Prostate cancer relies on genetic “switches”, called enhancers, that can turn on tumor-promoting genes. Researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have discovered histone H2B N-terminal acetylation (H2BNTac), an essential chemical mark of these enhancers.
Department of Pediatrics originally published in 2023 has lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to accelerate approval of the drug ONC201 now called dordaviprone for the treatment of diffuse midline glioma (DMG) with an H3 K27M mutation. A rare, aggressive brain tumor that primarily affects children and young adults. This marks the first FDA-approved therapy for this form of cancer.
Researchers discovered two distinct ways mutation of the FOXA1 gene alters tumor formation and therapy resistance in prostate cancer in mouse models.
A study explains the genetic underpinnings of a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer – and offers a potential pathway for new treatments.
Jennifer Brazil, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology at Michigan Medicine began her own research laboratory in 2018. She continued to research the mechanisms by which polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and epithelial glycans can be targeted to alter neutrophil transepithelial migration and neutrophil function under conditions of intestinal inflammation and repair.
The Molecular and Cancer Therapeutics journal recently awarded Dr. Analisa DiFeo, professor, with their annual Outstanding Journal Article Award for 2025 for her article “Small Molecule Mediated Stabilization of PP2A Modulates the Homologous Recombination Pathway and Potentiates DNA Damage Induced Cell Death.”
On Thursday, March 20th the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute presented its Rising Scholars Lecture with pathology’s Dr. Abhijit Parolia, assistant professor of experimental pathology, entitled NSD2 is a requisite subunit of the AR/FOXA1 neo-enhanceosome in promoting prostate tumorigenesis.
To understand why some cancers successfully circumvent the immune system to grow unchecked, researchers turned to pregnancy. “In pregnancy, the immune system does not reject the growing fetus, so we know there must be mechanisms active in the placenta. In cancer, it’s the same thing: the growing tumor is not rejected by the immune system. It means the cancer cells have developed strategies to suppress immune rejection, same as in pregnancy,” said Weiping Zou, M.D., Ph.D., professor of experimental pathology.
There are times in many people’s lives that can be called defining moments. Moments when their lives suddenly take a turn, and the entire trajectory of their lives change. This was true for Matthew Iyer, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Surgery and Pathology.
The Division of Anatomic Pathology in the Michigan Medicine Department of Pathology offers grant funding for faculty and trainees to pursue research interests related to anatomic pathology that may not otherwise be funded. One of these internal AP grant-funded projects, led by first-author Eman Abdulfatah, MD and senior-author Rohit Mehra, MD, resulted in a recent cover story in Human Pathology entitled “Extragonadal germ cell tumors: A clinicopathologic study with emphasis on molecular features, clinical outcomes and associated secondary malignancies.”