Cedars-Sinai Cancer 2023 Research and Program Highlights

January

Cedars-Sinai Streamlines Lung Cancer Screening

Cedars-Sinai Cancer is taking on the country’s leading cause of cancer-related death with a new Lung Cancer Screening Program. Led by Sara Ghandehari, MD, the program is designed to reach more patients, simplify the screening process, and provide fast access to follow-up care. More than 20% of lung cancer deaths could be prevented through early detection. Read more> 

Hitting Stem Cell and CAR T Targets

The Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, led by Ronald Paquette, MD, was recognized with two important hallmarks of quality: official accreditation for CAR T-cell therapy, and a third year in a row ranking among the top adult bone marrow transplant programs in the U.S. Both achievements reflect quality care and exceptional patient outcomes and survival. Read more>

A New Facility for Cedars-Sinai Cancer Survivorship Programming

Wellness, Resilience and Survivorship programming, under the direction of Arash Asher, MD, recently relocated to a new custom-designed facility. The facility includes a kitchen, gym equipment, additional rooms for gathering and a dedicated medical clinic. Through the program, patients are able to participate in physical rehabilitation, cooking classes, a book club, and arts and nature activities. Read more>

February

Innovation: A Blood Test to Unlock Prostate Cancer Mysteries

Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators, led by Edwin Posadas, MD, medical director of the Urologic Oncology Program, have developed a new nanotechnology-based test that can detect and profile prostate cancers—even in microscopic amounts. Their work, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nanotoday, suggests that this “liquid biopsy” test could spare many patients unnecessary treatment-related side effects and direct them to effective therapies that could prolong their lives. Read more>

Study Confirms Pancreatic Cancer Rates Rising Faster in Women Than Men

In a large-scale nationwide study, investigators from Cedars-Sinai Cancer, led by Srinivas Gaddam, MD, associate director of Pancreatic Biliary Research, have confirmed that rates of pancreatic cancer are rising—and are rising faster among younger women, particularly Black women, than among men of the same age. Their work was published in the peer-reviewed journal Gastroenterology. Read more>

Cedars-Sinai Welcomes Biomedical Data Science Expert

Nicholas Tatonetti, PhD, an expert in biomedical data science, joined Cedars-Sinai as the vice chair of Computational Biomedicine and associate director for Computational Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer. Tatonetti is a key player in convergent science and precision medicine platforms such as the Molecular Twin project. His expertise in the analysis of multimodal data will move many strategic initiatives forward, and his research significantly cross-pollinates and synergizes with continuing efforts to address cancer problems of the diverse community of Cedars-Sinai patients. Read more>

March

Study Reveals New Understanding of How Androgen Therapy Affects Breast Tissue

New insights into the effects of a hormonal treatment for transgender men, discovered by Cedars-Sinai investigators led by Simon Knott, PhD, assistant professor of Biomedical Sciences and Medicine, could have implications for the treatment of breast cancer. Molecular changes observed in the breast tissue of transgender men undergoing androgen therapy may signal the potential for also using the hormone to prevent or treat a type of breast cancer that is fueled by estrogen. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Genomics. Read more>

April

Study: ChatGPT Has Potential to Help Cirrhosis, Liver Cancer Patients

A study by Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, director of Health Services Research, describes how ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, may help improve health outcomes for patients with cirrhosis and liver cancer by providing easy-to-understand information about basic knowledge, lifestyle and treatments for these conditions. The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical and Molecular Hepatology, highlight the AI system’s potential to play a role in clinical practice. Read more>

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Collaborates on a New Type of Clinical Trial

Investigators from Cedars-Sinai Cancer, with Karen L. Reckamp, MD, associate director for Clinical Research in Cedars-Sinai Cancer, as principal investigator, are collaborating on a streamlined clinical trial design in a study called Pragmatica-Lung. This randomized Phase III trial funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is testing a therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer in a real-world patient population, with a focus on just one major question: Does this therapy help patients live longer? Read more>

Study: Vitamin D May Play a Role in Prostate Cancer Disparities

African American men experience more aggressive prostate cancer at a younger age compared with European American men, new research from Cedars-Sinai Cancer, led by research scientist Moray Campbell, PhD, suggests. The multi-institutional study, published in Cancer Research Communications, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), could pave the way for revised nutritional guidelines. Read more>

May

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Appoints New OncoBiobank Director

Cedars-Sinai Cancer recently appointed Karine Sargsyan, MD, formerly director of one of the world’s largest clinical biobanks, as scientific director of its OncoBiobank. Sargsyan is leading biobank development and creating new strategies for the optimal deployment and use of the Cedars-Sinai Cancer Molecular Twin Precision Oncology Platform for both research and clinical practice. Read more>

Study Reveals How Fatty Liver Promotes Colorectal Cancer Spread

Investigators at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, led by Ekihiro Seki, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, found that fatty liver, a condition closely associated with obesity, promotes the spread of colorectal cancer to the liver. Their study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Metabolism, details the process at the cellular level and could change the way doctors manage the disease in some patients. Read more>

New Bladder Cancer Classification Predicts Treatment Response

Investigators led by Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer, working in collaboration with colleagues in Colorado and the Netherlands, have identified a specific type of bladder cancer most likely to resist first-line treatment. Their study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine, could guide clinicians toward more aggressive treatment or more targeted therapies for some patients with specific subtypes of the disease, ultimately saving lives. Read more>

June

Targeted Chemotherapy Helps Cure Some Inoperable Tumors

Physicians at Cedars-Sinai Cancer are using a unique chemotherapy delivery system that offers hope to colorectal cancer patients whose disease has spread and who now have inoperable liver tumors. Cedars-Sinai is one of the few centers in the area to offer the therapy, called hepatic artery infusion (HAI) pump chemotherapy. Cristina Ferrone, MD, chair of the Department of Surgery and a specialist in the care of patients with complex hepato-pancreato-biliary disorders, and surgical oncologist Alexandra Gangi, MD, director of the Gastrointestinal Tumor Program, have spearheaded delivery of the therapy. Read more>

Loss of Y Chromosome in Men Enables Cancer to Grow

As men age, some of their cells lose the Y chromosome, hampering the body’s ability to fight cancer, according to new research from Cedars-Sinai Cancer. The study, led by Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer, was published in the leading scientific journal Nature. It concluded that loss of the Y chromosome helps cancer cells evade the body’s immune system, resulting in aggressive bladder cancer, but also rendering the disease more vulnerable—and responsive—to a standard treatment called immune checkpoint inhibitors. Read more>

Distinguished Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist Joins Cedars-Sinai

Leo Mascarenhas, MD, MS, an internationally recognized pediatric hematologist-oncologist and sarcoma expert, has been appointed director of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s and as medical director of the Sarcoma Program at Cedars-Sinai Cancer. Mascarenhas, who joins Cedars-Sinai in January 2024, also will serve as a senior investigator in the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute Cancer Therapeutics Program and as a professor of Pediatrics at Guerin Children’s. Read more>

July

Missing a Rare Cause of Hereditary Cancer

Research from Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators could warrant reconsideration of current screening guidelines to include a poorly recognized cause of Lynch syndrome, the most common cause of hereditary colorectal and endometrial cancers. The study, led by Megan Hitchins, PhD, director of Translational Genomics in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, was published in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and concluded that the guidelines leave a significant number of patients undiagnosed. Read more>

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Welcomes Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program Director

Gynecologic oncologist Margaret Liang, MD, has joined the Cedars-Sinai Cancer Division of Gynecologic Oncology, providing care and clinical services for patients within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She also joins as director for the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program. In addition to completing her fellowship training at Cedars-Sinai, Liang is a nationally recognized expert in the field, positioning her well to help lead and grow the program. Read more>

Inaugural Chair in Medical Discovery Named

Cedars-Sinai has named Lali Medina-Kauwe, PhD, as the inaugural holder of the Carol Moss Foundation Chair in Medical Discovery. The support of the Carol Moss Foundation, whose endowment was championed by the foundation’s late president, Samuel W. Halper, will enable Medina-Kauwe to advance innovative research in nanomedicine, the engineering of tiny particles to prevent and treat disease. Read more>

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Welcomes Hematologist-Oncologist Niki Patel, MD

Niki Patel, MD, a fellowship-trained hematologist-oncologist board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, has joined the Division of Medical Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer. She is treating patients in Pasadena at Huntington Cancer Center at Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai. Patel provides clinical care for patients with breast cancer, with a particular focus on adolescents and young adults. Read more>

August

Bladder Cancer: Cedars-Sinai Begins Project to Study Sex Differences

Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators, led by Xue Li, PhD, co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program, are spearheading a project, funded by a five-year, $11.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to advance scientific knowledge of how biological differences between men and women affect bladder cancer. They hope to use this knowledge to shape therapies and improve patient outcomes. Read more>

New Malignant Melanoma Treatments Show Promise for Other Cancers

Investigators from The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai Cancer, have determined that a combination of drugs that act on the immune system in distinct ways improves survival for patients with the deadliest form of skin cancer. The results of their multicenter Phase Ib clinical trial, led by Omid Hamid, MD, medical director of the Cutaneous Malignancies Disease Research Group at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, were published in the peer-reviewed Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. Read more>

Examining Race and Endometrial Cancer Outcomes

Investigators from Cedars-Sinai Cancer, led by Kristin Taylor, MD, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, found that Black women with a low-risk form of endometrial cancer were less likely than white women with the same cancer to have a hysterectomy, and less likely to survive their cancer. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Gynecologic Oncology, concluded that further research is needed to clarify the reasons for this disparity. Read more>

September

A Path to Heart-Safe Chemotherapy 

Investigators from the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute and Cedars-Sinai Cancer, led by Arun Sharma, PhD, research scientist in the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, the Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Cancer and the Department of Biomedical Sciences, have collaborated to co-develop and test a new version of the chemotherapy workhorse doxorubicin. Their study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Stem Cell Reports, concluded that the reformulated version is less toxic to the heart than the version in wide use since the 1960s. Read more>

New Medical Director Appointed at Cedars-Sinai Cancer in Beverly Hills

Hematologist-oncologist Kevin Scher, MD, MBA, an expert in patient-centric care with more than 10 years of experience on the Cedars-Sinai Cancer faculty, has been appointed medical director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer in Beverly Hills. In his new role, Scher will work with Cedars-Sinai Cancer and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Network leadership to ensure the highest standard of care for cancer patients. Read more>

Precision Medicine Specialist Joins The Angeles Clinic

Hematologist-oncologist Navid Hafez, MD, MPH, has joined The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai Cancer, as director of Precision Medicine and Thoracic Oncology. Hafez will focus on clinical research programs to develop molecular and targeted therapies to treat cancers of the chest cavity, including lung cancers. He also will provide care for patients with thoracic cancer. Read more>

October

Promising New Options for Treating Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators, led by Stephen Freedland, MD, the Warschaw, Robertson, Law Families Chair in Prostate Cancer at Cedars-Sinai, have identified two promising new treatment options for men with recurrent prostate cancer—both of which helped patients live longer without their disease progressing than the current standard treatment. The results of their international Phase III clinical trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read more>

An Updated Look at Prostate Cancer Disparities

Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators, led by Jun Gong, MD, medical director of Colorectal Cancer Medicine, have found that Black men respond as well as white men to systemic therapies for advanced prostate cancer when access to quality healthcare is equal, regardless of socioeconomic status. Their study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Oncology, counters previous research suggesting that Black men receiving these therapies—which include hormone therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy—fare worse than white men do. Read more>

December

Cancer Discovery: How the Liver Defends Itself

Cedars-Sinai investigators, led by Shelly Lu, MD, director of the Karsh Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, have discovered how the liver defends itself against cancer. Their study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Hepatology, suggests targets for therapies to protect the liver both from cancers that originate there and cancers that spread to the liver from other parts of the body. Read more>

New Cancer Research Consortium Melds Scientific Disciplines

Cedars-Sinai Cancer is part of an unconventional consortium dedicated to fighting cancer through the integration of diverse scientific disciplines. The effort, known as the Convergent Science Cancer Consortium, is funded through a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. Much of the consortium is modeled on the recently established Convergent Science Virtual Cancer Center led by Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer. Read more>

Predicting Lymphoma Patients’ Treatment Outcomes

Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators, led by Akil Merchant, MD, co-director of the Lymphoma Program, have discovered a new way to predict whether a cancer of the immune system will recur in patients treated with a bone marrow transplant. Their study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Oncology, is the first to use a novel technique called spatial profiling to predict patient outcomes, and could lead to more precisely targeted treatment. Read more>