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Hollings Headlines // July 2020

Hollings Cancer Center would like to wish everyone a happy, safe and socially distant 4th of July weekend! During the summer months, we are spotlighting our cancer survivors and their stories. We greatly appreciate their efforts to help us raise awareness and inspire hope in others. Clockwise from top left: Jim Devereaux; Mandy Brown; Thom Schmenk; Tammy Grainger.

One of those survivors, Hugh Royer, lost a quarter of his cheek and his nose to basal cell carcinoma, a cancer many people fail to take seriously. Learn more about his cancer journey.

We know there is a lot of COVID-19 information out there, and it can be hard to keep track of the latest developments. In response to the new City of Charleston ordinance, MUSC has updated its Directives to Faculty, Staff and Students for Staying Safe to reflect that mask wearing is now required (not just recommended) as of July 1 in public buildings, including classrooms and conference rooms, even when social distancing is possible. Full details, including reasonable exceptions, can be found at the link above.

For our researchers, be sure to know the guidelines about social distancing and working in shifts, so labs can remain open. If you work in a Hollings lab and need to request that the area be sanitized due to someone in your lab testing positive for COVID-19, please call Mike Garbarini at 843-834-3862 or Donna Berrier at 804-592-7485.

Study links elevated levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) with breast cancer risk

HCC researchers published a study linking high levels of AGEs from processed foods and foods cooked at high temperatures with an increased risk of breast cancer. Healthy eating choices are one way to help reduce the risk of chronic diseases. The study was led by David Turner, Ph.D., and was part of a larger decade-long prostate, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer screening trial (PLCO) designed and sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.

Clinical trial to test immunotherapy combination in surgical pancreatic cancer patients

Ramsay Camp, M.D., is leading a clinical trial to study a new treatment option for pancreatic cancer, the third deadliest cancer in the nation. Camp, who is joining forces with Mark Rubinstein, Ph.D., on this study, said it capitalizes on the innovative immunotherapy research happening in Rubinstein’s lab.

Health disparities prove to be multidimensional

In two of her recent health disparity studies, Hollings researcher Chanita Hughes-Halbert, Ph.D., shows how certain illnesses and diseases have the ability to affect various groups of people in detrimental ways. Both studies were reported online in the medical journal Ethnicity and Disease and are a part of the work being done by the Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center in Precision Medicine and Minority Men’s Health at MUSC.

Joe Delaney, Ph.D., and his research team have been awarded a $50,000 Hollings Cancer Center Idea Award for their research into ovarian cancer.

"Our lab has discovered an unlikely pair of drugs that work together to kill ovarian cancer cells," explains Dr. Delaney. "One drug now in the public spotlight, (hydroxy)chloroquine, was originally designed to prevent malaria. Chloroquine happens to kill ovarian cancer cells by disrupting a recycling system of those cells. The other drug in the pair is an anti-HIV medication, nelfinavir mesylate, which surprisingly kills ovarian cancer by disrupting the recycling system but also by increasing the amount of cellular debris which needs to be recycled."

The research will include experiments using CRISPR-Cas9 to delete one gene at a time to discover which genes enable drug resistance or sensitivity to the drugs. These data will help inform clinical trials which utilize chloroquine or nelfinavir, particularly in the context of ovarian cancer.

Read more about another ovarian cancer study Delaney recently published.

Hollings Cancer Center has two events listed for The Post & Courier's Charleston’s Choice Awards:

We would greatly appreciate your votes in the following categories:

Lowcountry Favorites > Foodie Event > Gourmet & Grapes

Lowcountry Favorites > Outdoor Event > LOWVELO

Lowcountry Favorites > Fundraising Event > LOWVELO

Submit your vote ! Voting is accepted until July 22 at 11:59 p.m. 

In case you missed it, we sent out a COVID-19 Precautions newsletter with guidance and information. If you have questions, submit them to  covid19@musc.edu .

University Updates on Coronavirus

University Directives for Staying Safe

MUSC Research Continuity & Planning for COVID-19

COVID-19 Intranet (MUHA)

MUSC COVID-19 Epidemiology Intelligence Project