UChicago medical oncologist Rita Nanda, MD, presents data from the I-SPY 2 trial.
Immunotherapy drug effective in triple-negative breast cancer
In the I-SPY 2 clinical trial, adding the checkpoint blocker pembrolizumab (KeytrudaTM) to standard therapy dramatically improved response rates for patients with invasive triple-negative breast cancer, tumors that lack estrogen and progesterone receptors, as well as HER2, which is a protein that promotes the growth of cancer cells. “The results observed in this trial are not only encouraging, but game changing,” said medical oncologist Rita Nanda, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.
Radiosurgery becoming treatment of choice for spinal metastases
Spinal radiosurgery is becoming a standard of care for spinal tumors. The emerging technique is proving highly effective for Theresa Barrett, a eight-year breast cancer survivor who has recurring, sometimes painful spinal metastases. By delivering high-dose treatments to small areas, radiosurgery is currently the best way to treat spinal tumors, says Sean Pitroda, MD, of UChicago’s Ludwig Center for Metastasis Research.
Robert Grossman (r) discusses data with Dean Kenneth Polonsky (middle).
Harnessing big data to cure cancer
Genomic Data Commons (GDC), housed at UChicago, is one of the largest open access repositories for cancer data in the world. In this Chicago Inno interview, GDC's principal investigator Robert Grossman talks about how the project has fared in its first year, next generation data commons, and how big data can help cure cancer.
To Stephanie and John Cacioppo, both behavioral neuroscience faculty at the University of Chicago, giving back is at the heart of their extensive research on perceived social isolation and social connection. Two years ago, the issue became personal when John was diagnosed with advanced head and neck cancer.
Thomas Gajewski, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and pathology at the University of Chicago, has been named one of 12 “Giants of Cancer Care for 2017” by OncLive®, an organization that offers oncology professionals information they can use in patient care through their publications and videos. Gajewski is the fourth University of Chicago physician to win this honor since it began in 2013.
