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Latest Stories
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
After Karen Knudsen departed from the American Cancer Society late last year, the question of where she will end up becoming the fodder for cocktail party chatter throughout oncology.
The day before health economist Jay Bhattacharya stepped into his new role as NIH director, he sent a document to his employees outlining his top five priorities for the department, which included “reproducibility” and “transparency,” two themes he discussed at his confirmation hearings (The Cancer Letter, March 7, 2025).
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Brian J. Druker summits Mt. Hood in 1996The last time Brian J. Druker ran a marathon, his daughter, Julia, was six months old.
Guest Editorial
When I started this column, I was wanting to retain the sense of connection that I had to the greater cancer community as I stepped away into a period of disconnection.
Sponsored
With recent leaps in artificial intelligence, there is major potential to turn computing advances into gains for human health.
In the Archives
Credit: NCI/Linda BartlettIn an oral history conducted by FDA in September 2013, Andrew C. von Eschenbach recounted his eight-month stint in a dual role as both FDA acting commissioner and NCI director.
In Brief
Alec C. Kimmelman was named CEO and dean of NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
In Brief
Don S. Dizon will join Tufts Medicine in June 2025 as the system chief of hematology-oncology for the cancer service line. He will be proposed as the Jane F. Desforges endowed Professor in Hematology-Oncology at Tufts University School of Medicine.
In Brief
Karen PollokTim LautenschlaegerJiang BianKaren Pollok was named associate director of basic science research and Tim Lautenschlaeger was named associate director of clinical research at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. Jiang Bian also recently began as chief research information officer.
In Brief
Less Radical, a documentary podcast that tells story of Bernie Fisher, a pioneering surgeon-scientist who redefined breast cancer treatment, was nominated for Best Podcast - Documentary and Best Indie Podcast – Limited Run in the 29th Annual Webby Awards.
In Brief
Cancer Research UK and partners on March 31 committed £5.5 million in funding to form a research team tasked with making personalized medicine a reality for people with colorectal cancer. The initiative is designed to unite research expertise and solve unanswered questions about the disease.
In Brief
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center has announced a collaboration with global healthcare AI company Qure.ai to deploy chest X-ray AI supporting earlier identification of lung cancers.
In Brief
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center on March 31 broke ground on a new 470,000-square-foot facility in Sugar Land, bringing a range of cancer services closer to those living in Southwest Houston and the surrounding areas.
Clinical Roundup
Although lung cancer screening is recommended in the U.S. for certain individuals with a history of smoking, only 18% of eligible individuals in the U.S. get screened.
Clinical Roundup
Researchers have identified a “master regulator” gene, ZNFX1, that may act as a biomarker to help guide treatment in future clinical trials involving patients with therapy-resistant ovarian cancer, according to a study recently published in Cancer Research.
Clinical Roundup
Precancerous pancreatic lesions and some pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors harboring KRAS mutations had higher-than-normal expression of the FGFR2 protein, and FGFR2 inactivation delayed KRAS-mutated PDAC development in mice, according to results of a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Clinical Roundup
A study published in the journal Immunity reveals a mechanism that allows triple negative breast cancer to develop resistance to therapy. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine showed that lipid accumulation in tumor cells and nearby immune cells promotes immune suppression, but disrupting lipid formulation reverses treatment resistance and the immunosuppressive microenvironment.
Drugs & Targets
FDA approved AstraZeneca’s durvalumab (Imfinzi) with gemcitabine and cisplatin as neoadjuvant treatment, followed by single agent durvalumab as adjuvant treatment following radical cystectomy, for adults with muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Drugs & Targets
AstraZeneca’s Calquence (acalabrutinib) in combination with bendamustine and rituximab has been recommended for approval in the EU for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma who are not eligible for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Drugs & Targets
BeiGene Ltd. announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency issued a positive opinion recommending approval of Tevimbra (tislelizumab), in combination with etoposide and platinum chemotherapy, as a first-line treatment for adult patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.
Drugs & Targets
Exact Sciences Corp. announced the launch of Cologuard Plus, the most accurate noninvasive colorectal cancer screening test reported in studies to date. FDA-approved for average-risk patients 45+ and covered by Medicare, the Cologuard Plus test detects 95% of colorectal cancers at 94% specificity in the U.S. screening population.
NCI Trials
The National Cancer Institute approved the following clinical research studies last month.
Podcast
“For the last 50 years every major medical breakthrough can be traced back to investments in the NIH, which houses the National Cancer Institute (NCI),” said Wayne A. I. Frederick, interim chief executive officer of American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
The University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Institute last week was named the 73rd NCI-designated cancer center. Now, New York State has eight NCI-designated cancer centers. Only California has more—ten.
Capitol Hill
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that it is making sweeping revisions by cutting personnel, centralizing functions, and consolidating divisions.
News Analysis
The March 15 continuing resolution has gutted the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. The program’s funding was cut by 57%, compared to Fiscal Year 2024 levels—from $1.5 billion to $650 million.
Guest Editorial
Just consider for a minute if this was the first year of running your lab, if you were on the job market as a physician or scientist right now, if you were a resident contemplating a career in cancer research after fellowship, if you were a graduate student or postdoc, if you were an undergraduate or a technician who was looking toward graduate school.
Guest Editorial
The immune system can be a powerful tool to control cancer. Immune cells within our body detect cancer cells and release payloads that kill them. Transformative science in the last decade has led to the development of therapies that enhance the ability of our immune cells to carry out this function. These therapies, including checkpoint blockade and CAR-T cells, have been lifesaving for many patients that before had untreatable cancer. But, sadly, a majority of patients with advanced solid tumors still succumb to their disease.
Sponsored
Cancer care is at an inflection point. The traditional boundaries between academic and community oncology are dissolving, requiring a reimagined approach to patient care and clinical research. At City of Hope, we are implementing a national model that integrates breakthrough research with accessible, advanced treatment across diverse geographic regions.
In the Archives
In 1991, the National Breast Cancer Coalition demanded that the federal government spend $300 million more on breast cancer research. This push resulted in the creation of the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, which has broadened to 34 other diseases with an FY24 budget of $1.5 billion.
In Brief
Four research institutions have partnered under the Weill Cancer Hub East
In Brief
The members of the American Association for Cancer Research have elected Keith T. Flaherty, fellow of the AACR Academy, as the AACR president-elect for 2025-2026.
In Brief
Paradigm Health announced on March 20 the appointment of Karen E. Knudsen to its board of directors, alongside the upcoming launch of its eSource clinical trial data application.
In Brief
The Association of Cancer Center Administrators presented its inaugural ACCA Career Achievement Award to Beverly Ginsburg Cooper, managing director at the Huron Consulting Group, on March 16. Given at the CCA Annual Business Meeting in Seattle, the ACCA Career Achievement Award recognizes current members of the Association of Cancer Center Administrators or former members of the Cancer Centers Administrators Forum who have demonstrated exemplary dedication, leadership, and lasting contributions to the field of cancer administration.
In Brief
Jeffrey E. Lee was appointed chief medical executive at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, effective April 1.
In Brief
Michael Chan was appointed chair of Wake Forest University’s Department of Radiation Oncology, which he has led as interim chair since 2023. In his permanent role, he will advance the clinical, research and education missions of the department, while optimizing care delivery and clinical operations.
In Brief
Walter J. “Wally” Curran, Jr. has been named the Whitaker Endowed Chief of Piedmont Oncology. This bestowed title is supported by the Piedmont Foundation’s Whitaker Endowment, a fund created by the Atlanta community in tribute to Piedmont’s cancer surgical leader, William Whitaker.
In Brief
The Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center has named John Turchi, the inaugural executive director of the Tom and Julie Wood Center for Lung Cancer Research.
In Brief
Tracy Smith has joined Ashish Deshmukh as a co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.
In Brief
The Cancer Research Institute is committing $2.5 million in reserve funding to support an additional postdoctoral fellowships in the face of federal instability.
Clinical Roundup
In a prospective cohort study of more than 85,000 adults in the UK, researchers at the NIH and University of Oxford found that individuals who engaged in light- and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity daily physical activity had a lower risk of cancer than individuals who were more sedentary.
Clinical Roundup
New study results presented at the European Lung Cancer Congress 2025, March 26 to 29, demonstrate the role of AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso (osimertinib), as monotherapy and as the backbone for novel combinations, across stages and settings of epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. Highlights include:
Clinical Roundup
Two recent studies by researchers from Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine explore the effect of the pandemic on colorectal cancer screening tests and diagnostic colonoscopies in central Indiana.
Clinical Roundup
Orca Bio, a late-stage biotechnology company, on March 17 announced results from the pivotal phase III Precision-T study of Orca-T, its lead investigational allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy, in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and mixed-phenotype acute leukemia. Orca-T is manufactured using highly purified regulatory T-cells, hematopoietic stem cells and conventional T-cells derived from peripheral blood from either related or unrelated matched donors.
Clinical Roundup
Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have discovered a way to delay or even block recurrence of the deadliest brain cancer after radiation.
Clinical Roundup
Researchers at City of Hope have found that cell mutations are necessary but not always sufficient for tumors to form. Instead, they suggest that additional risk factors that promote tumor growth, like chronic inflammation, are a key trigger for tumor formation.
Drugs & Targets
FDA approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and well-differentiated extra-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Drugs & Targets
FDA approved Gozellix (TLX007-CDx, kit for the preparation of gallium-68 (68Ga) gozetotide injection), a next-generation PSMA-PET imaging agent for prostate cancer.
Podcast
In this episode of the Cancer Letter Podcast, all three of The Cancer Letter’s reporters come together to talk about the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on cancer care.
News Analysis
For over a month since President Trump announced his intent to impose aggressive new tariffs on America’s friends and foes alike, lobbyists for hospitals, medical societies, and makers of branded and generic drugs have been trying to convince him to rethink.
Guest Editorial
NCI-designated cancer centers and academic medical institutions (AMCs) are facing unprecedented threats that jeopardize their ability to conduct groundbreaking research, deliver cutting-edge care, and sustain clinical trials essential to patient treatment.
White House
Columbia’s Herbert Irving Cancer Center is 52 streets, 2.6 miles, and five subway stops away from the university’s main campus and the pro-Palestinian protests that have been taking place there.
Guest Editorial
Although this column is running in The Cancer Letter, where we turn for timely insights and information relevant to the cancer community, I suspect that a lot of our readers are watching college basketball this week.
Guest Editorial
Technological innovations are often hailed as transformative tools capable of revolutionizing healthcare. From gene editing for conditions like sickle cell disease to AI predicting hospital readmissions, to telemedicine expanding healthcare access, these advancements have the potential to change the way we treat diseases.
Sponsored
The thymus gland, in many ways, remains a mystery. The thymic regeneration division of the laboratory of Marcel van den Brink, president of City of Hope Los Angeles and City of Hope National Medical Center, is trying to tease out its secrets.
In the Archives
When Helene Brown, a cancer control pioneer who jokingly described herself as “the first in a long line of political oncologists,” delivered the keynote address at the Oncology Nursing Society annual meeting in 1990, she set forth bold predictions for the ensuing 20 years of the field: appointments conducted over “computerphone,” major genetic breakthroughs, and universal healthcare.
In Brief
The University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Institute has earned the Cancer Center designation from NCI.
In Brief
Elana J. Fertig was named associate director for quantitative science at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In Brief
Zhan, seated, with Steven Webber (left), dean of the College of Medicine and executive vice chancellor at UAMS, and UAMS chancellor Cam Patterson (right).The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine invested Fenghuang “Frank” Zhan, a tenured professor of medicine and the research director of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s Myeloma Center, in the Bart Barlogie Chair for Myeloma Research during a March 13 ceremony.
In Brief
After serving as the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute for more than 15 years, Eric Green has left his role.
In Brief
The Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals and the American Society for Clinical Investigation have awarded Owen Witte with the twelfth annual Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine.
In Brief
Matthew J. Carpenter was named associate director of the Cancer Prevention & Control Research Program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.
In Brief
Physician-scientist Theodore Scott Nowicki, an assistant professor-in-residence of pediatric hematology/oncology and microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been awarded a $4.5 million R37 MERIT Award to help improve the effectiveness of cellular therapies for solid tumors.
In Brief
A University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health researcher has received a $1.2 million grant from the American Cancer Society to evaluate potential links between the neighborhood environment and cancer risk.
In Brief
Nemours Children’s Health opened the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation Institute for Cancer and Blood Disorders, on March 19. The institute is a state-of-the-art facility for pediatric patients in the Delaware Valley and beyond.
Clinical Roundup
A study led by UCLA investigators shows that AI could play a key role in improving treatment outcomes for patients with prostate cancer by helping physicians determine who is most likely to benefit from partial gland cryoablation, a minimally invasive procedure that treats localized prostate tumors.
Clinical Roundup
A new large-scale study, co-led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators, provides the strongest evidence yet that a shorter, standard-dose course radiation treatment is equally as effective as conventional radiotherapy for prostate cancer, without compromising patient safety.
Clinical Roundup
AbbVie announced the final analysis of the confirmatory phase III MIRASOL trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Elahere in women with folate receptor alpha-positive platinum-resistant ovarian cancer compared to chemotherapy.
Clinical Roundup
Genmab A/S announced on March 17 updated data from cohort B1 of the phase I/II RAINFOL-01 study of rinatabart sesutecan, an investigational folate receptor-alpha-targeted, TOPO1 antibody-drug conjugate that showed Rina-S 120 mg/m2 every three weeks resulted in a confirmed objective response rate of 55.6% (95% CI: 30.8-78.5) in heavily pre-treated ovarian cancer patients regardless of FRα expression levels.
Clinical Roundup
A new study by Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers found that the presence of a specific genetic mutation—KRAS circulating tumor DNA—strongly indicates a higher risk of cancer spread and worse survival rates for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Clinical Roundup
In the continuing evolution of personalized medicine, a new Yale study has found evidence to support the value of a tool that measures the presence of cancer-derived molecules in the blood of patients with lung cancer years after their treatment.
Clinical Roundup
Immunovia announced results from the VERIFI study, the second clinical validation study of its next-generation pancreatic cancer test.
Clinical Roundup
Researchers and pediatric neurosurgeons at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh developed a new way to profile brain cancers in children.
Drugs & Targets
FDA granted traditional approval to Merck’s pembrolizumab (Keytruda) with trastuzumab, fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of adults with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS ≥1).
Drugs & Targets
The European Commission has granted approval to Breyanzi, a CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy.
Podcast
With a growing backlog at NIH and Columbia University’s grants getting canceled over alleged antisemitism, where does that leave NCI-designated cancer centers?
The Directors
How are cancer centers in two rural states—Kansas and South Carolina—weathering the challenges of Trump-era belt-tightening and uncertainty? Their directors weigh in on The Cancer Letter Podcast.
Regulatory News
Government work isn’t what it used to be.
Guest Editorial
I was really excited to get to talk about the role that mentorship plays in women’s leadership development. It’s a topic that I’ve thought a lot about, and also that I’ve benefitted from, and that I think is not always applied with enough intention. There is an art to mentorship, and I want to share some of how that has helped me navigate career transitions and pivot to leadership roles.
Guest Editorial
As we are all aware, the new presidential administration is moving rapidly to change how science, including health sciences, will be conducted and funded by the federal government, including research supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Guest Editorial
As a physician-scientist who has navigated drug development from lab bench to bedside to executive boardroom, I want to touch upon a subject that is near and dear to my heart: the state of American science—a linchpin of our healthcare system and national competitiveness.
Sponsored
As a physician-scientist, I navigate the intersection of laboratory research and clinical care every day. At City of Hope, our mission is to rapidly translate groundbreaking discoveries into effective treatments for patients with hematologic malignancies, particularly acute leukemias. This is possible due to a unique combination of infrastructure and culture combined with an unwavering sense of urgency.
In Brief
Former NCI Director W. Kimryn Rathmell was awarded the American Cancer Society 2025 Medal of Honor.
In Brief
The American Association for Cancer Research named its newly elected 2025 class of fellows of the AACR Academy.
In Brief
Kathy Giusti, founder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and two-time cancer survivor, will join Thyme Care as a strategic advisor for patient experience.
In Brief
Breast cancer surgeon Tari A. King was appointed as chief surgical officer for the cancer service line at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and Emory Healthcare. Joining Emory on July 14, she will also be the chief of the newly formed Division of Breast Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine and co-director of Winship’s Glenn Family Breast Center.
In Brief
Matteo Paz, 18, of Pasadena, CA, won the top award of $250,000 in the 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search, the U.S.’s longest-running and most distinguished science, technology, engineering, and math competition for high school seniors (The Cancer Letter, March 7, 2025).
Funding Opportunities
The Stephenson Global Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute, established to advance early detection, innovative treatments, and groundbreaking research for pancreatic cancer, has launched a call for nominations and Letters of Intent for two award opportunities.
Clinical Roundup
Cervical cancer diagnoses among rural U.S. women have been increasing since 2012, after years of decreases, according to research from MUSC Hollings Cancer Center and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Clinical Roundup
The American College of Radiology Lung Cancer Screening Registry is expanding and will evolve into the Early Lung Cancer Detection Registry in late 2025.
Clinical Roundup
Driven by a steady influx of retirees, Florida now has the highest leukemia rates of any U.S. state and the disease is the fastest-rising cancer type statewide, according to research from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Clinical Roundup
Researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center demonstrated the potential of a novel treatment approach including immunotherapy to treat advanced human papillomavirus-negative head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma. More than half of study participants had 50% or more of their tumors shrink after receiving the immunotherapy drug nivolumab with chemotherapy, followed by response-adaptive chemo-radiation therapy.
Clinical Roundup
In a phase I study, rhenium obisbemeda (186RNL)—an investigational drug developed at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio—more than doubled median survival and progression-free time, compared with standard median survival and progression rates.
Clinical Roundup
The Wistar Institute’s Paul M. Lieberman and his lab identified and tested a method for targeting certain cancers caused by Epstein-Barr Virus.
Clinical Roundup
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have identified a trigger of high-grade serous ovarian cancer: a subset of progenitor cells that reside in fallopian tube supportive tissue, or stroma.
Clinical Roundup
Scientists at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center found that combination therapy of sotorasib (Lumakras)—an FDA-approved drug in the market—and an experimental drug called FGTI-2734, could make precision medicine more effective for patients with a highly resistant form of lung cancer.
Clinical Roundup
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers developed a “self-driving” microscope that solves two challenges that have long plagued microscopy: 1) imaging living cells or organisms at dramatically different scales, and 2) following a specific structure or area of interest over long periods of time.
Clinical Roundup
In findings published in Clinical Cancer Research, a research team at Mayo Clinic identified specific proteins—fibronectin and smooth muscle actin—within colorectal cancer tissues that are associated with resistance to immunotherapy treatment.
Drugs & Targets
The European Commission approved Opdivo (nivolumab) plus Yervoy (ipilimumab) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
Drugs & Targets
The Center for Drug Evaluation of China’s National Medical Products Administration granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to olverembatinib, combination with low-intensity chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of newly-diagnosed patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
