Through
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Cancer Research
By altering bone marrow, ‘training’ can prepare innate immune system for future challenges
By altering bone marrow, ‘training’ can prepare innate immune system for future challenges
George Hajishengallis of the School of Dental Medicine and an international team of colleagues have found that “training” the immune system causes changes in the precursors of immune cells in the bone marrow. These changes could facilitate a more robust response to future infections or even enable the immune system to regenerate faster after chemotherapy.
Improving oral cancer diagnosis on many fronts
A comprehensive dental visit includes more than a cleaning and X-rays; well-trained dentists know they must also take a thorough look inside the oral cavity to spot any potentially unusual lesions that could signal oral cancer.
Slowing the spread of an insidious cancer
Cancer of the pancreas is rare, but deadly. Research from Penn Vet may slow its spread.
Targeting enzyme in ‘normal’ cells may impede pancreatic cancer’s spread, Penn Vet team shows
Cancer of the pancreas is a deadly disease, with a median survival time of less than six months. Only one in 20 people with pancreatic cancer survives five years past the diagnosis. The reason is the cancer’s insidiousness; tumor cells hide deep inside the body, betraying no symptoms until late in the disease, when the cancer has almost invariably spread to other organs.
Penn Study Links Mutations in Notch Gene to Role in B Cell Cancers
Notch is one of the most frequently mutated genes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common leukemia in adults in the United States. It is also often mutated in other common B cell tumors, such as mantle cell lymphoma. However, the role of Notch in these cancers has been uncertain.
Moonshot Grant Will Help Researchers See Two of Cancer’s Key Food Sources at Once
Imagine trying to take a picture of a runner, but only being able to see her feet. If you could see her whole body, you’d get the full picture of how she uses both legs to put one foot in front of the other to reach top speed.
FDA approves personalized cellular therapy for advanced leukemia
FDA approves personalized cellular therapy for advanced leukemia
Investigators at the Perelman School of Medicine and CHOP, who together led research, development, and clinical trials of the new therapy in collaboration with Novartis, hail the FDA’s approval as a game changer for the treatment of younger patients battling the aggressive blood cancer and a pivotal milestone in this new era of cellular therapies.
Protons with a purpose
Protons with a purpose
As many as 115 patients treated each day. Upwards of 5,000 people who have received life-saving cancer care since 2010. As impressive as these numbers are, the outcomes at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center are even more so.
Penn Researchers Use New Imaging to Show Key Enzyme in Ovarian Cancer
A new imaging test may provide the ability to identify ovarian cancer patients who are candidates for an emerging treatment that targets a key enzyme cancer cells need to survive. Currently, epithelial ovarian cancer patients with BRCA1 mutations are considered candidates for the treatment, but there is no method to measure the enzyme levels to help guide treatment choices.
Penn hosts cancer conversation with Biden, other experts at Silfen University Forum
Penn hosts cancer conversation with Biden, other experts at Silfen University Forum
The wide-ranging discussion emphasized the importance of collaboration among researchers, the challenge of prevention, and the crucial importance of discovery and innovation in reaching milestones in cancer prevention and treatment.
In the News
CNN
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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Associated Press
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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Philadelphia Inquirer
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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Philadelphia Inquirer
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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Psychology Today
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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Philadelphia Inquirer
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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