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Cancer Research
Honoring a life scientist’s life-saving science
Carl June accepted the 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences at a Los Angeles ceremony, making him the sixth recipient from Penn.
Study reveals inequities in access to transformative CAR T cell therapy
Penn Medicine researchers have assessed the percentage of patients from minority health populations and reveal inequities in access to transformative CAR T cell therapy.
Accelerating CAR T cell therapy: Lipid nanoparticles speed up manufacturing
Penn Engineers have developed a novel method for manufacturing CAR T cells using lipid nanoparticles as delivery vehicles.
Mapping pancreatic cancer to improve immunotherapy
Gregory L. Beatty, an associate professor of hematology-oncology and member of Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, and his team focus on improving immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer.
‘Dual target’ cell therapy appears to shrink brain tumors
Early Penn Medicine trial results show that targeting two tumor-associated proteins in patients with recurrent glioblastoma may be a promising step toward developing cell therapies for solid tumors.
‘Switchable’ bispecific antibodies pave way for safer cancer treatment
Immunotherapy utilizing an FDA-approved drug has enabled Penn researchers to develop a novel switchable bispecific T cell engager that mitigates negative outcomes of immunotherapy.
Imaging just one week after starting treatment can predict melanoma response to immunotherapy
New Penn Medicine research shows that following a single dose of a particular immunotherapy drug, CT scans “lit up” with metabolic changes in tumors that correlated with longer survival.
Secondary cancers following CAR T cell therapy are rare
A new Penn Medicine analysis shows that the development of any type of second cancer is a rare occurrence, and some of the earliest patients have gone on to experience long-lasting remissions of a decade or more.
New AI tool brings precision pathology for cancer into quicker, sharper focus
Researchers at Penn Medicine have developed an artificial intelligence tool to quickly analyze gene activities in medical images and provide single-cell insight into diseases in tissues and tissue microenvironments.
Lidocaine may be able to kill certain cancer cells by activating bitter taste receptors
A preclinical Penn Medicine study explains the previously observed anti-cancer effect of the common anesthetic drug.
In the News
There’s still no standard test to detect pancreatic cancer early. Scientists are working to change that
A 2020 study from the Perelman School of Medicine found that a blood test to screen for certain biomarkers associated with pancreatic cancer was 92% accurate in its ability to detect disease.
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A new strategy to attack aggressive brain cancer shrank tumors in two early tests
A clinical trial led by Stephen Bagley of the Perelman School of Medicine suggests that targeting two associated proteins with CAR T cell therapy could be a viable strategy for shrinking brain tumors.
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UPenn scientists among those developing vaccines that arm the immune system to fight cancer
Penn Medicine researchers like Nobel laureate Drew Weissman are leading efforts to develop a vaccine that prevents cancer, with remarks from Susan Domchek of the Basser Center for BRCA and Robert H. Vonderheide of the Abramson Cancer Center.
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Penn’s BRCA cancer vaccine trial aims to prevent the disease in healthy people
A trial led by Susan Domchek of the Perelman School of Medicine could use a preventive vaccine to protect people with a BRCA gene mutation from cancer.
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AI detects cancers and immunotherapy biomarker
Daiwei Zhang and Mingyao Li of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues have developed an AI tool called iStar that can automatically spot tumors and types of cancer that are difficult for clinicians to see or identify and can predict candidates for immunotherapy.
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Penn started giving cancer patients free rides to appointments. It helped reduce no-shows and increase clinical trial enrollment
The Abramson Cancer Center is attempting to address one of the most common challenges cancer patients face: lack of transportation to critically important appointments. Robert Vonderheide and Carmen Guerra of the Perelman School of Medicine are quoted on the Ride Health initiative.
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