affiliated with university medical centers, although several are freestanding centers that engage only in cancer research.

Maggie Zgambo (left) and Emmaculate Kawawa (right) participate in a breast cancer screening program launched by UNC-Project Malawi researchers.

Breast cancer was not a death sentence for Malawi native Maggie Zgambo. She survived cancer despite financial and other obstacles. She believes that her life was spared for a reason: to spread awareness. Maggie was one of four women to take part in the first breast cancer screening pilot study in Malawi launched by UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and physicians.

Rebecca Williams, MHS, PhD, is a researcher at UNC Lineberger and the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

Researchers led by UNC Lineberger's Amanda Y. Kong, MPH, and Rebecca Williams, MHS, PhD, published a study in the journal Tobacco Control that evaluated the shipping, product features and packaging of a wide variety of e-cigarettes purchased online by adults and youth.

UNC Lineberger researcher Jill Dowen, PhD, has received a distinguished award for cancer genetics research from the Kimmel Scholars Program.

Andrew Wang, MD, is a UNC Lineberger member and associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology.

UNC Lineberger researchers led by Andrew Wang, MD, report in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics results from a study of using radiation to activate a new formulation of the drug mitomycin-C in colorectal cancer models.

Yearly Archives: 2016

Debate ‘resolved’ on radiation treatment for cancers that have spread to the brain

Insurance, distance to care can be barriers to breast reconstruction

Silverstein finds health, hope and freedom at UNC Lineberger

Ramsden, Gupta labs publish in Molecular Cell

Snuffing out illegal online tobacco sales to minors

Celebrating 40 years as an NCI-designated cancer center

Researchers launch breast cancer screening pilot in Malawi

UNC researchers publish in Tobacco Control

Dowen earns Kimmel Scholars Program award

Using radiation, researchers selectively activate cancer drug