APRIL 2025 TIP SHEET

Neuroendocrine Cancer

Sylvester Launches Clinical Trial for High-Grade Neuroendocrine Cancer    

Enrollment is now open for a new clinical trial to tackle high-grade neuroendocrine tumors, a complex and aggressive condition that has seen few medical advances in recent years, primarily due to its rare nature. The trial, led by Aman Chauhan, M.D., leader of Sylvester’s Neuroendocrine Tumor Program, offers a fresh approach – patients will receive a combination of immunotherapy drugs and a tumor-busting “oncolytic” virus injected directly into their tumors.

Kidney Cancer

Researchers Aim to Unlock Mysteries of Kidney Cancer Metabolism

Funded by a two-year, $400,000 Sylvester Team Science Award, a multidisciplinary group of scientists aims to unlock the mysteries of renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer. The researchers seek to gain a deeper understanding of the cancer’s metabolic quirks through detailed laboratory and clinical studies and use of a cutting-edge dietary intervention. “We have complimentary disciplines coming together to answer hard questions that will change outcomes for patients,” said Tracy Crane, Ph.D., R.D.N., co-lead of Sylvester’s Cancer Control Program and director of Lifestyle Medicine, Prevention and Digital Health.

Cancer Care

Sylvester Expands Services With Radiation Oncology At Plantation Campus

Broward County residents now have more convenient access to comprehensive cancer care with the addition of radiation oncology services at the Sylvester Plantation campus. The 40,000-square-foot facility already serves as a hub for leading-edge cancer services. By adding radiation oncology, Sylvester expands its reach as the only NCI-designated cancer center in the region. Nearby residents can now access all non-surgical cancer services in one accessible location outside the main campus in downtown Miami

Blood Cancer

New Trends Emerge Following FDA Committee Ruling on MRD Endpoint

Last April, a Food & Drug Administration committee ruled in favor of using a measurement called minimal residual disease (MRD) as an endpoint to support the accelerated approval of new multiple myeloma treatments. Although the FDA has not issued final guidance yet, MRD has already begun to supplant older ways of assessing success in clinical trials, says C. Ola Landgren, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Sylvester Myeloma Institute, who led an intensive research effort to gain the favorable ruling.

Cancer & AI

New AI Model Hits the Marks on DNA Methylation

A new artificial intelligence (AI) model accurately predicts a key aspect of the human genome – its modification by a molecular marking to DNA called methylation, according to a recent Sylvester study in Science Advances. These marks can have a powerful effect on DNA, often shutting down a gene entirely, and their location can reveal a lot about a cell, including whether it’s cancerous. “Studying DNA methylation is extremely relevant, and it’s one of the things that has been demonstrated to capture cellular identity most accurately, such as whether a cell is benign or malignant,” explains Maria “Ken” Figueroa, M.D., associate director of translational research at Sylvester.

Cancer Profile

Cancer Biologist Studies How to Exploit Cancer Cell ‘Greed,’ Spare Normal Cells

Cancer cells are greedy because they grow aggressively and rely heavily on metabolic pathways, which become points of vulnerability, according to Priyamvada Rai, Ph.D., co-leader of the Tumor Biology Program and professor of radiation oncology at Sylvester. Her research looks broadly at vulnerabilities associated with this metabolic “greed” and how to eliminate cancer cells while protecting normal cells.

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