The purpose of this study is to compare the progression-free survival of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) treated with VTX-2337 + cisplatin or carboplatin + 5-FU + cetuximab versus patients treated with cisplatin or carboplatin + 5-FU + cetuximab alone (standard-of-care; SOC). Safety and overall survival will also be evaluated.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ARN-509 in adult men with high-risk non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

To evaluate molecular relapse free rates 6 months after stopping nilotinib therapy in patients who achieve MR4.5

Pain affects more Americans than does diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Opioids are a key drug class for pain treatment; however, there are significant drawbacks (e.g. CNS adverse effects, social and legal issues) that limit their use for effective management of pain. Consequently, development of novel approaches for improved pain control is a critically important research objective. To eliminate adverse CNS-derived effects, attention has turned to targeting peripherally located opioid receptors expressed on the pain-sensing neurons themselves.

With a high attributable mortality rate of 40-50%, Candida species represent the fourth leading cause of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in the United States. These fungal pathogens are normally found as commensals in mammalian mucosal niches, especially the oral cavity. In immunocompromised patients, Candida overgrowth leads to the formation of biofilms, which play an important role in the development of infection. Biofilms are complex microbial communities that adhere to a surface and are enclosed within an extracellular matrix.

Throughout my PhD training in health services research, policy and administration at the University of Minnesota, my research focused on patient and provider factors associated with cancer treatment outcomes and the influence that care guideline policies play in treatment. During my program, I worked as a research assistant in the Division of Health Policy and Management, and have successfully collaborated with an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals to produce more than 29-peer reviewed publications on cancer health services research.

Glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world, is characterized by progressive degeneration of the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the retinal nerve fiber layer, and the optic nerve. Glaucoma is often associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), and because the increased IOP exerts a compressing force on the blood vessels in the eye, it has long been hypothesized that the RGC damage is caused by mild, but chronic, reduction of basal blood flow and/or blood-flow dysregulation.

Transforming growth factor-beta isoforms (TGF?1, ?2, and ?3) are secreted signaling proteins. They function as immunomodulatory factors and tumor suppressors in normal and early neoplastic cells, but in many established cancers, including androgen-independent prostate cancer, they promote tumor growth and metastasis. The therapeutic benefit of antagonizing TGF? using neutralizing antibodies and small molecule receptor kinase inhibitors has been amply demonstrated in animal models of cancer, yet no inhibitors have been approved for cancer treatment in humans.

The ultimate goal of this Program Project is to develop novel therapeutic approaches for advanced childhood sarcoma. While over 70% of children with sarcoma are considered cured, the outcome is still poor for those with advanced or metastatic disease. Specifically, the 5-year event free survival rates are 30 percent or less in children with advanced or metastatic Ewing sarcoma, osteosarcoma or rhabdomyosarcoma and intensive chemo-radiotherapy has not significantly altered this outcome.

There is a continual need to explore alternative approaches to treat cancer to improve patient outcome and reduce the dreadful side-effects of some of the therapies available. While specific bacteria have shown a natural propensity to target tumors in animal models and have been engineered for drug delivery, targeting in human trials was essentially ineffective. To date, while antibody based targeting has been employed to deliver radio- or chemo- active compounds to destroy the tumor, it has so far not been fully explored to deliver bacteria.