Cancer Research

Gloved hands taking a sample of blood plasma from a test tube with a syringe.

‘Electronic nose’ accurately sniffs out hard-to-detect cancers

An odor-based test that sniffs out vapors emanating from blood samples was able to distinguish between benign and pancreatic and ovarian cancer cells with up to 95% accuracy.

Neuro-oncologist joins Penn’s mission to fight brain cancer

Richard Phillips, a Presidential Assistant Professor of Neurology and member of the Penn Epigenetics Institute, hopes to bring glioma research out of the “basement.”

Medical worker in a face mask holds a clipboard for an African American person to sign.

Abramson Cancer Center doubles the percentage of Black participants in clinical trials

Afive-year community outreach and engagement effort more than doubled the percentage of participants, improving access and treatment for a group with historically low representation in cancer research.

Doctor wearing a face mask sits at a desk looking at an x-ray with a masked patient.

COVID’s impact on cancer care comes more into focus

With the disruption of cancer care since the pandemic began in March 2020, recent reports are starting to show that the interruption—while still significant—may not be as detrimental as experts originally feared.

Ingredient in Indian long pepper shows promise against brain cancer

Penn scientists use cryo-electron microscopy to illuminate how a chemical compound found in the plant, piperlongumine, works against glioblastoma.

head shots of Marisa Bartolomei, M. Celeste Simon, Michael Kearns, and Diana Mutz

Four Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences

The new members of the Academy, honored scholars recognized for their unique and ongoing contributions to original research, include researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Annenberg School for Communication.

Person wearing a face mask seated in a chair receives and IV drip from a nurse wearing a face mask.

Immunotherapy alone extended life for certain metastatic lung cancer patients

Penn Medicine researchers show that patients harboring a KRAS gene mutation with high levels of PDL-1 lived longer when treated with immunotherapy alone, compared to patients without this mutation.

rendering of a cell nucleus amidst multicolored cellular matter

Mysterious ‘nuclear speckle’ cell structures may help block cancers

A new study out of Penn Medicine shows that the tumor-suppressor protein p53 brings speckles and DNA together to boost gene expression.

microscopic view of pancreatic cancer cells.

Immune-stimulating drug before surgery shows promise in early-stage pancreatic cancer

Giving early-stage pancreatic cancer patients a CD40 immune-stimulating drug helped jumpstart a T cell attack to the notoriously stubborn tumor microenvironment before surgery and other treatments.

Cancer cell therapy pioneer Carl June receives the Sanford Lorraine Cross Award

The Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy in the department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine and director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center received the award for his work in developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy.

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