News and Breakthroughs

A type of immunotherapy appears to be effective in treating a deadly subset of thyroid cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial published in JAMA Oncology.

Just two years out from its launch, the Center for Human Immunobiology has quickly become a bustling hub for collaborative efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms of the immune system and translate discoveries into innovative cures for immune-regulated diseases. 

International oncology experts, including Jessica Altman, MD, Director of Lurie Cancer Center’s Leukemia Program at Northwestern Medicine, are gathering in Accra, Ghana for a series of meetings to update cancer treatment recommendations in the NCCN Harmonized Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa, free resources for optimizing and standardizing cancer care across the region. Dr. Altman, a professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, is Vice-Chair of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines Panel for Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered how a protein in a deadly type of lung cancer can control how the immune system responds to the tumor, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered that a novel combination treatment promotes cancer cell death and tumor regression in mouse models of pancreatic cancer, providing a rationale for testing in future clinical trials, according to recent findings.

More than 100 Cancer Administrators Network (CAN) leaders from around the Lurie Cancer Center network came together on Friday for our annual retreat.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a new underlying mechanism that controls a specialized group of T-cells, findings that may serve as potential targets for treating inflammatory diseases and cancer, according to a recent study.

The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University hosted the Midwest Metabolism Meeting (M3) on September 19, 2024. Designed to facilitate the exchange of cutting-edge knowledge and discoveries, the symposium brought together students, postdoctoral fellows, and leading scientists from labs across the Midwest to explore the role of metabolism in cancer and other diseases.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have developed a more effective method of delivering a cutting-edge cancer treatment, according to findings published in the journal ACS Nano.

Cancer patients in the adolescent and young adult (AYA) age group – generally defined as people between the ages of 15 and 39 – face a variety of unique challenges, from navigating a healthcare system that is not designed for them to financial toxicity and the reality of living with disease in the “prime” of their life.

Ann Lurie, a visionary donor, Northwestern University Trustee, and humanitarian, passed away on June 24, 2024, at 79. We remember her legacy at Northwestern and profound impact upon medical research and patient care in Chicago and globally.

Current diagnostic guidelines for a rare type of lymphoma miss a subset of patients with the disease, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in the journal Blood.

In October 2024, Sofia Garcia, PhD, director of the Cancer Survivorship Institute of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, joined directors of other leading U.S. cancer survivorship programs in a webinar and panel discussion on advancing research through clinical survivorship programs. This webinar, part of the NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS) Director’s Series, also featured Precilla Belin, PhD, MA, MCHES of the NCI Office of Cancer Centers. Dr. Belin shared an overview on the role that office plays in advancing survivorship research.

On a fall day in 2022, Alex Pancoe ’09, of Glencoe, Illinois, was about an hour short of cresting the summit of Ama Dablam, a 22,000-foot mountain in the Nepalese Himalayas, when a wave of weakness struck him.

Investigators have demonstrated how molecular profiling of tumors can be used to help predict treatment response and survival in patients with meningiomas, the most common type of primary brain tumor, according to a recent study published in Nature Medicine.