Cancer Research | Penn Today

Moderna’s cancer vaccine could change America in 7 surprising ways

"We need better ways to prevent recurrence for patients in remission. Recurrence of cancer is a most dreaded event," says Robert Vonderheide of Penn Medicine. "A vaccine to mobilize the immune system to guard against recurrence would be a gamechanger. This news means such a vaccine is probably closer to reality than we thought."

New mRNA vaccine could reduce the recurrence and spread of skin cancer 

“Right now, this is for patients who’ve had melanoma,” says Robert Vonderheide of Penn Medicine. “It is a vaccine to prevent recurrence, which the companies reported yesterday that it did so. We await the data, of course.”

A meeting of the minds drives discovery in the brain

A Penn Medicine couple’s mission to advance brain research using organoids lies in cross-disciplinary partnerships.

2 min. read

New therapeutic target expands options for multiple myeloma

In a phase I clinical trial from Penn Medicine, activating T cells with the antibody cevostamab targets a protein found on the surface of plasma cells, supporting further clinical research as a myeloma treatment.

2 min. read

Researchers in the lab of Robert Vonderheide.

New frontiers in cancer interception

The science of cancer interception is advancing at Penn Medicine with a new platform to develop cancer vaccines that piles scientific strength upon strength.

2 min. read

A one-two punch: Using lipid nanoparticles to transform oral cancer treatment

A multidisciplinary team of Penn researchers has developed a platform that delivers a combination of cancer-fighting therapies to treat oral squamous cell carcinoma.

2 min. read

Immune activation may determine success of dual-target CAR T therapy in glioblastoma

New research from Penn Medicine finds that activation of natural killer cells is linked to longer survival, and suppressive immune cells is tied to poor response.

2 min. read

Chunxiao Sun holding a fungal sample on a petri dish.

Unearthing new cancer treatments from fungi

Penn Engineers led by Xue “Sherry” Gao have developed a gene-editing tool built specifically for fungi, unlocking a hidden library of molecules—including some with early anti-cancer promise—from one of biology’s most overlooked kingdoms.

3 min. read

US Healthcare founder and philanthropist Leonard Abramson dies at 94

Leonard Abramson donated $100 million to the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 to establish the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute. The gift at the time was the largest ever to a university cancer center.

AI framework aids target discovery for CAR T cell therapy

Researchers at Penn Medicine have created a generalizable strategy to identify new targets for CAR T cell therapy.

2 min. read

Filters

Moderna’s cancer vaccine could change America in 7 surprising ways

New mRNA vaccine could reduce the recurrence and spread of skin cancer

A meeting of the minds drives discovery in the brain

New therapeutic target expands options for multiple myeloma

New frontiers in cancer interception

A one-two punch: Using lipid nanoparticles to transform oral cancer treatment

Immune activation may determine success of dual-target CAR T therapy in glioblastoma

Unearthing new cancer treatments from fungi

US Healthcare founder and philanthropist Leonard Abramson dies at 94

AI framework aids target discovery for CAR T cell therapy

New mRNA vaccine could reduce the recurrence and spread of skin cancer 