Moffitt Plays Pivotal Role in FDA Approval of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy for Advanced Melanoma

A first-of-its-kind cellular immunotherapy pioneered at Moffitt Cancer Center has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration and is now available for patients with advanced melanoma. Lifileucel is the first tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy, or TIL, approved for solid tumors.

MD Anderson Research Highlights: ESMO 2023 Special Edition

This special edition features upcoming oral presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the 2023 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress focused on clinical advances across a variety of cancer types.

Jennifer Wargo, M.D., elected to the National Academy of Medicine

Jennifer Wargo, M.D., professor of Surgical Oncology and Genomic Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) for her contributions to the understanding of melanoma treatment response and resistance to cancer therapies, including groundbreaking discoveries that reveal how the gut microbiome influences responses to immunotherapy.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for September 21, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.

Largest study on racial differences in men with melanoma shows men with skin of color have lowest survival rates

Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is highly treatable when detected early, but when the disease advances, it can lead to death. A new article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology reveals that men with melanoma — and particularly men with skin of color — are more likely to die than women with melanoma.

ASCO23: Sylvester Cancer Experts Available for Interviews on a Wide Range of Topics

In addition to presenting Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center research findings, Sylvester experts are available at ASCO to share perspectives on a wide variety of topics and studies ranging from breast cancer to sarcoma, prostate cancer, mesothelioma, melanoma, CNS tumors and more.

American Academy of Dermatology survey shows generation z adults are unfamiliar with sunburn and tanning risks

A recent American Academy of Dermatology survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults revealed that many Generation Z adults, ages 18-25, are unaware of the risks associated with overexposure to the sun and believe tanning myths. In recognition of Skin Cancer Awareness Month this May, the AAD encourages everyone to practice safe sun to protect themselves from the sun’s harmful rays and reduce their risks of developing skin cancer.

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Experts To Present Clinical Findings at AACR Conference

Cedars-Sinai Cancer oncologists and researchers are available to comment on late-breaking topics and research throughout the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023, happening April 14-19 in Orlando.

Novel immunotherapy delivery approach safe and beneficial for some melanoma patients with leptomeningeal disease

A novel approach to administer intrathecal (IT) immunotherapy (directly into the spinal fluid) and intravenous (IV) immunotherapy was safe and improved survival in a subset of patients with leptomeningeal disease (LMD) from metastatic melanoma, according to interim analyses of a Phase I/Ib trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab Administered Before Surgery Improves Outcomes of Melanoma Patients

A team of researchers from institutions across the United States, including Moffitt Cancer Center, launched a phase 2 clinical trial evaluating a new treatment option for this patient population. Their results, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, show that treating resectable stage 3 and 4 melanoma patients with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab both before and after surgery greatly improves outcomes when compared to pembrolizumab given only after surgery.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for February 22, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments include a new understanding of how HPV drives cancer development, a combination therapy to overcome treatment resistance in mantle cell lymphoma, novel insights into memory T cell formation and potential therapeutic strategies for brain cancers, improved survival outcomes for metastatic colorectal cancer, targeting myeloperoxidase to improve immunotherapy responses in melanoma, and preclinical results of a combination therapy that could effectively treat a subset of acute myeloid leukemia.

Cancer patients who don’t respond to immunotherapy lack crucial immune cells

Cancer immunotherapy involves using activated T cells to destroy tumors, but it doesn’t work for all patients. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that a kind of dendritic cell is crucial for determining the effectiveness of immunotherapy. The discovery could lead to new ways to extend the benefits of immunotherapy to more patients.

MD Anderson Research Highlights: SITC 2022 Special Edition

This special edition features upcoming presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 37th Annual Meeting, including immunotherapy advances in human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck cancers, microbiome signatures linked with specialized immune-cell clusters, and promising early activity from novel immunotherapy drugs in advanced melanoma and colorectal cancer.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for October 19, 2022

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include a combination approach to overcome PARP inhibitor resistance in breast and ovarian cancers, a deeper understanding of STAT3 mutations as drivers of disease progression, insights into the “obesity paradox” in men with advanced melanoma, a prognostic model for rapidly progressing vestibular schwannoma, and a role for cellular trafficking proteins in creating a metastasis-promoting lung cancer microenvironment.

Advanced Melanoma Survival Improves Significantly When Immunotherapy is Given Before Targeted Therapy

A clinical trial led by clinicians at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center showed a remarkable 20 percent advantage in the two-year overall survival rate for people with advanced melanoma who first received immunotherapy (72 percent survival rate) versus those who initially got targeted therapies (52 percent survival rate). Progression-free survival, where the cancer is stable or improving, was also trending in favor of those who started on immunotherapy.

Wistar Scientists Identify Key Biomarkers that Reliably Predict Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy for Melanoma 

Currently, the only FDA approved biomarker for ICI melanoma treatment is the tumor mutation burden assay, but the mechanisms linking it to ICI remain unclear. However, new research out of The Wistar Institute now provides evidence of novel, reliable biomarkers that predict therapy response using advanced computer technology.

MD Anderson Research Highlights: ESMO 2022 Special Edition

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. This special edition features upcoming oral presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022 focused on clinical advances across a variety of cancer types. Highlights include promising early data from a novel T cell therapy for solid tumors, targeted therapy progress in rare and advanced cancers, biomarkers of immunotherapy response, and features associated with clinical outcomes in leptomeningeal disease. More information on ESMO content from MD Anderson can be found at MDAnderson.org/ESMO.

Moffitt Physicians Lead International Study to Identify Melanoma Patients with High-Risk Disease

In a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center physicians, along with a team of international researchers from eight other cancer centers, report on their identification of high-risk patients with stage 3A disease and microscopic lymph node metastases who would benefit from adjuvant therapy.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for July 27, 2022

Clinical advances include treating hematologic cancers with effective targeted therapies, circulating tumor DNA as a biomarker for recurrence with colorectal liver metastases, and using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to guide surgical decisions for patients with lateral pelvic lymph node metastases in rectal cancer. Laboratory findings offer new understanding of the pancreatic cancer immune microenvironment, melanoma cell states, TP53 mutation status in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and potential targets for metastatic prostate cancer and GNAS-mutant colorectal cancer.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for July 13, 2022

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts. Current advances include new targets involved in protecting DNA replication forks and preventing inflammatory responses, a new treatment option for elderly patients with late-stage acute myeloid leukemia, insights into the breast cancer tumor microenvironment, biomarkers of response to targeted and immune therapies, a novel cellular therapy option for osteosarcoma and a new target for inducing ferroptosis in cancer cells.

Plant virus plus immune cell-activating antibody clear colon cancer in mice, prevent recurrence

A new combination therapy to combat cancer could one day consist of a plant virus and an antibody that activates the immune system’s “natural killer” cells, shows a study by researchers at the University of California San Diego. In mouse models of colon cancer, the combination therapy eliminated all tumors and prevented their recurrence, which in turn resulted in 100% survival. The therapy also increased survival in mouse models of melanoma.