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Cancer Research
Engineering CAR T cells to activate a bodily response to solid tumors
A new Penn study shows that CAR T cells expressing RN7SL1, a naturally occurring RNA, can activate the body’s natural immune cells against difficult-to-treat cancers.
Breast cancer diagnosis in the ‘between’ year: Body mass index matters
While breast density—a characteristic that can help tumors hide from mammography—has attracted a lot of attention from clinicians, a new study finds evidence that body mass index, or BMI, is also important, especially in the year between screenings.
The cancer fighters: John Glick and a legacy of a half century in oncology
A major figure in the fight against cancer, John Glick reflects on his career after decades of working with the Perelman School of Medicine and as director of Penn’s National Cancer Institute for more than 20 years, treating thousands of patients during his tenure.
New program inspires underrepresented young women to cancer research
The Abramson Cancer Center’s Summer Health Experience, or SHE, program introduces young women to careers in cancer research. Statistics show that Black and Latinx women are severely underrepresented in the health sciences.
Improving patient experiences in cancer clinical trials
Cancer clinical trials (CCTs) provide patients an opportunity to receive experimental drugs, tests, and/or procedures that can lead to remissions. For some, a CCT may seem like their only option. Yet little is known about the experiences of patient participants who withdraw from CCTs.
Penn-led consortium identifies more genetic markers for inherited testicular cancer
A new meta-analysis of nearly 200,000 men revealed 22 new genetic locations that could be susceptible to inherited testicular germ cell tumors—an increase of 40%.
Clarifying T cell ‘exhaustion’
T cells, which are among the most powerful weapons in the immune systems of humans and other vertebrates, remain substantially programmed to stay exhausted even many weeks after exposure to a virus ended.
New cell therapy shows potential against solid tumors with KRAS mutations
The new technology for cellular immunotherapy shows promising anti-tumor activity in the lab against hard-to-treat cancers driven the KRAS mutation.
How mRNA vaccines help fight cancer tumors
Penn researchers are looking to mRNA vaccines for applications outside of infectious diseases, as they can not only prompt strong antibody responses to fight off invaders, like COVID-19, but also potent cytotoxic T cell responses.
Black and white women have same mutations linked to breast cancer risk
The prevalence of genetic mutations associated with breast cancer in Black and white women is the same, but the takeaway is not to change testing guidelines based on race alone, but focus on ensuring equal access to and uptake of testing to minimize disparities in care and outcomes.
In the News
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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Gut health could play a role in how blood cancer patients respond to therapy
Marco Ruella of the Perelman School of Medicine says that researchers need to tackle the problems with CAR T cell therapy to increase survival rates and improve the quality of life for cancer survivors.
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