Cancer Frontiers (Audio)

Aging is the leading risk factor for cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and heart disease, and Robert A.J. Signer, Ph. D., studies how aging stem cells shape pre-cancer and healthspan. As deputy director of the Sanford Stem Cell Discovery Center, Signer focuses on rare blood-forming stem cells that self-renew, generate all blood and immune cells, and normally sustain more than 35 trillion blood cells,...

Join Chancellor May as he meets a couple of UC Davis researchers and the people who have been impacted by their positive work on the UC Davis Health campus. Joseph Tuscano, M.D., oncologist at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, receives federal funding to look for less toxic therapies for treating cancer such as immunotherapy. And Christine Nordahl, director of the Autism Phenome Project at...

Urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction are common side effects of prostate cancer treatment, but both are manageable. Dr. Lindsay Hampson explains the types of incontinence—stress, urge, mixed, and overflow—and how identifying the cause guides treatment. Management strategies include pelvic floor physical therapy, medications, and surgical options like slings or artificial urinary sphincters....

Dr. Rahul Aggarwal presents emerging treatments for advanced prostate cancer, highlighting rapid advances in drug development. He outlines therapies targeting cancer cell surface proteins beyond PSMA, including CD46, B7-H3, and DLL3, and explains how antibody-drug conjugates deliver potent chemotherapy directly to tumors. He also discusses bispecific T-cell engagers designed to trigger immune atta...

Scott A. Armstrong, M.D., Ph. D., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, studies how certain aggressive forms of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) develop and survive. His work centers on a protein called menin, which helps leukemia cells keep cancer-promoting genes switched on. Armstrong’s team has found that blocking menin with specially designed drugs can shut down these gene programs, push leukemia c...

Dr. Lindsay Hampson discusses urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction following prostate cancer treatment, emphasizing that both are common and treatable. She explains the different types of incontinence—stress, urge, mixed, and overflow—and outlines how understanding the cause helps guide treatment. Options include pelvic floor physical therapy, medications, surgical interventions like slings...

Radiologist Dr. Julian Hong plains how stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is used to treat oligometastatic prostate cancer—cases where cancer has spread but only to a few limited sites. This approach targets small clusters of metastases with high-dose, image-guided radiation in five or fewer sessions. Hong reviews clinical trial evidence showing that adding focal radiation can improve outc...

Experts present new tools for managing PSA-recurrent prostate cancer. Dr. Steven Seyedin describes how PET/CT imaging enhances detection by reducing false positives and improving staging accuracy. Dr. Thomas Hope highlights PSMA PET imaging, now the standard approach, which identifies cancer more precisely by targeting tumor-specific proteins. Dr. Julian Hong discusses stereotactic body radiation...

Kimberly Peters, a stage four uterine cancer patient at UC San Diego Health, urges government leaders not to cut science funding. She warns that reduced federal support risks delaying vital research and life-saving cures. [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41071]

Experts from UCSF outline the latest treatments and research for advanced prostate cancer, highlighting improved outcomes and promising therapies. Dr. Kelly Fitzgerald reviews intensified androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and the evolving role of imaging, triplet therapy, and local treatments. Dr. Ivan de Kouchkovsky shares how radioligand therapies like Lutetium-177 PSMA target cancer with preci...

Urologic oncologist Dr. Peter Carroll presents the latest research on active surveillance as a preferred approach for managing low-risk prostate cancer and selected cases of intermediate-risk disease. Drawing from two decades of UCSF data, he explains how long-term outcomes support the safety and effectiveness of delaying treatment for carefully monitored patients. Carroll emphasizes that surveill...

Hear about cutting-edge advances in regenerative medicine, from lab breakthroughs to patient impact. Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, introduces efforts at the Sanford Stem Cell Institute to develop therapies that enhance the body’s ability to heal itself. Dan Kaufman, MD, PhD, shares progress in cancer immunotherapy using engineered natural killer cells derived from pluripotent stem cells. Karen Chris...

UCSF experts present four major approaches to managing prostate cancer, each tailored to disease risk and patient needs. Dr. Peter Carroll explains how active surveillance uses MRI, PSA, and genomic testing to safely delay treatment in low-risk cases while preserving quality of life. Dr. Samuel Washington details prostatectomy, highlighting robotic-assisted surgery’s precision and its impact on re...

Prostate cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer and second leading cause of cancer death among men in the U.S., with evolving screening and treatment practices reshaping care in 2025. Dr. Cornelia Ding explains how to read and understand a prostate cancer pathology report by breaking down its five key sections. Dr. Rahul Aggarwal explores how clinical trials improve prostate cancer care...

Amanda Lewis, Ph. D. investigates how glycan-degrading enzymes contribute to bacterial vaginosis (BV), a common condition linked to infertility, preterm birth, pelvic inflammatory disease, and increased cancer risk. Her research shows that BV-associated bacteria strip protective sugar coatings—glycans—from vaginal epithelial cells, disrupting normal function and increasing vulnerability to infecti...

Immunotherapy expert Dr. David Oh explains how the immune system can be trained to recognize and fight prostate cancer. He outlines key immune players—dendritic cells and T cells—and describes how immunotherapies target different stages of their interaction with tumors. Oh highlights FDA-approved treatments such as Provenge, a vaccine made from a patient’s own cells, and PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors...

Radiation oncologist Dr. Julian Hong explains how radiation therapy works and its central role in treating prostate cancer, both when the disease is localized and when it has spread to limited areas. He outlines major radiation options, including external beam radiation, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), and brachytherapy, and describes how treatment plans are carefully tailored using im...

Dr. Ivan de Kouchkovsky explains how radioligand therapy delivers targeted radiation to prostate cancer cells using a radioactive isotope attached to a molecule that binds to PSMA, a protein commonly expressed in these tumors. He reviews key clinical trials showing how the therapy improves survival and quality of life for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, both after and bef...

UCSF researchers June Chan and Stacey Kenfield share evidence-based strategies for improving prostate cancer outcomes through exercise and diet. They highlight studies showing that physical activity—including resistance and high-intensity interval training—is linked to lower risk of prostate cancer progression and death. They discuss plant-based diets, dietary indices, and specific foods like toma...

Dr. Michael Rabow, a palliative care physician, explores the wide-ranging side effects of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer and emphasizes strategies to reduce harm while improving quality of life. He outlines cardiovascular, hormonal, and emotional risks—including heart disease, osteoporosis, depression, and loss of vitality—and explains how early assessment and monitoring ca...

Prostate cancer and its treatments can significantly impact bone health, increasing the risk of fractures and weakening the immune system. Dr. Terence Friedlander explains how hormone therapy, radiation, and chemotherapy contribute to bone loss and highlights the importance of regular monitoring. He reviews the role of bone-building cells and the effects of osteopenia and osteoporosis, conditions...

Dr. Steven Seyedin presents an overview of PSA recurrence and risk factors for assessment. A PSA test is a blood test used to detect prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in the blood, which can be elevated in cases of prostate cancer and is a common screening tool. He explains how PET, CT, and MRI work, highlighting the precision of PSA PET in detecting cancer spread by targeting PSA proteins on...

Dr. Kelly Fitzgerald explains current standards of care for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, focusing on treatment strategies shaped by both clinical trial data and emerging imaging technologies. She defines key terms such as poly- and oligometastatic disease and outlines how newer imaging methods like PSMA PET scans are reshaping diagnosis. She describes the shift from traditional an...

UCSF’s Dr. Cornelia Ding demystifies the prostate cancer pathology report and explains how to read and understand it. The report contains five key sections: patient information, diagnosis and comments, gross description, and any addendums or amendments. It serves multiple purposes—as a medical, legal, and clinical communication tool—and often contains technical language not written for patients. D...

Dr. Samuel Washington presents an in-depth overview of prostatectomy, a surgical option for treating prostate cancer confined to the prostate gland. He explains how robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery allows for precise removal of the prostate and seminal vesicles while minimizing recovery time and hospital stay. Washington discusses the importance of imaging, biopsy results, and patient risk le...