While immune checkpoint inhibitors that target the PD-1 molecule on T-cells have proven to be effective with many cancers, these immunotherapies have not worked for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but new research has identified a “cousin” molecule as a potential therapeutic target for AML. 

The Food and Drug Administration first granted marketing approval for the DigniCap system for patients with breast cancer in 2015, then in 2017 the FDA expanded the authorization, making it the first cooling cap cleared for use in cancer patients with solid tumors, such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer.

Vanderbilt research indicates that adding liquid biopsy testing for circulating tumor DNA mutations increases targetable mutation detection rates.

Vanderbilt researchers are studying a potential therapy for acute myeloid leukemia that targets the residual leukemic stem cells in bone marrow after treatment that are responsible for relapses and drug resistance.

Vanderbilt researchers are working to better design immune therapies that attack tumors without also attacking healthy normal tissue in patients.

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a druggable target on natural killer cells that could potentially trigger a therapeutic response in patients with immunotherapy-resistant, triple-negative breast cancer.