Results of the ongoing TALAPRO-2 trial, led by Neeraj Agarwal, MD, FASCO, Presidential Endowed Chair of Cancer Research at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at the University of Utah (the U) have shown that a novel combination late-stage prostate cancer treatment has a higher statistically significant overall survival rate compared to the standard treatment alone. The new approach combines two existing cancer drugs, enzalutamide and talazoparib. Enzalutamide, known as XTANDI, has been used to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer for years. Talazoparib, or TALZENNA, is the new addition. Agarwal says that this combination provides more options and renewed hope for patients. "Metastatic prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men. Having a new, well-tolerated combination of medications that significantly improves survival rates is terrific news for our patients at Huntsman Cancer Institute and elsewhere,” says Agarwal.

Huntsman Cancer Institute scientists have developed a new method to predict the severity of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive form of the disease. Researchers Alana Welm, PhD, Bryan Welm, PhD, Cindy Matsen, MD, and Christos Vaklavas, MD, used a patient-deprived xenograft (PDX) model, where tumors from patients are implanted into mice to grow human tumors. “By implanting a biopsy of the tumor into a PDX, we can assess the cancer's aggressiveness,” says Alana Welm, senior author of the study, senior director of basic science at Huntsman Cancer Institute, and professor of oncological sciences at the U. “We hope our findings will improve current tests that predict whether a patients’ cancer will recur.” If a tumor grows in the PDX model, it often indicates a highly aggressive cancer, which is significantly harder to treat. TNBC, known for its rapid growth when compared to hormone-driven breast cancers, generally has a poor prognosis. Understanding a tumor’s projected aggressiveness will help physicians guide their patients through treatment options. The results of the TOWARDS study were published in JCO Precision Oncology.

Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute and collaborating institutions have found differences in the microbiome makeup of melanoma tumors that were responsive and non-responsive to immunotherapy. Emerging evidence suggests that the microbiome—bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live on and in the human body—can impact cancer outcomes. In this study, tumors with higher concentrations of Uroviricota viruses responded more positively to immunotherapy. Tumors that didn’t respond as well showed increased levels of several other bacteria, like Campylobacter jejuni. These differences in microbial presence correlated with immune-related gene expression signatures, suggesting an interaction between the tumor microbiome and the immune system. AC Tan, PhD, senior director of data science at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of oncological sciences at the U, co-led the project and analyzed the data with machine learning. Integrating microbial and gene expression data improved the accuracy of models predicting prolonged survival with immunotherapy, outperforming models using either dataset alone. “The goal of this research is to determine if the microbiome can predict responses to immunotherapy in melanoma,” says Tan. “This is a start. Further research on the functions of these microbes could determine how they regulate the immune microenvironment. Could we prescribe drugs that make the non-responder become responsive? Those types of questions will be the next step.” Huntsman Cancer Institute was one of several cancer centers involved in the research, as part of the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN). The consortium’s findings were published in Cancer Research Communications.

Thomas Varghese Jr., MD, MS, MBA, FACS, has been named editor of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. He is only the eighth new editor in the 119-year history of the publication.

Chelsey Schlechter, MPH, PhD, has been named a Cancer Moonshot Scholar. With this prestigious grant, she and her team will work with community health center partners to increase access to evidence-based interventions to reduce obesity. Obesity is linked to higher risk of at least 13 different types of cancers. Guilherme Del Fiol, MD, PhD, and David W. Wetter, PhD, MS will also serve as primary investigators on the project.