UT Southwestern Medical Center Kidney Cancer Program

03/24/2026

Sometimes kidney cancer spreads to the pancreas — and research from Dr. James Brugarolas and team shows patients in this situation often do better than expected. Learn more here: https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.195195

In metastatic renal cell carcinoma, pancreatic spread is associated with improved survival.

https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.195195

Here, James Brugarolas & team determine that pancreatic arise predominantly from indolent clones within primary and exhibit distinct molecular and histological features, clinical behavior, and treatment responsiveness.

The figure shows pancreatic metastasis sample with high angiogenesis, indicated by deep learning vascular mask (red).

02/25/2026

We’re excited to share the TIME Health article discussing how treatment for renal cell carcinoma has changed in recent years, featuring Dr. James Brugarolas.

We’re grateful to be part of the continued effort to move kidney cancer treatment forward.

02/05/2026

We’re proud to share a new review published in Cancer by Dr. James Brugarolas and colleagues! This article traces the scientific journey that led to and represents the first publication from UT Southwestern authored by investigators involved in its development.
🔗 Abstract (PubMed): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41632099/
🔗 Full article (journal subscription required): https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cncr.70239

By expanding upon the foundation established by belzutifan, the field is poised for further therapeutic advances.

12/31/2025

🎉Congratulations to Dr. Arijit Mal, a Postdoctoral Researcher from the Brugarolas lab, for earning 2nd place in the Translational–Clinical category at the UT Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center Research Retreat, selected from 90+ qualified poster submissions! Well done, Dr. Mal!

11/27/2025

Happy Thanksgiving from the Kidney Cancer Program team!
Grateful for our incredible group! We celebrated with a Thanksgiving potluck filled with cultural, nostalgic, and family-favorite dishes—reflecting the diverse backgrounds that make our team so special.
🦃🍗🍁🍂

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.