Committed to Excellence in Cancer Research, Education and Patient Care
Inroads
December 2020
Progress in a Year of
Unprecedented Challenge
Normally at this time of year, my administrative team and I would be preparing to host our annual Community Appreciation event to recognize and say “thank you” to all those who support Tulane Cancer Center’s mission and vision throughout the year. We look forward to this annual opportunity to connect with you as we celebrate the accomplishments of a year that’s ending while looking forward to the promise of one about to begin. 
 
I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a year like no other, and while we can’t be together at an event as we normally would be, we would still like to reach out, thank you for your support and celebrate some of Tulane Cancer Center’s research milestones over the past few months – accomplishments made possible largely through the generosity of our supporters during a year of unprecedented challenge.
 
Since our founding in 1993, Tulane Cancer Center has developed from supporting a handful of investigators with cancer research grants to approximately 30 principal investigators with over 50 major grants, bringing in $17 million every year. We have grown and established an infrastructure and critical mass that now attracts the best and brightest in cancer research and treatment from around the world, making us a destination for focused productivity. Physician scientists and basic research investigators seek Tulane out because they WANT to come here, because they believe they can be successful here, and we couldn’t be prouder of that fact. 
 
I invite you to enjoy the below recap of just a few of our research successes over the past year. And while I share these stories with great pride regarding how far we've come since our founding, I know the road ahead is long and we have miles to go before we get to where we all want to be - cures for cancer.
 
Your continued support of our mission through an end-of-year tax-deductible donation to our Cancer Research Fund can help to greatly increase our momentum along the way. Your gift provides my leadership team and I with the discretionary resources to address our most pressing needs -- things not generally covered by grant funds. We can purchase a vital piece of core equipment that can be shared by all cancer investigators, assist a research team in completing an experiment pivotal to publishing in a high-impact scientific journal or landing a major grant, or help junior faculty members learn successful grant-writing techniques that will sustain them throughout their careers. All of these options, and more, allow us to leverage your gift into additional critical resources, maximizing its overall impact in the fight against cancer.
 
Please consider making your gift today. To donate via credit card, please visit our website—www.canceriscurable.com—and click on “Giving” in the navigation box on the right. Then click on "Tulane Cancer Center Research Fund" and follow the prompts.
 
Prefer to donate via check? Please make check payable to “Tulane Cancer Center,” reference “TCC Research Fund” in the memo line and send to Tulane Cancer Center, ATTN: K. Green, 1430 Tulane Ave., #8668, New Orleans, LA 70112.
 
Thank you for your support, and Happy New Year!

Director, Tulane Cancer Center
Clinical Trial to Test Effectiveness of Drug in Treating Cancer Patients with Severe COVID-19
Cancer patients are at higher risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19. Despite this fact, they are often excluded from participating in clinical research trials for experimental COVID-19 treatments.  Dr. Nakhle Saba, associate professor of clinical medicine, is principal investigator on a trial to treat severe COVID-19 in hospitalized
cancer patients. Learn more.
What can the common fruit fly teach us about cancer?
"Over the last few decades, the fruit fly - Drosophila melanogaster - has become a successful model for studying human cancers," said Wu-Min Deng, PhD, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. In fact, Deng says many cancer-related genes in humans are named after genes in flies, where they were first identified, and the model is helping to shed light on how tumors form, how they migrate, and how they behave. The Drosophila tumor pictured at right was induced by Dr. Deng's research team and helps to answer questions about cancer. Learn more.
Tulane Scientists Find a Switch to Flip and Turn off Breast Cancer Growth and Metastasis
Dr. Reza Izadpanah, assistant professor of medicine, and his team have identified a gene that causes an aggressive form of breast cancer to rapidly grow. More importantly, they have also discovered a way to “turn it off” and inhibit cancer from occurring. The animal study results have been so compelling that the team is now working on FDA approval to begin clinical trials and has published details in the journal Scientific Reports. Learn more.
Spike in US Colorectal Cancer Rates From Age 49 to 50
Suggests Many Cases Likely Undiagnosed Before Screenings
A year-by-year age analysis of colorectal cancer rates among U.S. adults found a 46% increase in new diagnoses from ages 49 to 50, indicating that many latent cases of the disease are likely going undiagnosed until routine screenings begin at 50. Dr. Jordan Karlitz, associate clinical professor of medicine and staff gastroenterologist at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, was lead author on the study that appeared in JAMA Network Open. Learn more.
Researchers Identify Marker That May Predict Whether Lung Cancer Likely to Spread
Researchers at Tulane University have identified a protein on tumor-derived extracellular vesicles that indicates if a non-small-cell lung tumor is likely to metastasize. The protein could be used as a biomarker to develop a rapid, minimally invasive test to catch these cancers early when they are more treatable, said study author Tony Hu, PhD, Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Biotechnology Innovation at Tulane University School of Medicine. Learn more.
Study Targeting Tumor Genetic Mutations Yields
‘Practice Changing’ Results
Prostate cancer therapies have shown significant advances during the past decade, with multiple new therapies being introduced for patients with advanced disease.  Now, the early results of a clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals for the first time that therapies based on tumor genetics – specifically DNA repair defects – may also show promise in treating some men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.  Oliver Sartor, MD, head of Tulane Cancer Center’s Prostate Cancer Research Program, co-authored the study. Learn more.
Tulane Cancer Center Welcomes New
Office of Clinical Research Director
Dr. Semiletova is a SOCRA-certified research manager with over 20 years of experience in basic and clinical research, as well as the design and business development of clinical and translational research programs.
Dr. Natalya Semiletova joined Tulane Cancer Center recently as the new director of the Office of Clinical Research. She also holds an appointment as research instructor in the School of Medicine.

A SOCRA-certified research manager with 20 years of experience in basic and clinical research techniques as well as the design and business development of clinical and translational research programs, Dr. Semiletova comes to Tulane from the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California, where she served as the manager of research and development for the past four years. 
 
Prior to that, she was senior director of study development at the Advanced Research Center in Anaheim, California (2016), a clinical research specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cancer Institute (2014-2016), and a clinical trials manager at the Institute of Urologic Oncology at UCLA (2012-2014).
 
She also served as an assistant professor in the Division of General Surgery at UCLA (2006-2011), where she not only coordinated clinical research endeavors but was also principal investigator on two funded basic research projects. The first involved an in vivo animal model of human cardiac transplantation that focused on the development of a new type of immunosuppressive therapy, and the second focused on in vivo and in vitro models to dissect the molecular and cellular mechanisms of solid organ transplant rejection and tolerance.
 
Prior to her UCLA professorship, Dr. Semiletova was an assistant researcher in the Dumont-Transplant Center there (2000-2006), where she wrote federal government contract proposals and successfully negotiated contract awards while also receiving the Young Investigator Award from the American Transplant Congress in both 2002 and 2004.
 
Dr. Semiletova received her Master of Science degree in biology and chemistry from Tomsk State University in Tomsk, Russia, in 1993, and her PhD in cell biophysics from Pushchino State University, Russian Academy of Science in 1997.
 
She is planning to use her diverse experience in the organization of clinical research programs in academic and community-based settings to expand the portfolio of clinical research projects at Tulane. She will also work with Dr. Prescott Deininger, director of the Tulane Cancer Center, to plan and develop research and translational grants with the goal of building a foundation for National Cancer Institute designation, and in parallel, she will be managing the Cancer Center's clinical research team.
 
For more information on Tulane Cancer Center’s clinical research trials, please contact the Office of Clinical Research at 504-988-6121.
Cancer Crusaders Raise $131K for
Cancer Research at Tulane/LSU
The Cancer Crusaders, a local nonprofit volunteer organization that raises funds for cancer research at Tulane and LSU, recently presented Dr. Prescott Deininger, director of the Tulane Cancer Center (left) and Augusto Ochoa, MD, director of LSU's Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center (right), with checks for $65,745.77 each, representing the results of the organization's fundraising efforts in 2019.

Cancer Crusaders was founded in 1976 and since then has raised more than $5 million to support the cancer research programs at the state's two leading medical research institutions.
"I am deeply thankful to the Cancer Crusaders for their vital support of our cancer research programs," said Deininger. "Against the backdrop of what’s become our “new normal” this past year, it was especially heartwarming to see that some things continue, like the energy, passion and kindness of the Cancer Crusaders. Although I am filled with pride and gratitude in accepting their kind check every year, this year’s challenges only served to multiply that pride and thankfulness even more."

For more information on the Cancer Crusaders and their many fundraising activities, please visit their website -- https://cancercrusadersla.com/ -- or their facebook page.