Summer 2008 News@MSKCC

MSKCC recently opened a state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit that features sophisticated equipment and innovations in design and layout that are changing the way care is delivered to its most critically ill cancer patients.

Therapy dogs trained to provide comfort to patients have been visiting MSKCC since October 2007 as part of the popular Caring Canines Program piloted by the Division of Social Work and the Department of Volunteer Resources.

A study led by MKSCC investigators found that acupuncture provided significant reductions in pain, dysfunction, and dry mouth in head and neck cancer patients after neck dissection.

Data from a multicenter Phase III clinical trial led by researchers at MSKCC found that the targeted therapy everolimus (RAD001) significantly delayed cancer progression in patients with metastatic kidney cancer whose disease had worsened with other treatments.

Researchers at MSKCC have uncovered how breast tumors use a particular type of molecule to promote metastasis -- the spread of cancer cells.

Investigators at MSKCC have found a previously unknown immune response to tumor cells by using mice that are genetically engineered to develop prostate cancer in a manner that mimics the formation of human prostate cancers.

Eric M. Cottington has joined MSKCC as Vice President of Research Resources Management, with overall responsibility for the departments of Sponsored Projects, Research Administration, and Industrial Affairs.

Kathy Lewis, who has a long history of distinguished service in the world of healthcare and advocacy, has been named Vice President of Public Affairs for MSKCC.

Simon N. Powell has joined MSKCC as Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. A leader in research into DNA repair, he has recently developed tests to determine if a specific individual's breast cancer has lost the DNA repair function that is controlled by the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which could ultimately influence treatment decisions.

William Jarnagin has been named Chief of the newly formed Hepatopancreatobiliary Service, which will foster clinical and translational research in liver, biliary, and pancreas disease and will allow for centralization of research activities and clinical care.

Jason Lewis has joined MSKCC as Chief of the Radiochemistry Service in the Department of Radiology. His research centers on developing new positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals for noninvasive imaging of cancer.

Steven Martin has joined MSKCC as Chief of the Medicine Consultation Service and Associate Chair for Patient Care Operations in the Department of Medicine.

Surgical oncologist Monica Morrow has joined MSKCC as Chief of the Breast Service in the Department of Surgery.

Physician-scientist Marcel R.M. van den Brink has been named Head of the Division of Hematologic Oncology in the Department of Medicine at MSKCC.

Investigator Isabelle Rivière has been appointed Director of the newly created Cell Therapy and Cell Engineering Facility that will merge the cell and vaccine production activities currently handled by the Adoptive Immune Cell Therapy Facility, the Immunobiology Facility, and the Gene Transfer and Somatic Cell Engineering Facility, which Dr. Riviere has led as co-director since joining MKSCC in 1998.