UF Health Cancer Institute researchers uncovered an association between lung cancer and poor diet. The team used a high-content spatial metabolomics platform that Ramon Sun, Ph.D., created in 2020. The findings help inform our approach to cancer prevention, highlighting the need for greater emphasis on public awareness and policy-driven strategies that promote healthier dietary choices as a fundamental component of disease prevention, Sun said.

Funded through a Florida Department of Health Innovation Grant, the multi-center Florida ASCENT study is building practical digital solutions to meet nutritional needs, ensuring every patient lives well after cancer.
The study is a partnership between the UF Health Cancer Institute and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. It includes a first-of-its-kind food pharmacy at the University of Florida. Researchers want to improve nutritional education and services for patients by embedding community engagement into the project itself.

UF researchers including Thomas George, M.D., FACP, FASCO, and Yi Guo, Ph.D., and collaborators found that a popular class of weight loss drugs is associated with lower cancer risk. Published in JAMA Oncology, the large observational study used real-world data from OneFlorida+, a powerful multi-state resource of anonymous health records created by the UF Clinical & Translational Science Institute and the UF Health Cancer Institute.

The Health-Smart Holistic Health Program aims to address the problems of social isolation, food insecurity, and financial insecurity that negatively impact the health and health-related quality of life of all individuals. This program is supported by the Humana Foundation and is led by UF Health Cancer Institute member Carolyn M. Tucker, Ph.D.

The UF Health Cancer Institute has invested in dedication oncology nutrition services as a key component of care. The staff now features inpatient dietitians who are committed to providing nutrition services to help patients thrive.

Nutrition and the role of the microbiome in cancer therapy was a key topic at our annual Cancer Research Conference for Science Teachers, who has expanded to have a natural footprint and allows us to bring our world-class research directly to educators in the communities we serve.

Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., co-leader of our Immuno-Oncology and Microbiome research program, was a senior author on a groundbreaking discovery that a widely available mRNA vaccine may help train the immune system to eliminate cancer. The observation, published in Nature, marks a significant step toward a long-awaited universal cancer vaccine to boost the tumor-fighting effects of immunotherapy.

University of Florida researchers have launched a first-in-human clinical trial to test a novel immunotherapy treatment for children with an aggressive type of brain tumor. The Phase 1 clinical trial is expected to enroll up to 18 children between 4 and 18 years old with pediatric high-grade gliomas that express a protein called CD70.

UF researcher John Ligon, M.D., launched a new clinical trial to test a novel UF-developed mRNA lipid nanoparticle (RNA-LP) that is designed to reprogram the immune system in two pediatric cancers. The trial is investigating the safety and immune system response from RNA-LP in children with recurrent high-grade glioma, a brain tumor, and recurrent osteosarcoma, a bone cancer.

Several trainees in the UF Health Cancer Institute’s Team-based Interdisciplinary Cancer Research Training (TICaRT) Program are advanced novel mRNA therapeutics through cross-disciplinary collaborations. The program, funded by the National Cancer Institute, offers a unique training opportunity for pre- and postdoctoral trainees to develop interdisciplinary skills in cancer research and experience with transdisciplinary approaches.

STRONGER summer interns work on a variety of cancer research projects, including the application of CRISPR techniques in glioblastoma. Funded through the National Cancer Institute, the STRONGER summer internship provides an opportunity for undergraduates to develop their skills as young scientists through training with accomplished UF cancer investigators.

Medical imaging plays a central role in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of cancer – whether it involves visualizing the location of a tumor for surgery or tracking disease progression over time. And artificial intelligence is completely transforming the process, helping to improve diagnostic accuracy and lower health care costs. Researchers at the UF Health Cancer Institute are currently developing AI algorithms for a range of medical image analysis tasks, such as multimodal image fusion, cancer detection, organ segmentation and enhanced image resolution.

UF researchers are addressing a critical gap in medical genetic research — ensuring it better represents and benefits people of all backgrounds. Their work, led by Kiley Graim, Ph.D., focuses on improving human health by addressing “ancestral bias” in genetic data, a problem that arises when most research is based on data from a single ancestral group. This bias limits advancements in precision medicine, Graim said, and leaves large portions of the global population underserved when it comes to disease treatment and prevention.

Daniel Stribling, who participated in the first cohort of the TICaRT program, hopes to be part of applying the rapidly advancing fields of AI to genomics and medicine. While in the program, Stribling used computational tools to decipher and understand how Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus leads to cancer.

For decades, patients undergoing blood cancer treatment have been told to avoid certain foods to reduce infection risk, guidance that some physicians hoped could safely be relaxed. Now, a University of Florida study offers clear evidence that a diet designed to limit exposure to foodborne microbes results in fewer serious infections, confirming it is still the safest choice.

With funding from Blood Cancer United, UF Health Cancer Institute researchers created a free communications skills program for adult children caregivers of a loved one with a blood cancer. They are adapting the program for other family caregivers, including one for parent caregivers of adolescents and young adults living with a blood cancer.

UF Health Cancer Institute researchers have pinpointed the cellular source of a protein that decreases the function of blood stem cells as people age. The findings give researchers a target for developing a new treatment to restore the health of blood stem cells and improve recovery from cancer treatments.

With funding from the Ocala Royal Dames, Jordan Milner, M.D., is testing stem cell stability and viability after alpha/beta T-cell and B-cell depletion of peripheral blood stem cells, with the goal of improving the accessibility of stem cells for patients in the future. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is used for many malignant and non-malignant disorders.

Working closely with UF Health, our Office of Community Outreach and Engagement began offering 3D mammograms this fall on our Mobile Cancer Screening Connector. In the first six weeks of operation, 84 mammograms were provided at 10 events in six counties. In addition to offering mammograms, the mobile vehicle team provides FIT tests to screen for colorectal cancer and cervical cancer screening kits, educates people on cancer prevention and early detection, and assists people with participating in UF research studies.

Our Transportation & Lodging for Care (TLC) service is designed not just to assist, but to rethink how we support patients along their cancer journey. TLC coordinators can help arrange lodging at local hotels, provide meals during their stay, offer assistance with gas costs and even organize rides if needed. 
The TLC service is not just about providing financial support; it’s about empowerment. 

UF Health Cancer Institute researchers are investigating how kava may reduce lung cancer risk caused by tobacco smoke. They have also discovered a genetic variation that could help predict those likely to have the greatest response to kava intervention.

Researchers are one step closer to developing a simple, at-home test to prevent cervical cancer or treat it early, a new study from University of Florida Health Cancer Center and Purdue University researchers has found. Cervical cancer is the world’s fourth most common cancer in women. When it’s found early, it’s one of the most preventable and treatable cancers.

University of Florida researchers have improved a potentially transformative handheld device to detect breast cancer in saliva, simplifying the design and confirming its accuracy. The pocket-sized biosensor quickly and accurately detected breast cancer and distinguished the type by measuring biomarkers in saliva samples, a recent study found.

Although early detection from standard screening improves survival rates, only 35% of all colorectal cancers are caught in the early stages. This is partly due to a lack of knowledge regarding the importance of routine screenings. Read Sheila Lee’s story of colorectal cancer treatment at UF Health.