Huntsman Cancer Institute Discovery Innovations - Special Edition

Neli Ulrich, PhD, MS, Executive Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute 

Ulrich, alongside her duties as director of the comprehensive cancer center, is the principal investigator of the ColoCare Study at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U). In this long-term study, researchers collect biospecimens and data on colorectal patient health and outcomes. But Ulrich says Huntsman Cancer Institute’s team is also in a prime position to investigate a pressing medical problem—the alarming rise of early-onset colorectal cancer in patients under 50.

“Our study population overall is 4,200 patients, and more than 1,000 have been diagnosed at ages younger than 50,” says Ulrich. “This is the largest federally funded resource enabling research on the causes and survivorship challenges facing patients with early-onset colorectal cancer.”

 Ulrich also called attention to innovations and discoveries in cancer care and treatment that are particularly relevant to the Mountain West and the five states in Huntsman Cancer Institute’s service area—Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.

For example, Utah consistently has one of the highest rates of melanoma incidence in the United States. Sheri Holmen, PhD, professor of surgery at the U, and her team are investigating a novel drug therapy that targets focal adhesion kinase and RAF/MEK, which has been shown to be effective in stopping melanoma metastasis to the brain in preclinical models.

Salt Lake City, the home of Huntsman Cancer Institute’s flagship campus, can suffer from poor air quality. Anne Kirchhoff, PhD, MPH, associate professor of pediatrics at the U, and James VanDerslice, PhD, professor in the division of public health at the U, have received a federal grant to research the health effects of air pollution and high temperature prior to breast cancer diagnosis, as well as during treatment. Kirchhoff, VanDerslice, and their team will use information from the Utah Population Database—a unique repository of linked health records connected to demographic data managed by Huntsman Cancer Institute—and the Utah Cancer Registry. The team aims to develop recommendations to advise breast cancer patients exposed to poor air.

Huntsman Cancer Institute strives to expand services for patients who live in rural and frontier areas, says Ulrich. The institution recently received a highly impactful and innovative federal contract award through the ARPA-H PARADIGM program.   

This award will expand the work of an existing program, Huntsman at Home, which Huntsman Cancer Institute initiated using philanthropic support. The innovative service brings symptom management and aspects of cancer care directly to the patient. Huntsman at Home began in Salt Lake City and was later expanded to rural Utah. This new grant strives to implement a mobile medical vehicle outfitted with advanced and innovative testing, diagnostic, and treatment capabilities to three of Utah’s rural counties.

“We are also on the cutting edge of using artificial intelligence to help our communities overcome distance in cancer prevention and care,” says Ulrich. “I am optimistic that these programs will help us work toward our mission to understand cancer from its beginnings, serve communities, and relieve the suffering of all cancer patients."

Brad Cairns, PhD, Chief Academic Officer of Huntsman Cancer Institute

Cairns, chief academic officer of Huntsman Cancer Institute, emphasized the power of collaboration and its productive effects on research across the organization. He pointed to the interdisciplinary breast cancer research team led by Alana Welm, PhD, senior director of basic science at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of oncological sciences at the U. Welm and her colleagues—including Bryan Welm, PhD, assistant professor of surgery at the U, surgeon Cindy Matsen, MD, MSCI, associate professor of surgery at the U, and medical oncologist Christos Vaklavas, MD, associate professor of medicine at the U—have developed patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models to better predict the prognosis of triple negative breast cancer. Researchers found that human tumors grown in mouse models are highly predictive of which cancers are most likely to be aggressive, which can inform treatment decisions.

“Using these models for breast cancer is really unique research,” says Cairns. “There’s so much potential both in the testing of new therapies and for personalization for each patient.”

Cairns is also excited about the creation of a new immune profiling core that complements and extends on existing services, soon to be headed by Jens Lohr, MD, PhD, associate professor in the division of hematology and hematologic malignancies at the U, and Birgit Knoechel, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics at the U. The team will build a state-of-the-art platform for personalized immunotherapy by performing comprehensive immunoprofiling of patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed cancer. This data will then guide development of novel cellular therapies, advancing Huntsman Cancer Institute’s role as a leader in immunotherapy research.

This resource will be established in partnership with the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah and Intermountain Health.

 “The development of this core alongside our partners also highlights the spirit of cooperation that is such an important part of Utah culture,” says Cairns. “Lohr and Knoechel are really strong researchers, and their work will complement our existing investigators.”

Sachin Apte MD, MS, MBA, Chief Clinical Officer of Huntsman Cancer Institute and Physician-in-chief of the Cancer Hospital

Huntsman Cancer Institute is positioning itself as a leader in specialized cancer care both in the Mountain West region and nationally, says Apte.

“We are making significant progress in specialized treatments like cellular therapy, which includes treatment modalities that have traditionally been used in liquid tumors—such as lymphomas and leukemias,” says Apte. “Now, we are exploring new applications in solid tumors. This could lead to significant improvements in cancer treatments.”

Ben Maughan, MD, PharmD, associate professor in the division of medical oncology at the U, currently has a clinical trial underway looking at cellular therapies for kidney cancer, and Siwen Hu-Lieskovan, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the U, is investigating therapies for melanoma.

Apte also pointed to the promise of novel radiopharmaceutical therapy, or theranostics. Theranostics, which is a combination of therapeutics and diagnostics, is an approach using radioactive isotopes that can both be detected on imaging or used to precisely deliver radiation to specific types of cancer cells. These advances in precision medicine are leading to more targeted drugs that can treat specific cancers while sparing normal organs and tissues. 

These efforts are led by Heloisa Soares, MD, PhD, associate professor of internal medicine at the U, and Jeffrey Yap, PhD, professor in the department of radiology and imaging sciences at the U.

“The early applications of modern theranostics were focused on prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumors. The list of novel radiopharmaceuticals and types of cancers that can be targeted is growing very rapidly,” says Apte. “Huntsman Cancer Institute is uniquely situated to make an impact in theranostics given our talented collaborators and state-of-the-art cyclotron facility.”

Several trials are open or in the process of being available for patients, including trials for brain, colorectal, breast, prostate, neuroendocrine, lung, and pancreas cancers.

While these medical advances make Huntsman Cancer Institute an attractive destination for specialized therapies, Apte says the mission of the organization is to meet patients where they are and reduce distance as a barrier to cancer care, especially for rural and frontier populations.

“Our job is to integrate clinical care, research, and novel technology to deliver the best outcome possible for cancer patients, regardless of where they live—in urban, rural, or frontier areas,” says Apte.

The Huntsman Cancer Institute research described in this newsletter is supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute including P30 CA042014 and Huntsman Cancer Foundation. 

About Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah is the National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center for Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. With a legacy of innovative cancer research, groundbreaking discoveries, and world-class patient care, we are transforming the way cancer is understood, prevented, diagnosed, treated, and survived. Huntsman Cancer Institute focuses on delivering the most advanced cancer healing and prevention through scientific breakthroughs and cutting-edge technology to advance cancer treatments of the future beyond the standard of care today. We have more than 300 open clinical trials and 250 research teams studying cancer. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at Huntsman Cancer Institute than at any other cancer center. Our scientists are world-renowned for understanding how cancer begins and using that knowledge to develop innovative approaches to treat each patient’s unique disease. Huntsman Cancer Institute was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.