Anna Megdell

Science writer and editor

Megdell joined the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center communications team in 2022. Prior to that she served as the natural sciences writer for the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Contact: [email protected]

Illustration of tumor formation inside a globe as researchers look on
Illuminate

The Answers in the Epigenome

Rogel Cancer Center researchers study how epigenetics regulates cancer-related genes, aiming to improve therapies, prevention strategies, and patient outcomes.
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Health Lab

Leukemia drug secures FDA approval

Komzifti (ziftomenib), developed at Michigan Medicine, has been approved for patients with acute myeloid leukemia caused by the NPM1 gene mutation.
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Health Lab

Additional testing can improve kidney cancer diagnosis

Michigan Medicine findings suggest further investigation of FISH-negative tests for renal cell carcinoma could lead to more accurate diagnosis.
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Health Lab

Researchers find a targeted approach to shut down prostate cancer growth

Study shows a novel compound that degrades key proteins found in prostate cancer cells blocks oncogenic androgen receptor signaling.
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Health Lab

Brain cancer patient finds a way forward

Sidney Ritchie’s aggressive brain cancer diagnosis has changed her life, and now, in her new reality, she finds meaning and purpose through connection, volunteering, and “showing up fully”
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Health Lab

Routine blood test leads to life saving osteosarcoma diagnosis

Mike Nagle’s osteosarcoma journey, before he even had symptoms, was nothing short of a miracle, he explains in this article.
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Health Lab

Study reveals mechanisms behind common mutation and prostate cancer

A study from the University of Michigan Rogel Health Cancer Center, published in Science, sheds light on how two distinct classes of mutations in the FOXA1 gene—commonly altered in prostate cancer—drive tumor initiation formation and therapeutic resistance.
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Health Lab

Re-purposed FDA-approved drug could help treat high-grade glioma

Avapritinib, an FDA-approved drug used to treat other types of cancer, also decreases aggressive gliomas in animal models and in an initial cohort of patients with high-grade glioma.
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Health Lab

A collaborative approach to pancreatic cancer

The Rogel and Blondy Center for Pancreatic Cancer is a center of excellence in pancreatic cancer research, combining pioneering research with innovative clinical care and an array of clinical trials. Center co-director Marina Pasca di Magliano explains that the key to a robust research program and responsive care lies in collaboration.
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Health Lab

Research finds possible therapies to target oncogenic transcription factors in multiple cancer types

A study from the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center furthers research that suggests the potential of developing new cancer treatments to target oncogenic transcription factors by indirectly affecting their ability to access enhancer DNA in chromatin.
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Health Lab

Drug-chemo combo increases cancer treatment efficacy

A study finds giving a fatty acid inhibitor alongside chemotherapy could improve the treatment efficacy for patients with brain metastases from triple negative breast cancer
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Health Lab

New drug candidate blocks resistance to cancer therapies

A team of researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center has designed a molecule that impairs signaling mediated by two key drivers of cancer therapy resistance.
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Health Lab

Researchers identify novel biomarker linked to renal cancer recurrence

Researchers from the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center have discovered a biomarker that could help identify which renal cancer patients have a higher risk of recurrence.
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Health Lab

Pediatric brain tumors rely on different metabolic “route” to fuel treatment resistance

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health Rogel Cancer Center are one step closer to understanding how pediatric DIPG tumors work.
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Health Lab

White blood cell “nets” could be early warning sign of major immunotherapy complication

When white blood cells, meant to protect the body from infection, are overly activated, they eject their DNA into nets, further disrupting the immune system and making patients more likely to develop a potentially severe reaction to immunotherapy.