Womens Health

Integrative Medicine Research

Program
Program Mission:

The mission of the Womens Health Integrative Medicine Research Program is to advance
the progress of the safe and effective use of nutritional and herbal supplements with
pharmacologic modalities as it relates to womens health and cancer through innovative
thinking, systematic methodology and collaborative interactions throughout the UTHealth
HPV Research
System and global research community.

Weight Management & Health and Wellness

Judith A. Smith, Pharm.D., BCOP, CPHQ,
FCCP, FISOPP
Associate Professor of Medicine
Program Director
Email: Judith.Ann.Smith@uth.tmc.edu
Phone: 713-500-6408
Fax: 713-500-5474

Safety in Pregnancy
Optimizing treatment of Womens Cancers

Learn more how can

help support our
research:

Cancer Prevention

DONATE NOW

Whitney Rybert Neuroendocrine Cervical Cancer

Research Program

Larry W. Coffer, II, M.S.

Research Manager
Email:
Larry.W.Coffer@uth.tmc.e
du
Phone: 713-500-6513

Anjali A. Gaikwad
Laboratory Coordinator
Email:
Anjali.A.Gaikwad@uthtmc.e
du
Phone: 713-500-6566

HPV Research
Recent Studies:
AHCC Preclinical Studies
AHCC Pilot Study in HPV+ Women

Current Research Focus:

Continuation of Pilot study to evaluate alternative dosing of
AHCC supplementation
Planning Phase II double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled
randomized to evaluate efficacy of AHCC to eradicate highrisk HPV infections in women with persistent HPV infection

Learn more how can

help support our
research:
DONATE NOW

FAQs about HPV and

AHCC
1. What is HPV?
ANSWER:
The
human
papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus has
been detected in more than 99
percent of cervical cancer patients.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control, several other cancers are
related to HPV, including 95 percent
of anal cancer, 60 percent of
oropharyngeal, 65 percent of vaginal
cancer, 50 percent of vulvar cancer
and 35 percent of penile cancer.

2. What is AHCC?
ANSWER:AHCC is a nutritional
supplement
works
as
an
immunotherapy.
Human
and
preclinical studies have shown that
AHCC increases the number and/or
activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells,
dendritic cells and cytokines, which
help the body fight off infections and
block tumor growth.
For more information on AHCC

Weight Management & Health

and Wellness
Weight Management:
Primary Objective:
Quantify the impact of sleep, diet,
exercise, and nutritional
supplements on weight
management

Current status:
Animal protocol approved
Pending Funding to initiate

Long term Goal:

Develop objective tool for
monitoring compliance with weight
Learn more how can
management
interventions to
help support our
research:
personalized
regimens to optimize
DONATE NOW
weight management

Managing Menopausal Symptoms:

Primary Objective:
Evaluate the safety of the class of phytoestrogens
nutritional/herbal supplements and define binding
affinity on estrogen receptor and effect on
hormone-mediated pathways

Current Status:
Completed in vitro screening, estrogen binding
affinity assays and animal studies (breast, ovarian,
endometrial and cervical cancer)

Long term Goal:

Identify nutritional/herbal supplement(s) regimen
that can safely be used to elevate menopausal
symptoms and NOT increase risk for hormonemediated cancers.

Safety in Pregnancy
Primary Objective:

In clinical practice the safety and efficacy of drug and nutritional/herbal

supplementation used during pregnancy is primarily based upon empiric dosing
regimens, anecdotal efficacy data, clinical experience, and limited case reports. The
objective of this research is to determine the fetal drug exposure based on
concentration
of
each
drug/supplement
evaluated
that
crosses
the
placental/trophoblastic barrier (PTB) and its possible effects on the fetus development

Current Status:

Completed studies: Carboplatin, granisetron, docetaxel and cisplatin

Ongoing studies: paclitaxel, indomethacin
Future studies will focus on nausea medications and nutritional supplements

Long term goal:

Increase the evidence for the safety use of medication and supplement use during
pregnancy and breast feeding.

Learn more how can

help support our
research:
DONATE NOW

Optimizing treatment of
Womens
Cancers
Primary Objective:
Optimize the use of current cytotoxic agents alone and in combination and
promote development of new targeted therapies for the treatment of
ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer and cervical cancer.

Current Studies:
Appropriate dosing of chemotherapy agents in obesity
Compare and contrast efficacy of Doxil to generic liposomal doxorubicin
Modulation of acquired and inherent drug resistance

Long term Goals:

Improving treatment outcomes with better overall response
rates and reducing treatment-related side effects for women
with cancer
Learn more how can
help support our
research:
DONATE NOW

Cancer Prevention
Primary Objective:
Identify new modalities effective for the prevention of development, progression or
recurrence of cancer

Current Studies:
Please see use AHCC for treatment of HPV infections
Optimizing weight management to reduce incidence of obesity associated cancer risks
Develop use of anticancer hormonal agents for prevention of recurrence of ovarian
cancer

Long term Goals:

Reduce the incidence of HPV-related cancers & obesity-induced cancers
Prevent recurrence of ovarian cancer
Learn more how can
help support our
research:
DONATE NOW

Whitney Rybert
Neuroendocrine Cervical Cancer Research Program
Primary Objectives:
Complete molecular marker screening to determine potential utility of targeted therapies in neuroendocrine cervical cancer.
Characterized the potential expression/mutations of receptors associated with drug resistance expressed in panel of
neuroendocrine cervical cancer cell lines.
Create tissue xenograft mouse model that will be used to establish a library of neuroendocrine cervical cancer cell lines to be
immortalized then propagated and shared with other research investigators interested in neuroendocrine cervical cancer.

Current Status:
Protocol approved
Pending Funding

Long term Goals:

Develop high-throughput models for screening cytotoxic and biological targeted agents alone and in
combination to identify potential new regimens for the treatment of neuroendocrine cervical cancer
that could directly translate to clinical care

Learn more how can

help support our
research:
DONATE NOW

How you can help support our

research:
Please make checks payable to UTHealth
Please write Dr. Judith Smiths Research Fund (specify program of interest) on check
Specify program of interest to support:
HPV Research
Weight Management & Health and Wellness
Safety in Pregnancy

Program Mission:

The mission of the Womens

Health Integrative Medicine
Cancer Prevention
Research Program is to
advance the progress of the
Whitney Rybert Neuroendocrine Cervical Cancer Research Program
safe and effective use of
Please Mail Checks to:
nutritional and herbal
UTHealth
supplements with
Office of Development
pharmacologic modalities as
PO Box 1321
Houston, TX 77521-1321
it relates to womens health
For more information on donating please contact Kathryn Lucrezi, Director of Development
and cancer through
Email: Kathryn.Lucrezi@uth.tmc.edu
innovative thinking,
Phone: 713-500-5079
systematic methodology and
collaborative interactions
throughout the UTHealth
System and global research
community.
Optimizing treatment of Womens Cancers