In the News

The Genetics of Appendix Cancer (GAP) Study is a research study of individuals with an appendix cancer diagnosis and their families. The goal of the GAP Study is to answer the question of: Is there a genetic link to appendix cancer? The GAP Study is a national crowdsourcing study of individuals who received an appendix cancer diagnosis between the ages of 18 and 99 years old.

We are seeking multiple enthusiastic and highly motivated postdoctoral fellows to join a multidisciplinary research team based in the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center. Our group conducts multiple NIH-funded research projects, including four large population-based prospective cohort studies with more than 225,000 study participants. Our research focuses on discovering the environmental, lifestyle and genetic determinants of cancer and other chronic diseases.

Andreana Holowatyj, PhD, MSCI, assistant professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology, has been named the inaugural chair of the scientific advisory board for the Appendix Cancer Pseudomyxoma Peritonei Research Foundation.  

Reported June 13 in Neurology, an Alzheimer’s disease risk study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center measures significantly reduced risk associated with healthy lifestyles, including non-smoking, leisure-time exercise, low-to-moderate alcohol consumption, adequate sleep, and healthy diet. Read more.

A ban on the sale of menthol-flavored cigarettes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on track to implement may have unintended consequences, according to a study by researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center published April 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Read more.

Liver cancer, primarily hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is the third most common contributor to cancer-related deaths worldwide. Early-stage HCC has a better prognosis than advanced-stage HCC and can be treated with minimally invasive surgery, including robotic-assisted and laparoscopic options. However, few studies have examined the presumably unique and discrepant short-term and long-term outcomes of robotic-assisted and laparoscopic surgeries. Read more.

In the clinical care of people living with HIV, various types of blood cells are routinely counted to assess the immune system, among them CD4+ cells, or T helper cells, and CD8+ cells, or cytotoxic T cells. These types of white blood cells work together to clear infections and prevent and kill cancer cells. While a normal CD4/CD8 ratio is about 2:1, it’s typically lower in people with HIV. Read more.

Polyphenols — antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables, teas and spices — have promising anti-cancer properties. 

New research from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center provides insight into how genetic variants convey breast cancer susceptibility by altering the transcription factor proteins that convert DNA strands into RNA.