Create a living biobank of PDOs from Stage I-III lung cancer patients.

The overall goals of this Multi-Investigator Research Proposal is to further the understanding of the development and identify prognostic characteristics of liver tumors in children, particularly hepatoblastoma and its variants through a combined genomic and molecular pathology approach.

The purpose of this study is to identify genetic variants that predict progression of prostate cancer.

A research study about factors that might increase the chance of getting breast and ovarian cancers. Eligible: female 18-80 yr old; diagnosed with breast cancer under age 50; diagnosed with ovarian cancer at any age; strong family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer.

Adjuvant endocrine hormonal therapy (EHT) is highly effective and appropriate for nearly all breast cancer patients with hormone receptor-positive tumors, which represent 75% of all breast cancer diagnoses. Long-term use of EHT reduces cancer recurrence rates and cuts the risk of death nearly in half during the second decade after diagnosis, research shows. Despite the proven benefits, about 33% of women who are prescribed EHT do not take their medication as prescribed (less than 80% take their daily dosage) and are thus at higher risk of recurrence and death. This educational randomized controlled study will develop and pilot-test a bilingual, culturally tailored, personalized, interactive mobile application (app) in combination with patient navigation to promote and improve adherence to endocrine hormonal therapy (EHT) among breast cancer patients.

The goal of this study is to develop and pilot test a multi-communication approach to improve informed decision-making about cancer Clinical Trials (CTs) participation by increasing awareness of CTs and Mays Cancer Center (MCC) services (treatment care capacities, reputation and resources), positive attitudes towards CTs, self-efficacy and intentions to consider CTs as an appropriate treatment option for cancer (intention to participate) among patients attending the MCC (clinic-based setting) and the general public in selected Bexar County areas (community-based settings).

The primary objective of this study is to compare Assay results to diagnoses determined by currently accepted standards for lung cancer detection. This will be accomplished by analysis of sputum samples from three cohorts including healthy Participants, high risk Participants, and cancer patient Participants using the Assay as developed in accordance with findings of bioAffinity protocol BA-001 to confirm assay results. Adjustments will be made as necessary to finalize Assay design for clinical trials and commercialization. The secondary objective of this study is to determine optimum methods for collection of sputum samples. Three sputum collection methods used by high risk Participants will be compared. Individuals at high risk for lung cancer will be assigned to one of three sputum collection cohorts including (1) acapella® airway assist device under medical supervision to obtain a single sputum sample; (2) acapella® airway assist device to obtain a sputum sample over a three-day period, and (3) individuals who under medical supervision will collect a single sputum sample assisted by nebulization of between 0.9% to 10% hypertonic saline. Samples will be compared to determine the optimal collection method for sample analysis by CyPath® Lung.

This investigation is designed to be a two-arm, non-randomized prospective phase 2 study evaluating the impact of medical physicist patient intervention on the anxiety level and patient satisfaction of patients undergoing a course of radiation therapy.  Our goal is to demonstrate that these interventions will have a significantly positive impact on the overall well-being of our oncology patients

The goal of this infrastructure grant is to establish and maintain a cohort of over 12,000 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients to support broad and cutting-edge research that identifies clinical (including co-morbid diseases), epidemiologic (including lifestyle and other exposures), host genetic, tumor, and treatment factors, as well as the interaction among these factors, on short and long-term outcomes. These efforts will identify new approaches to improve the survival and well-being of NHL patients.

TLI and UTHSCSA will be participating in projects 2 and 4 ,To examine cirrhotic patients and their risk factors for developing liver cancer . Researchers hope to improve ability to prevent liver cancer , and to better identify patients at higher risk for developing liver cancer at an early stage. C. Early detection of HCC in patients with cirrhosis remains suboptimal. The efficacy of HCC surveillance for the early detection of HCC is a subject of intense debate due to the lack of sensitive and specific biomarkers that are well validated in prospective studies. Further, implementation of surveillance in practice is very low. The MIRA aims to develop novel, urgently needed, and highly effective surveillance biomarkers of patients with cirrhosis, and improve the utilization of currently available surveillance strategies. Project 2: Metabolic Syndrome and Risk Prediction of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (PI: H El-Serag). This project will develop risk stratification algorithms based on demographic, clinical, molecular and epidemiological risk profiles to identify cirrhotic patients who might benefit from chemoprevention or intensive surveillance. Our proposed multicenter prospective cohort study of >4000 patients with cirrhosis and up to 4 year follow up (a conservative estimate of 300 new HCC cases) will be the largest cohort study of cirrhotic patients assembled in Texas (and U.S). We will evaluate phenotypic (including molecular endophenotypes) and genotypic aspects of MetS as well as established risk factors.Project 4: Novel Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (PI: L Beretta). This project will identify and validate novel biomarkers for risk stratification and early HCC detection. Although several biomarkers have supporting pre-clinical (phase 1) and case-control (phase 2) data, few have been evaluated in retrospective cohort (phase 3) or prospective cohort (phase 4) studies. The prospective Texas multicenter cohort study of cirrhosis patients (i.e. Phase 3) in which 300 HCC cases will be compared to 600 controls nested in this cohort. We will validate several promising existing markers as well as aim to discover novel biomarkers for HCC detection.