News & Stories

Advances in treatment including surgical innovations are helping women and their health care teams personalize care and improve quality of life.

After crossing the Atlantic Ocean and meeting with a team at Mayo, John Cadwallader learned he was a candidate for chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy, or CAR-T. The personalized treatment collects a patient’s T cells, which normally help fight off infections, and genetically engineers them to target cancer cells.

In March, Brian Principe became the first patient at Mayo Clinic in Florida to have surgery to implant a pump directly into his hepatic artery so he could receive liver-directed chemotherapy for his colon cancer. Mayo Clinic is the only center in North Florida to offer the therapy.

About 66,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Michael Wallace, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic, warns that early signs of this deadly disease are easy to miss.

Radiation therapy has been used to treat cancer since the beginning of the 20th century. This type of treatment continues to be one of the most effective treatments for cancerous (malignant) and noncancerous (benign) brain tumors. How it is delivered — and the technology used — has continued to evolve and improve.

Dr. James Jakub, a Mayo Clinic surgical oncologist, explains that TIL therapy can be a one-time treatment for some patients diagnosed with advanced melanoma.

Five years since receiving a glioblastoma diagnosis, John Shadock’s survival is extraordinary. He has been treated on different clinical trials during his treatment at Moffitt, and his doctor says they may have helped keep him healthy.

Although most pancreatic cancers are difficult to detect early, individuals like Don with a known genetic mutation or identified pancreatic cysts have the best chance at prevention and detection of early, operable disease and improved survival. To help these people, Moffitt Cancer Center opened a Pancreatic Interception Center in March 2023 that offers a comprehensive surveillance program, pushing pancreatic cancer prevention into the forefront.

In 2021, Moffitt opened a clinic that is uniquely tailored to the needs of patients who are living with HIV and battling cancer. It’s a way to monitor the delicate balance of cancer treatment and HIV medications.

Moffitt Cancer Center is leading a five-year research project taking a closer look at the mechanisms behind uveal melanoma, a rare type of eye cancer, including why the disease often spreads to the liver and ways to treat it. The project is in collaboration with the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami and the UF Health Cancer Center.

At Moffitt Cancer Center, the mission is simple: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. Many read that statement and focus on cure — the research to discover new lifesaving treatments. But prevention is also heavily steeped in Moffitt’s core, and the cancer center has embraced the growing field of cancer prevention research.

One type of CAR T-cell therapy, axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta®), has had great success in diffuse large B cell lymphoma patients who have failed two or more therapies. However, studies have shown that while many patients do respond to this therapy, only 40% have durable long-term remissions. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers, in collaboration with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, are hoping to find out why.

Oncologists from the National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers throughout Florida debated controversial treatments and shared practical insights from new data in blood, lung, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary cancers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Annual Oncology Update 2024.

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center is collaborating with Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of Florida Health Cancer Center to fund four grants that will bring cancer prevention and detection education to high-risk Florida communities.

Adding the immunotherapy drug nivolumab to a mix of chemotherapy drugs outperformed the current standard therapy for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma in a large clinical trial.

Researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center are investigating the drivers of breast cancer in Caribbean women in collaboration with a network of colleagues across the region.

Today, at age 31, Manuel Garcia has been cancer-free for five years. He works at his family’s business, representing manufacturers of high-end decorative plumbing. And he’s back in the sky, leaping out of airplanes again — and off cliffs and bridges, too.

Long before she was diagnosed with breast cancer, LaShae Rolle wanted to be an advocate for cancer research. “Even though this is terrible now, I understand what people are going through, and I want to go out and motivate them to help other survivors.”

C. Ola Landgren, M.D., Ph.D., who leads the Sylvester Myeloma Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and his collaborators presented their research efforts toward the long-term goal of a cure for multiple myeloma at the 2024 annual American Society of Hematology meeting.

Research presented by physicians from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the American Society of Hematology’s 2024 meeting in San Diego describes positive results for the antibody drug loncastuximab tesirine (Zynlonta) in patients with high-risk forms of follicular lymphoma and marginal zone lymphoma.

Courtney never expected to set out on a journey with breast cancer during the prime of her life, but surgery removed all of the cancer and her prognosis is promising. She’s back to making her clients smile as an event planner.

In a first-ever human clinical trial of four adult patients, an mRNA cancer vaccine developed at the University of Florida quickly reprogrammed the immune system to attack glioblastoma, the most aggressive and lethal brain tumor.

Electron beam therapy, a key treatment for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, often requires prolonged, uncomfortable positioning that prompts some patients to discontinue treatment. A new UF Health Cancer Center invention aims to ease the experience.

The 40-foot-long mobile cancer screening will expand access to lifesaving cancer screenings and essential health care services, including 3D mammograms and cervical, colon, and prostate cancer screenings. It’s the first of its kind in North Central Florida.

A clinical trial offered at UF Health provided one family something that had been in short supply as they navigated the deadliest skin cancer: hope.

Researchers at the UF Health Cancer Center are conducting innovative clinical trials that aim to improve care for patients with breast cancer. One trial is studying a novel method of treating lymphedema and the other is evaluating a smoking cessation intervention for women undergoing a mastectomy who are motivated to have reconstruction surgery.