Bladder Cancer
Our bladder cancer program brings cutting-edge therapies and clinical trials to patients at UW Medicine – providing personalized treatment plans from staging through follow-up care.
Multidisciplinary teams of some of the world’s leading doctors work together to treat patients and develop innovative treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy.
At UW Medicine (UWM), we lead one of the few multidisciplinary bladder cancer clinics in the nation. We have the expertise and experience to treat a variety of difficult to treat cancers, such as muscle invasive bladder cancer, which often involves radical treatment. Our team utilizes innovative treatments and renown surgeons at UWM in the use of robotic surgery in bladder removal surgery to provide patients with shorter recovery and better outcomes.
Dr. Andrew Hsieh
STTR Bladder Cancer Deputy Director
Dr. Hsieh is a genitourinary oncologist with a clinical interest in advanced prostate cancer and bladder cancer. He runs a laboratory which seeks to apply his bench side findings to clinically relevant themes such as castration resistant prostate cancer, and advanced bladder cancer. He is intrigued by the potential of therapeutically targeting the translation apparatus in cancer as well as utilizing the translational signature of cancer to predict disease behavior.
Learn More at the Hsieh Lab
Alvord Brain Tumor Center
The Alvord Brain Tumor Center (ABTC) is a collaborative group of physicians and researchers working together to improve the treatment and outcomes of patients with brain tumors. Patients are seen at a multidisciplinary patient care and diagnostic clinic at UW Medicine.
Pediatric patients ranging from newborns to adolescents are cared for at Seattle Children’s Hospital in a similar multidisciplinary clinic to the adult population but with added resources to care for children and their families. It is the leading academic pediatric neuro-oncology program in the Northwest and includes faculty that lead national pediatric cancer consortiums for clinical trials and new ways to treat brain tumors. The Pediatric research program includes the development of molecularly based methods for visualizing tumors during surgery and identifying novel drugs for clinical trials.
The ABTC was established to unite research and clinical faculty across the Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium in work related to brain cancer. Our research programs at the Fred Hutch, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and UW Medicine include collaborative patient-based and basic science efforts investigating tumor and stem cell biology, modeling, nanotechnology, drug development and therapeutic response.
The ABTC bridges multi-disciplinary experts with the goal of speeding new developments in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment utilizing novel findings like precision oncology tools to lengthen survival and create cures for brain cancer patients.
The ABTC does this by fostering collaboration among 100 different researchers and clinical experts to enhance our understanding of each unique tumor and develop a treatment plan to ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients. STTR will continue to build the infrastructure required to translate cutting-edge research into clinical care.
We are changing the culture of cancer care and taking healthcare communications and personalized medicine to the next level.
Dr Eric Holland explains obstacles brain cancer researcher face.
Dr. Eric Holland
STTR Brain Cancer Deputy Director
Dr. Holland is a neurosurgeon and brain cancer researcher. His research goal is to address the molecular basis of brain tumors and develop new treatment approaches. His research focuses on developing mouse models of brain cancer that mimic how the disease behaves in patients. He has vast experience in conducting clinical trials in glioma patients and developing imaging strategies to follow mouse brain tumors as they develop.
Breast Cancer
The breast cancer program is a highly interdisciplinary group of investigators dedicated to reducing the incidence and subsequent mortality of breast cancer. The program fosters interdisciplinary research in basic science, genetics, clinical medicine, cancer prevention, and epidemiology between faculty at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, the University of Washington, and the clinical community to improve breast cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Patients are seen by some of the world’s leading and most experienced breast cancer surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, breast radiologists and pathologists. They are a model for the delivery of integrated diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer. In addition to the therapeutic trials conducted in the Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium, patients can expect the most advanced evidence-based imaging for screening, detection and disease monitoring. The breast imaging group is considered one of the strongest in the country.
In the breast cancer research program, there is considerable focus on the development of innovative new therapies for breast cancer including tumor vaccines and adoptive cell-based immunotherapy. Exciting new clinical studies are testing tumor vaccines for HER2 in breast cancer patients and T-cell adoptive therapy against specific targets on breast cancer cells. Fred Hutchinson scientists have identified two promising targets for breast and the process of engineering T-cells to target these markers is underway.
Population scientists at Fred Hutch have long been leaders in research on the etiology and prevention of breast cancer. Over the past 30 years, scientists have conducted seminal studies of risk factors for breast cancer overall and in specific populations. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) first reported on the increased risk of breast cancer associated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in 2002. This report changed clinical practice sharply reduced the number of women taking combined HRT, and resulted in a decline in breast cancer rates. Fred Hutchinson continues to gain funding to follow the over 100,000 women still providing health information to the study. These studies are expected to give new information about prevention of breast and other cancers.
Dr. Cyrus Ghajar
STTR Breast Cancers Deputy Director
Dr. Ghajar's laboratory studies metastatic microenvironments. The goal of his research is to understand how microenvironments within distant tissues like bone marrow and brain regulate key hallmarks of dormant, disseminated breast tumor cells (DTCs). These hallmarks include long-term survival, reversible growth arrest, therapeutic resistance and immune evasion. The overarching idea behind their work is that understanding the basis of these hallmarks will allow for development of therapies that eradicate dormant DTCs before they develop into metastases, therefore substantially enhancing breast cancer patient survival.
Learn More at the Ghajar Lab
Colorectal Cancer
The colorectal team is composed of laboratory and population scientists working closely with clinicians to provide the most targeted therapies and prognostics tools available.
This is a highly interdisciplinary team of experts at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and UW Medicine which have identified key factors that affect a person’s colorectal risk. We are investigating tests that could dramatically improve colorectal cancer screening and are leading the first study to determine the factors that determine outcome after a colorectal cancer diagnosis.
We have a diverse team for the management of colorectal cancer patients. Studies have shown that the first treatment you receive for cancer is by far the most important. On average, colon cancer patients who begin their treatment with us have better survival rates than those who started treatment elsewhere. The GI Cancer Prevention Program Clinic is the only clinic in Northwest offering comprehensive care for hereditary GI cancer syndromes.
The colorectal research team is made up of investigators and clinicians who are dedicated to better understanding the causes and risks for colorectal cancer. Research in basic science, genetics, clinical medicine, cancer prevention, and epidemiology at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and the University of Washington has resulted in treatment options that include surgery, chemotherapy and targeted therapies.
Our researchers lead in the development of cutting edge biomarkers for early detection and risk prediction for colorectal cancer. Population based scientists at Fred Hutch have developed research programs funded by the National Institutes of Health to identify novel prognostic factors for colorectal cancer.
Dr. William Grady
STTR Colorectal Cancer Deputy Director
Dr. Grady’s clinical focus is on the management of gastrointestinal cancer familial syndromes, colon cancer prevention, and Barrett’s Esophagus. His research focuses on the molecular and cell biology of gastrointestinal cancer, genetic and epigenetic alterations in cancer, cancer biomarkers and hereditary cancer syndromes.
Learn More at the Grady Lab
Head and Neck Cancer
Our program is one of only a handful nation-wide, with a robust translational and clinical research program. It has a strong track record of funding over the past 12 years. We have nationally-recognized practices in Robotics, Surgical Oncology/Reconstruction and Radiotherapy for Salivary Gland and Merkel Cell Cancer Programs.
The head and neck multidisciplinary cancer care team ranks as one of the top in the nation. The team includes head and neck surgeons, reconstructive surgeons, dental surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, and neuro-radiologists. Our clinicians offer patients the broadest menu of therapy options locally and regionally and the only team in the region offering the newest technique of transoral robotic-assisted surgery. Our clinical and basic science researchers at UW Medicine and Fred Hutch Cancer Center are identifying new ways to screen, diagnose and treat head and neck cancers.
This multidisciplinary research program has placed significant emphasis on the field of genomics, which has enormous potential in unlocking the root causes of head and neck cancer and allowing us translate these findings to clinical care. Toward this goal, we have become national leaders in discovering molecular fingerprints that can help physicians determine which cancers are more aggressive than others to help guide oncologists stratify therapies. Over this period of time, we have written numerous publications demonstrating the proof-of-principle that head and neck cancer can be sub classified on the basis of gene aberrations and that these can inform patient survival.
We have now refined this tumor gene signature, the expression of which can predict the most aggressive head and neck cancers with significantly higher accuracy than current clinical parameters alone. We are now translating these findings for clinical use. These clinical applications include the following two highlighted areas:
1) “genomics”: where biomarkers are used to help clinicians predict which tumors are most aggressive on the basis of genetic aberrations
2) “functional genomics”: where genes can be individually “turned off” (or “knocked down” – these terms are interchangeably used) with the use of a naturally occurring molecule termed “siRNA”. Since their discovery, these siRNA’s are now available for each individual gene in the entire human genome. Our NIH-funded functional genomic studies allow us to determine which genetic aberrations drive tumor growth, which could be targeted as new therapies. We are discovering novel targets to treat head and neck cancers, and matching these targets to the tumor subtypes which will respond best to drugs against these targets.
Dr. Slobodan Beronja
STTR Head and Neck Cancer Deputy Director
Dr. Beronja's research focuses on squamous cell carcinoma, which is a type of head and neck cancer originating in the oral and nasal cavities and the throat. Because squamous cells form a vital barrier with the outside world, they are subject to a high level of stress and need to replenish lost and damaged cells. Dr. Beronja studies how cancer hijacks this natural process as well as the mechanisms that normal tissues employ to prevent cancer.
Learn more at the Beronja Lab
Leukemia
The Leukemia Program is a highly interdisciplinary group of investigators dedicated to reducing the incidence and subsequent mortality of leukemia. The program fosters interdisciplinary research in basic science, genetics, clinical medicine, cancer prevention, and epidemiology at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, the faculty at the University of Washington, and the clinical community to improve leukemia prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Program Strengths
Forty years ago, researchers at Fred Hutch developed bone marrow transplantation, which continues to be one of the most effective options for patients with leukemia. Dr. E. Donnall Thomas and his team proved it is possible to replace cancerous cells and stem cells with donated healthy cells that engraft within a patient’s bone marrow. The discovery has created an effective treatment option for leukemia and other blood cancers, and earned Thomas the 1990 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
Driving Innovation through Clinical Trials
Today, our researchers continue to perform ground breaking work that is revolutionizing the field of hematologic malignancies. Our clinicians and research teams bring the newest cutting-edge therapies to our leukemia patients through access to clinical trials. Our studies are using translational genetics to help predict resistance and response to treatment, and clinicians are studying new strategies to combine therapies to extend survival and improve quality of life for patients.
Immunotherapy
The foundational success of bone marrow transplant has set the stage for other methods that use a patient’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. This field, called immunotherapy, is transforming the cancer field and achieving remarkable results. For more about immunotherapy, watch this video by Fred Hutch researcher Dr. Stan Riddell.
Dr. Jerry Radich
STTR Leukemia Deputy Director
Dr. Radich is a medical oncologist who specializes in molecular genetics of leukemia and the detection of minimal residual disease. Dr. Radich studies the molecular genetics of response, progression, and relapse in human leukemia. His research topics include the detection of minimal residual disease, dissecting the role of signal transduction abnormalities in leukemia, and constructing gene expression profiles of response and progression.
Learn More at the Radich Lab
Liver Cancer
The liver cancer program is a highly interdisciplinary group of investigators dedicated to reducing the incidence and mortality of liver cancer. The program fosters interdisciplinary research in basic science, genetics, clinical medicine, and cancer prevention between faculty at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, University of Washington, and the clinical community to improve liver cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Program Strengths
Patients are seen at the Liver Tumor Clinic at University of Washington Medical Center, the first clinic of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. The team is composed of highly specialized liver cancer surgeons, medical and radiation oncologist, interventional and diagnostic radiologist, pathologist, as well as hepatologist. This integrative collection of experts lends itself to the delivery of the most optimal diagnostic and treatment plans for patients. At the clinic, where nearly 600 visits are made annually, patients can expect an array of treatments: minimally invasive procedures, liver transplants, and a living-related donor program in addition to the therapeutic trials conducted in the Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium. The liver transplant group is considered one of the strongest in the nation.
Center for Advanced Minimally Invasive Liver Oncologic Therapy (CAMILOT)
At the forefront of minimally invasive therapies, the Liver Tumor clinic recently launched the Center for Advanced Minimally Invasive Liver Oncologic Therapy (CAMILOT) at University of Washington Medical Center. CAMILOT is a first-of-its-kind organization in the region dedicated to treating patients with liver cancers using the most advanced and least invasive approaches. The Center brings together experts across multiple disciplines to develop, refine and deliver treatments to eradicate liver cancers while preserving liver function and patients’ overall health. The principal objective is to effectively treat primary and secondary liver cancers using minimally invasive cutting-edge techniques, to accelerate patients’ recovery and to enhance their longevity and well-being. Traditional therapies often required protracted in-hospital recovery; the center strives to reduce the hospital stay, often delivering therapies as outpatient procedures. Over the past year, more than 320 treatments were performed using minimally invasive procedures.
In the liver cancer research program, there is considerable focus on growing collaborations, developing new models to test novel treatments and biomarkers, and understanding the pathogenesis for liver cancer. Innovative new models, including tissue slice cultures and other “living” models, provide insight that leads to investigator-initiated clinical trials and improved care for liver cancer patients.
Dr. Raymond Yeung
STTR Liver Deputy Director
Dr. Yeung is a board-certified surgeon and founder of the UW Medicine Liver Tumor Clinic. His research focuses on the genetic mechanisms of tumorigenesis with emphasis on tumor suppressor genes and hereditary cancers. Dr. Yeung’s work exploits a unique animal model of hereditary cancer to study the multi-step process of tumor development. Current projects in the Yeung lab address the mechanisms of liver cancer, focusing on an insulin pathway, insulin-AKT-mTORC1, which yields implications for human non-alcoholic liver disease and tumors. As clinical biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are very limited, Dr. Yeung also conducts studies to identify and validate serum metabolic markers that could potentially help detect various etiologies of HCC.
Learn More at the Yeung Lab
Lung Cancer
The lung cancer program is a highly interdisciplinary group of investigators dedicated to reducing the incidence and subsequent mortality of lung cancer. Our program, the larger, most experienced of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, fosters interdisciplinary research in basic science, genetics, clinical medicine, cancer prevention, and epidemiology between faculty at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, the University of Washington, and the clinical community to improve lung cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Our researchers are combining laboratory and clinical studies focused on improving lung cancer survival. Pulmonologists, chest radiologists, medical oncologists, thoracic surgeons, and radiation oncologists offer comprehensive services for both diagnosis and treatment, and offers access to numerous clinical trials for novel lung cancer therapeutics.
The Lung Cancer Early Detection Clinic offers state-of-the-art diagnostic services including SuperDimension CT and Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) for optimal work-up of pulmonary nodules. UW Medical is one of only 30 centers in the country offering a minimally invasive technique known as video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) to remove early-stage lung cancer.
Research
Our highly–experienced lung cancer translational research team is composed of laboratory and population scientists who work closely with clinicians and surgeons to provide the latest in diagnostic tools, targeted therapies and surgical techniques available.
Fred Hutch researchers are leading a team that discovered proteins in the blood associated with early lung cancer development and continue their efforts to discover early indicators for lung cancer in nonsmokers. Our team utilizes an extensive bank of lung cancer specimens used for translational research projects and development of personalized therapies.
Dr. A. McGarry Houghton
STTR Lung Cancer Deputy Director
Dr. Houghton is a pulmonologist specializing in critical care, pulmonary complications of malignant disease, and lung cancer. He has conducted research on lung cancer, COPD/emphysema, acute lung injury, pulmonary infections, and pulmonary fibrosis. His group is investigating the role of innate immune cells within the tumor microenvironment, beginning with how they have been recruited, and followed by understanding of the mechanism by which a specific immune cell effector has impacted lung tumor growth.
Learn More at the Houghton Lab
Lymphoma
The Lymphoma program is a highly interdisciplinary group of investigators dedicated to reducing the incidence and subsequent mortality of lymphoma. The program fosters interdisciplinary research in basic science, genetics, clinical medicine, cancer prevention, and epidemiology at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, the faculty at the University of Washington, and the clinical community to improve lymphoma prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Program Strengths
Forty years ago, researchers at Fred Hutch developed bone marrow transplantation, which continues to be one of the most effective options for patients with lymphoma. Dr. E. Donnall Thomas and his team proved it is possible to replace cancerous cells and stem cells with donated healthy cells that engraft within a patient’s bone marrow. The discovery has created an effective treatment option for lymphoma and other blood cancers, and earned Thomas the 1990 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
Driving Innovation through Clinical Trials
Today, our researchers continue to perform ground breaking work that is revolutionizing the field of hematologic malignancies. Our clinicians and research teams bring the newest cutting edge therapies to our lymphoma patients through access to clinical trials. Many of the most promising drugs for lymphoma recently approved by the FDA came out of trials lead through our own program at the University of Washington. Our patients get the newest and most effective treatments first.
Immunotherapy
The foundational success of bone marrow transplant has set the stage for other methods that use a patient’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. This field, called immunotherapy, is transforming the cancer field and achieving remarkable results. For more about immunotherapy, watch the video by Fred Hutch researcher Dr. Stan Riddell.
Our researchers are innovating new methods to improve survival for lymphoma patients. For example, new studies are focusing on immunotherapy techniques such as T-cell therapy, antibody based therapies, and pre-targeted radio immunotherapy for lymphoma.
Dr. Ajay Gopal
STTR Lymphoma Deputy Director
Dr. Gopal is a medical oncologist with a primary interest in developing novel targeted therapies for lymphomas with particular emphasis on radioimmunotherapy-based transplant conditioning regimens, low toxicity Proapoptotic agents for indolent lymphomas, and safe curative regimens for older adults with lymphoma.
Learn more about Dr. Gopal's clinical practice
MDS/MPN
The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) Program is a highly interdisciplinary group of investigators dedicated to reducing the incidence and subsequent mortality of MDS/MPN. The program fosters interdisciplinary research in basic science, genetics, clinical medicine, cancer prevention, and epidemiology at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, the faculty at the University of Washington, and the clinical community to improve MDS/MPN prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Program Strengths
Forty years ago, researchers at Fred Hutch developed bone marrow transplantation, which continues to be an effective option for patients with MDS and MPN. Dr. E. Donnall Thomas and his team proved it is possible to replace cancerous cells and stem cells with donated healthy cells that engraft within a patient’s bone marrow. The discovery has created an effective treatment option for many blood cancers, and earned Thomas the 1990 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
Personalized Care
Our clinicians are experts in the management of MDS/MPN. Our researchers are working to better understand what makes the cells in the bone marrow develop into disease. Our experts know the limitations of current treatment options and are able to maximize health outcomes while managing treatment side effects. Treatments such as targeted radiotherapy offer great promise for patients to selectively provide high doses of radiation to diseased cells while sparing healthy cells.
Driving Innovation through Clinical Trials
Today, our researchers continue to perform ground breaking work that is revolutionizing the field of hematologic malignancies. Our clinicians and research teams bring the newest cutting edge therapies to our MDS/MPN patients through access to clinical trials. Our researchers are innovating new therapies for patients including drugs not yet commercially available, which may be less toxic and improve survival.
Immunotherapy
The foundational success of bone marrow transplant has set the stage for other methods that use a patient’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. This field, called immunotherapy, is transforming the cancer field and achieving remarkable results.
For more about immunotherapy, watch the video by Fred Hutch researcher Dr. Stan Riddell.
Our MDS/MPN program offers the unique capacity to conduct truly translational research. Our team is focused on bringing the most innovative therapies to our patients and we offer specialized treatments in immunotherapy.
Dr. Stanley Lee
STTR MDS/MPN Deputy Director
Dr. Lee studies the molecular basis of blood cell development and how its dysregulation can lead to hematologic malignancies such as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). His research focuses on defining how disease-causing mutations impact the biology of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and how they drive disease progression and response to therapy. The ultimate goal of Dr. Lee’s research is to translate this knowledge into novel treatments for patients with blood-related disorders including leukemia.
Myeloma
The myeloma program is a highly interdisciplinary group of investigators dedicated to reducing the incidence and subsequent mortality of myeloma. The program fosters interdisciplinary research in basic science, genetics, clinical medicine, cancer prevention, and epidemiology at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, the faculty at the University of Washington, and the clinical community to improve myeloma prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Program Strengths
Forty years ago, researchers at Fred Hutch developed bone marrow transplantation, which continues to be one of the most effective options for patients with myeloma. Dr. E. Donnall Thomas and his team proved it is possible to replace cancerous cells and stem cells with donated healthy cells that engraft within a patient’s bone marrow. The discovery has created an effective treatment option for myeloma and other blood cancers, and earned Thomas the 1990 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
Personalized Care
Our team is a global leader in myeloma and performs more transplants than any other center in the Pacific Northwest. Our clinicians see a high volume of myeloma patients, and as a result are experts in the management of disease. Our clinicians know the limitations of current treatment options and are able to maximize health outcomes while managing treatment.
Immunotherapy
The foundational success of bone marrow transplant has set the stage for other methods that use a patient’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. This field, called immunotherapy, is transforming the cancer field and achieving remarkable results.
For more about immunotherapy, watch the video by Fred Hutch researcher Dr. Stan Riddell.
Ovarian Cancer
A coordinated multidisciplinary team of cancer experts cares for our patients across our UW Medicine facilities. Our physicians and scientists are recognized nationally for both their collaboration and expertise in ovarian cancer by the National Institutes of Health via their Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) award to our institution. Team physicians and scientists work together to attack the fundamental mechanisms of ovarian cancer and design novel personalized therapies.
We have a multidisciplinary team approach to the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer that includes, state-of-the-art surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, nutrition, social work, physical therapy, psychiatry, nursing, and translational science that promote the best chances of cure and the highest possible quality of life. The genetic program in ovarian cancer is world renown here and focuses on prevention and using that genetic information to design novel and targeted treatments.
Our physicians lead multiple clinical trials for gynecologic cancer, including phase I, II, and III along with trials in prevention and survivorship. This allows patients to have access to some of the most cutting edge treatments and to participate in advancing our knowledge of how to best prevent and treat gynecologic cancers.
We have one of the most active cancer immunology and tumor vaccine groups in the country and are actively researching and developing therapies that use a patient’s own immune system to help fight off cancers.
Dr. Elizabeth Swisher
STTR Ovarian Cancer Deputy Director
Dr. Swisher is a UW associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and an adjunct associate professor of medical genetics. She is the medical director of the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Program. Dr. Swisher's clinical interests include gynecologic cancer, cancer prevention, cancer genetics, novel therapeutics and minimal invasive surgery. She has a research and clinical focus on the genetics and prevention of gynecologic cancers.
Pancreatic Cancer
Our patients with pancreatic cancer are cared for in a multidisciplinary clinic to coordinate, simplify and combine multiple appointments. Our collaborative team coordinates patient care creating personalized therapy plans.
Experts at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and UW Medicine have identified new ways to prevent, detect early, diagnose and treat pancreatic cancer. Researchers discovered genetic mutations that define targets for screening, early diagnosis and new treatment strategies that include enzyme/chemotherapy combinations and immunotherapy.
We have integrated a multi-dimensional program across UW Medicine and Fred Hutch Cancer Center for translation with its own administrative structure – the Center for Accelerated Translation in Pancreas Cancer (CATPAC). The components of CATPAC include population sciences, high-risk disease, preclinical and clinical trials.
A focal point of CATPAC is the Pancreas Cancer Specialty Clinic (PCSC), a real-time multi-disciplinary clinic in which patients receive a same-day comprehensive evaluation and care plan from a team of specialists including surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, gastroenterology, body imaging (radiology), pathology, nursing, symptom management and palliative care, pharmacy, nutrition, social work, and staff focused on spiritual needs.
We have developed genetically accurate models of cancer that mimic the human disease. These models have been used to develop and test novel therapeutic strategies with pancreas cancer. Some of these drugs are in clinical trials available here.
Dr. Sita Kugel
STTR Pancreas Cancer Co-Deputy Director
Dr. Sita Kugel studies pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive and deadly types of cancer. She works to understand the molecular changes that underpin different subtypes of pancreatic cancer and how these could be exploited to develop new targeted therapies. Dr. Kugel focuses on changes to DNA that affect how genes are turned on and off without altering the DNA sequence itself. She has developed several preclinical models of pancreatic cancer to test the consequences of these changes and potential therapies.
Learn More at the Kugel Lab
Dr. E. Gabriela Chiorean
STTR Pancreas Cancer Co-Deputy Director
Dr. Gabriela Chiorean strives to improve care for patients with gastrointestinal and pancreatic cancers. She leads early-stage clinical trials of new therapies for these cancers, including new chemotherapies, immunotherapies and targeted drugs. She also aims to identify biomarkers of cancer, such as molecules in the blood, that could be developed into a minimally invasive test for the early detection of cancers or precancers.
Prostate Cancer
Our prostate program is an NIH-recognized and funded consortium of cohesive investigators and clinicians. We see patients at UW Medicine and offer cancer screenings, personalized treatment strategies and cutting-edge clinical trials.
We are unique in the Pacific Northwest in having deep clinical and translational sciences expertise in the prevention, detection, and treatment of early and late-stage prostate cancer. The team is composed of multiple medical oncologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists and surgeons that specialize only in prostate cancer treatment. These clinician-scientists set national guidelines and promote the early testing of the newest treatments.
Risk Assessment and Prostate Cancer Prevention: We have made major advances in the identification of genomic loci that contribute to the risk of developing aggressive (versus indolent) prostate cancer and in understanding the environmental factors (diet, metabolism, exposures) that contribute to developing aggressive disease.
Development of Prostate Cancer Models and Resources for Drug Discovery: We have established the world’s largest series of prostate cancer avatars (xenografts) that reflect the in vivo biology of advanced prostate cancer. These are widely used internally and by collaborating academic and industry partners for evaluating the effectiveness of new therapeutics. We have also established the longest-running rapid autopsy program for collecting biospecimens of advanced prostate cancer and continue to share these with hundreds of investigators around the world.
STTR prostate cancer researchers are brought together by several interdisciplinary teams to find better ways to prevent, detect and cure this disease.
Institute for Prostate Cancer Research: A collaborative effort of Fred Hutch Cancer Center and UW Medicine whose mission is to understand the causes of prostate cancer and its progression, develop new prevention strategies, devise innovative diagnostics and improve survival and quality of life.
Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPORE: A collaboration lead by Fred Hutch in partnership with the University of Washington, the University of British Columbia and its affiliate, the Vancouver Prostate Centre, and the Oregon Health and Science University Knight Cancer Institute, the SPORE focuses diverse teams towards the goal of reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with prostate cancer.
SU2C Dream Team Project: The “Precision Therapy for Advanced Prostate Cancer” Dream Team consists of a multi-disciplinary group of experts that includes laboratory and clinical researchers, young investigators and senior scientists who have not worked together in the past, as well as patient advocates.
The Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS): This study involves partnership from 10 sites around the country to identify and validate biomarkers that predict aggressive prostate cancer. PASS is funded by The Canary Foundation and coordinated by the National Cancer Institute’s Early Detection Research Network (EDRN).
Dr. Peter Nelson
STTR Prostate Cancer Deputy Director
Dr. Nelson is an oncologist specializing in therapies for early- and late-stage prostate cancer, pathology, and genome sciences. The focus of current work in the Nelson lab involves efforts to uncover how prostate cancer forms. The goal is to create tools to diagnose the onset of prostate cancer, develop prognostic strategies, and help develop more effective therapies for treating this disease.
Learn More at the Nelson Lab
Rare Cancers
By definition, a rare cancer affects fewer than 40,000 people each year in the United States. As a group, though, these cancers make up more than 20% of all globally diagnosed cancer cases. This wide-ranging impact touches millions of individuals, exceeding the prevalence of any single cancer.
The Rare Cancers Program aims to advance care through new transformative approaches that center community engagement, innovative research, and strategic clinical collaborations. With complexities associated with the rarity of these cancers, research efforts, and limited resources rely heavily on fostering partnerships and developing strategies.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
UW Medicine
Seattle Children's
TRACER - Rare Cancer Program
Dr. Taran Gujral
STTR Rare Cancers Deputy Director
Dr. Taran Gujral is a systems biologist who specializes in rare cancers. His multidisciplinary approach to studies of cell-cell interactions investigates both tumor cells and their microenvironment — the noncancerous cells that surround them. Dr. Gujral is developing methods to preserve the 3D structure of a tumor in the lab so that he can examine how tumor architecture affects cancer cell behavior. Dr. Gujral also works to develop better ways to screen potential cancer drugs.
Learn More at the Gujral Lab
Skin/ Cutaneous Oncology
The skin/cutaneous oncology research program is a highly interdisciplinary group of investigators dedicated to reducing the incidence and mortality from all types of skin cancers. The program fosters interdisciplinary research in basic science, genetics, clinical medicine, cancer prevention, and epidemiology. Our team is comprised of faculty from Fred Hutch Cancer Center, University of Washington, Benaroya Research Institute, and the clinical community to improve skin cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Program Strengths
Clinicians at the Multidisciplinary Skin Oncology Clinic embrace a holistic approach to patient care. Knowledgeable on a spectrum of skin cancers, our team enables improved health outcomes. Treatments include cryosurgery, laser therapy, curettage, electrodessication, Mohs surgery, radiation therapy and topical chemotherapy. With the most advanced and innovative therapies offered at the SCCA to treat a spectrum of skin cancers, the Skin Oncology Clinic is among the top leaders in cancer care.
Immunotherapy
In our comprehensive skin cancer research program, investigators are harnessing the power of the immune system to kill cancerous cells, or immunotherapy, as a promising treatment for melanoma.
Melanoma: A team led of Fred Hutch researchers reported that a patients' own tumor-fighting cells wiped out his melanoma without chemotherapy or radiation treatment. If the technique—known as adoptive T-cell therapy—shows promise in a larger set of patients, this therapy could be used for 25 percent of all late-stage melanoma patients. Learn More
Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Drs. Denise Galloway and Paul Nghiem developed a blood test to detect the presence of the Merkel cell polyomavirus, the virus that can cause an aggressive form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Galloway and Nghiem determined the virus is extremely common in the general population, but only becomes MCC in a minority of people. Subsequent research identified polyomavirus protein fragments that can be recognized by the body’s T cells. Theses disease-fighting T cells can be used to kill MCC cells containing the protein fragment. Learn More
Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Currently, our doctors are using an immune-response modifier (imiquimod) to treat early basal cell carcinoma and a topical medicine for squamous cell carcinoma precursors as well as thin, squamous cell carcinomas. Learn More
Dr. Paul Nghiem
STTR Skin/Cutaneous Oncology Deputy Director
Dr. Paul Nghiem is a dermatologist who directs a research lab concentrated on basic, clinical, and translational research on Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and skin cancer more broadly. In about 80% of cases, MCC is caused by the Merkel cell polyomavirus, while in the remaining 20% of cases it is caused by damage from UV light (sunlight). His lab is involved in diverse studies on this increasingly common and often lethal skin cancer to determine its basic genetic underpinnings as well as its clinical course and optimal management. He leads UW Dermatology, and his clinical and research interests include Merkel cell carcinoma, melanoma, and complex skin cancer management in a multidisciplinary team.