News Releases

This symposium celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the discovery of the Philadelphia chromosome and brings us up to date on the genetic basis of cancer, addressing the role of tyrosine kinase enzymes, microRNAs, and immune cells.

The inner regions of tumors have a low-oxygen content and often contain inflammatory cells called macrophages, which researchers suspect promote tumor growth. Now, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers show that this is the case: Tumor cells in this low-oxygen area actively recruit macrophages and blocking their recruitment reduces tumor growth and aggressiveness in mouse models. The results suggest new targets for cancer drug development.

Quitting smoking is a hard task for anyone, but tailored cessation therapy may increase an individual’s chance of success, according to Penn researchers. Over the last several years, they have found that individuals who metabolize nicotine relatively slowly benefit from nicotine patch therapy more than people who metabolize it quickly. Now, in a randomized blinded clinical trial, they found that slow metabolizers benefit from extended treatment with the patch, according to findings presented at the American Association of Cancer Research meeting this week.

Over 140 third and fourth graders from the Penn Alexander School, the St. Donato School, and the Sterck/Delaware School for the Deaf will spend a morning on the Penn campus “judging” hands-on science activities developed by students at Penn, including undergraduate Biological Basis of Behavior program majors and graduate students in neuroscience.

Penn Medicine scientists and colleagues have developed a brain implant that essentially melts into place, snugly fitting to the brain’s surface. The technology could pave the way for better devices to monitor and control seizures, and to transmit signals from the brain past damaged parts of the spinal cord. The ultrathin flexible implants, made partly from silk, can record brain activity more faithfully than thicker implants embedded with similar electronics.

It is frequently reported that less than one-third of ovarian cancers overexpress the HER-2 protein, which is the molecular target of trastuzumab (Herceptin). However, with more sensitive detection methods, Penn researchers found that virtually all ovarian cancers express HER-2. The novel findings suggest that therapy targeting HER-2 may have a role in ovarian cancer treatment in the future, and may improve the outcome for women with ovarian cancer the way it has for women with HER-2 expressing breast cancer.

Using a three-dimensional (3-D) tissue culture system that mimics esophageal tissue growth, Anil K. Rustgi, MD, chief of Gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and colleagues have discovered molecular cross talk between the oncogene Met, which is overexpressed in the majority of esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) tumors; the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) oncogene; and the tumor suppressor gene p53. The results highlight a targeted therapy that may hold promise for treating ESCC.

April 17 Event Provides Free Dental, Medical, Pharmaceutical Screenings to West Philadelphia Residents

The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has been ranked #2 among the nation’s research-oriented medical schools, according to the annual survey by U.S.News & World Report, rising from #3 in last year’s survey. Penn also was placed among the nation’s top five medical schools in four areas of specialty training, including Pediatrics (#2), Women’s Health (#3), Internal Medicine (#4), and Drug/Alcohol Abuse (#4).

Two students at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have been selected as 2010-11 Greater Philadelphia Schweitzer Fellows. Over the next year, these two emerging professionals will join approximately 200 other 2010-11 Schweitzer Fellows across the country (including two from Penn School of Dental Medicine) in conceptualizing and carrying out service projects that address the unmet health-related needs of underserved individuals and communities: