About Us: Accomplishments and Research Discoveries

> view recent awards and accomplishments of Cancer Center members

Ranks consistently among the top cancer care centers in the nation, according to the “America’s Best Hospitals” survey from U.S. News & World Report. In 2010, UCSF placed among the top ten cancer hospitals for the sixth consecutive year. (Read more).
Has attained the highest level of research funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) among cancer centers in California, and the eighth highest ranking among all 66 NCI-designated cancer centers nationwide. (More about NCI-designated cancer centers).
Discovered the existence of cancer-causing oncogenes, which led in 1989 to a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for J. Michael Bishop, MD, and Harold Varmus, MD, and opened new doors for exploring genetic mistakes that cause cancer. The landmark work formed the basis for some of the most important cancer research happening today.
Achieved one of the first awards for an NCI Specialized Program Of Research Excellence (SPORE) in breast cancer, funded continuously since 1992. A second SPORE award, for brain cancer, was awarded to UCSF in 2002.
Served as a national model for the involvement of patient advocates in research. Active involvement of advocates can help promote research awareness and relevance, guide program planning, provide input on the use of clinical data and tissue, and help to overcome recurrent barriers to clinical trial enrollment.
Invented a laboratory technique, called Comparative Genomic Hybridization, for detecting and analyzing genetic abnormalities in cancer cells, and extended this technology to microarrays, which enable precise, high-resolution searches for DNA abnormalities across the entire genome.
Pioneered an adaptive clinical trial design to accelerate the translation of research into breast cancer care. The new type of study, which involves repeated MR imaging and tissue analyses to direct changes throughout the course of the trial, aims to quickly gauge the effectiveness for each individual patient of experimental therapies as additions to standard chemotherapy.
Developed a new class of targeted chemotherapy drugs—immunoliposomes—designed to reduce toxicity and increase effectiveness. Immunoliposomes employ molecularly tethered antibodies that recognize tumor cells and deliver a lethal package of chemotherapy without introducing the agent to noncancerous tissues.
Discovered the molecular nature of telomeres—parts of chromosomes that critically affect the life span of cells—and the enzyme telomerase that regulates them. Telomeres and telomerase play a key role in cell aging and cancer, and telomerase is now a therapeutic target for cancer and other diseases. Groundbreaking work on telomeres and telomerase led to a 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for UCSF investigator Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD.
Pioneered and proved the effectiveness of a mapping technique that allows for the safe removal of tumors near language pathways in the brain. The technique minimizes brain exposure and reduces the amount of time a patient must be awake during surgery.
Identified a biological response to cellular stress that may predict subsequent tumor formation among women with the most common form of pre-malignant breast cancer called DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ).
Spearheaded the development of immunotherapy for prostate cancer, which uses patients’ own immune cells to help fight the disease. UCSF led the clinical testing of a vaccine that has demonstrated improved survival and was the first immunotherapy to gain FDA approval.
Pioneered the use of novel radiotherapy techniques, such as intraoperative radiation and a drug called 131I-MIBG that both targets cancer cells and aids in visualizing tumor tissue on scans, which are helping to boost survival in children with neuroblastoma, a leading childhood cancer.
Launched the largest hereditary cancer clinic in Northern California, which counsels individuals and families at high risk for colorectal, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers that arise due to inherited gene mutations. Hereditary cancer represents some 10-20 percent of all cancers. (More about the Cancer Risk Program.)
Developed a new diagnostic test using genetic markers that can help distinguish benign moles from malignant melanomas. The test is the first to demonstrate both the diagnostic accuracy and the practicality of a multi-biomarker approach to diagnosing melanoma.
Maintained one of the largest and most longstanding epidemiology programs in the world focusing on glioblastoma, the most deadly brain cancer, that is shedding light on the involvement of an immune system antibody called immunoglobulin E in patients’ response to treatment.
Contributed to the discovery that initial success by a new generation of drugs designed to starve tumors of their blood supply—angiogenesis inhibitors—is followed by a resurgence of invasive cancer growth, in an adaptive response by the tumor. The discovery sheds new light on why such drugs may fail to increase survival for many patients.
Played a leadership role in developing better treatment guidelines for early-stage prostate cancer, which will help reduce inappropriate treatment for men whose cancers may never progress.
Discovered the molecular reasons why drugs that target breast cancers driven by the HER2 protein—about one out of every four cases—become ineffective over time. The discovery has led to new strategies for overcoming such drug resistance.
Pioneered the use of genetic network analysis, producing a map of how key genes interact, to study inherited susceptibility for cancer. Due to the numerical complexity of gene-expression networks, such analysis previously required the use of supercomputers, but the new tools can run on a desktop computer, which will allow adoption by scientists worldwide.
Discovered the existence of neural stem cells in the brain and found evidence that they may be implicated in malignant glioma, the most common form of brain tumor.
Initiated a Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Center to investigate the role of environmental chemicals, obesity, and other factors on the development of the female breast and the age of puberty—factors that may have consequences for breast cancer in adult life.
Developed a new method of assessing the risk of prostate cancer progression after radical prostatectomy, called the CAPRA index, which streamlines the calculation process and is expected to be adopted in clinical practice worldwide.
Helped to change the surgical standard of care for thyroid cancer through techniques such as total thyroid removal (which minimizes side effects and reduces cancer recurrence), transplantation of the neighboring parathyroid gland during thyroidectomy to save its function, and minimally invasive and endoscopic procedures.
Perfected and adopted within routine practice the use of minimally invasive, robotic-assisted surgical procedures for cancers of the prostate, kidney, and bladder. In the hands of expert surgeons, such technologies are more effective in removing all cancerous tissue and in producing more rapid restoration of normal bodily function.
Discovered the genetic basis of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, a serious chronic blood cancer that affects children mostly aged 4 and younger. The discovery has suggested new treatment approaches for the disease.
Discovered that subsets of malignant melanoma are driven by an oncogene that is already the target of an approved drug for other tumor types. The unexpected discovery has led to dramatic responses for patients with this type of melanoma.
Discovered that certain chromosome translocations that cause childhood leukemias can be detected prenatally, a dramatic result that might offer the possibility of early detection and screening.
Built an advanced imaging laboratory that is home to a 7 Tesla superconducting magnet, among the most powerful ever built. Used for magnetic resonance imaging, the instrument can evaluate blood vessels 100-200 microns in diameter, detect new evidence of cancer invasion in tissue, and analyze chemical signals associated with tumor types and structures.