News

Wiita Team Identifies a Novel Target for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

While immunotherapy has been successful for a number of aggressive cancers, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a hematologic malignancy with dismal outcomes, has no currently known immunotherapy targets. In a recently published study in Nature Cancer, Arun Wiita, MD, PhD reports the hurdles and successes

UCSF Health Hospitals Earn ‘A’ in Patient Safety

UCSF Health hospitals at Mission Bay, Parnassus Heights and Mount Zion have earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from the health care transparency nonprofit, The Leapfrog Group. Fewer than 1 in 3 hospitals nationwide can say the same. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns letter grades to

Leading a Paradigm Shift in Cancer Research

When Associate Professor of Otolaryngology Matthew Spitzer, PhD, was in fifth grade, his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She passed away while he was in college. “That was a strong motivating force for me to get involved in cancer research,” Dr. Spitzer said. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Spitzer

Do Combination Therapies Hold Hope for Prostate Cancer Patients?

Cancer immunotherapy drugs have demonstrated limited effectiveness in treating prostate cancer. By contrast, radioligand therapy – a type of precision radiation treatment that uses a targeting compound to damage or destroy prostate cancer cells – has shown improved survival rates in metastatic

Brain Tumor SPORE grant at UCSF Receives $12 Million Renewal from NCI

With a renewed Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant, the UC San Francisco Brain Tumor Center is receiving $12 million dollars over five years to translate scientific findings into improved care for people with brain tumors. The award marks the fifth cycle of continuous support

Breast Cancer Riddle: Best Ways to Screen and Treat

Despite decades of scientific progress, breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women in the United States. Experts are divided on many aspects, such as when and how often to do mammograms, how to rethink interventions for precancer lesions, and how to pinpoint risk and reduce the

New UCSF Cancer Lecture Series Honors Celebrated Researcher, Mentor

It took three years and thousands of dollars in fundraising, but the legacy of a celebrated UCSF professor and researcher has now been cemented in a lecture hall for generations of learners to come. The inaugural Zena Werb Memorial Lecture in Cancer Biology took place at UCSF Parnassus Heights