UT Southwestern Medical Center Kidney Cancer Program

10/10/2025

We’re proud to share a new Cancer Discovery (American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) ) paper from the Brugarolas Lab! Drs. Arijit Mal and Bingqing Xie, with the leadership of Dr. James Brugarolas, reveal a promising strategy to overcome calcium imbalance in kidney cancer — a finding that could help improve treatments for this challenging disease.
Read the paper here: https://bit.ly/MalCanDiscovHCM
Learn more about the discovery:
https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/articles/year-2025/oct-kidney-cancer-drug.html

Elevated calcium levels in the blood – a complication of kidney cancers known as hypercalcemia – may be successfully treated with a class of medications called HIF-2 inhibitors developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center, a new study shows. The findings, published in Cancer Discovery by a tea...

08/27/2025

This week we kicked off another lab meeting discussion to talk about teamwork. After a great discussion our team was able to find better solutions and strengthen our teamwork here at the KCP.

No better way to end our session by having a classic Ice Cream party to celebrate our staff as well for their participation and hard work! Thanks to everyone who joined us!

07/29/2025

Wishing Dr. Ivan Pedrosa the very best as he begins a new chapter at MD Anderson Cancer Center! Dr. Pedrosa is a Professor of Radiology at UTSW (UT Southwestern Radiology) and Vice Chair of Radiology Research at UT Southwestern. He holds the Jack Reynolds, M.D., Chair in Radiology and serves as Co-Leader of the Kidney Cancer Program.

His leadership and expertise have left a lasting mark on imaging science and kidney cancer research. This is a tremendous loss for us, but we’re proud to see him take on this exciting new opportunity. Congratulations to MD Anderson on an outstanding addition to their team!

07/28/2025

📣UT Southwestern has been ranked #1 globally among health care institutions in the biological sciences, according to the latest Nature Index (March 2024–Feb 2025).

The ranking reflects the strength and consistency of our research community, based on contributions to high-quality journals tracked by the Nature Index database.

🔗http://bit.ly/45l31mp

07/23/2025

We recently celebrated Dr. James Brugarolas’ induction into the Association of American Physicians — a prestigious honor recognizing his leadership and scientific contributions.

Reflecting on the occasion, Dr. Brugarolas shared:
“Some of you may be familiar with the orchestra analogy I like — I may be directing it, but you make the music. So today’s celebration is a celebration of our work together.”

Congratulations, Dr. B! We’re proud to be part of the music. Thank you for reminding us that great science happens through great collaboration!

07/20/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Kathy Worland, our incredible Senior Program Coordinator, on 25 years at UTSW! Her dedication, expertise, and behind-the-scenes impact are felt every day across the Kidney Cancer Program. Thank you so much, Kathy!

07/09/2025

🔬 Exciting discovery from Dr. Javier Garcia-Bermudez and his team! Featured in the Dallas Morning News, their new study reveals how cancer cells hijack fat molecules to shield themselves from cell death—unlocking potential for future therapies.
📰 Read the DMN article below:

Cancers use lipids to build a shield with vitamin E. Stripping that shield could lead to new treatments.

07/01/2025

A study co-led by Dr. Ben Sabari, a member of the UTSW Kidney Cancer Program, found that a gene fusion drives a rare kidney cancer (tRCC) by forming protein clusters that hijack normal gene activity, leading to aggressive tumor growth. This may also occur in other cancers, revealing a promising new target for therapy. http://bit.ly/3TSNOl

A genetic mutation that fuses two genes drives several different cancer types by forming networks of protein interactions that alter gene expression in cells, a study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggests.

06/25/2025

Drs. Satwik Rajaram and Payal Kapur of the Kidney Cancer Program co-led a groundbreaking study that uses artificial intelligence to predict which patients with clear-cell kidney cancer will benefit from anti-angiogenic therapy. Studies like these bring precision medicine closer to everyday clinical use.

📄 Read the UTSW press release: https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/articles/year-2025/april-ai-kidney-cancer-therapy.html

📘 Full study in Nature Communications: https://rdcu.be/eleeX

An artificial intelligence (AI)-based model developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers can accurately predict which kidney cancer patients will benefit from anti-angiogenic therapy, a class of treatments that’s only effective in some cases.

06/23/2025

Dr. Brugarolas recently sat down with GU Oncology Now to share the journey behind groundbreaking discoveries in kidney cancer—most notably the development of HIF-2 inhibitors now FDA-approved for treatment. He also offered insights into the future of personalized therapy, immunotherapy, and genetic medicine in renal oncology.

Dr. Brugarolas reflects on his lab's role in developing HIF-2 inhibitors and his ongoing work to improve patient outcomes.

04/02/2025

On March 30, we celebrated to recognize the dedication and compassion of our physicians. As President Dr. Podolsky said, ‘Your ability to listen, empathize, and guide [patients]... through difficult and joyful moments epitomizes our values and mission.’

Our doctors make a profound impact across hospitals, clinics, and research labs, driving UTSW’s leadership in patient care and medical innovation.

To all our physicians—thank you for all you do to improve lives every day! 💙