immunotherapy Archives

T cells (orange) engage with cancer cells (blue). Halle Borowski, an artist and senior at the College of William and Mary, worked with Drs. Mary Philip and Jess Roetman to create this oil painting, inspired by their research, as part of the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation (VI4) Artist-in-Residence program (https://www.artlab-air.com/).

Tumor antigens key to improving cancer immunotherapy: study

Nov. 17, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers are working to better design immune therapies that attack tumors without also attacking healthy normal tissue in patients.

Chronic complications from immunotherapies more prevalent and persistent than previously shown among melanoma survivors

Aug. 8, 2023—A Vanderbilt study has found that chronic immunotherapy-related complications are more prevalent and persistent than previously shown among melanoma survivors.

Mary Philip, MD, PhD, left, and Michael Rudloff, PhD, found that T cells become “exhausted” within hours of encountering a tumor, challenging existing ideas about how T cells become dysfunctional. (photo by Anthony Czelusniak)

Study finds hallmarks of T cell exhaustion within hours of tumor exposure

Aug. 3, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers found that T cells become “exhausted” within hours of encountering a tumor, challenging existing ideas about how T cells become dysfunctional.

Luke and Susan Simons recently made a gift to establish the Susan and Luke Simons Directorship at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

Couple’s gift helps support immunotherapy research

Aug. 11, 2022—Luke and Susan Simons have endowed a new directorship that will support research so that more people can benefit from immunotherapies.

Novel immunotherapy shows robust response for multiple myeloma

Sep. 10, 2021—Vanderbilt research found that a novel immunotherapy demonstrated robust effectiveness in treating relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Study identifies biomarker for breast cancer response to immunotherapy

Aug. 12, 2021—A biomarker that has proven to be a predictor for response to immunotherapies in melanoma patients also has clinical relevance for breast cancer patients, according to a new study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Clinical trial to test immunotherapy for rectal cancer

Aug. 5, 2021—A new clinical trial seeks to determine whether immunotherapy in combination with short-course radiation followed by surgical resection could be a curative treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer.

Preclinical study supports rigosertib as booster to immunotherapy treatment for melanoma

Jul. 1, 2021—A team of Vanderbilt researchers have shown in a preclinical study that the investigational drug rigosertib could be a potential booster treatment to elicit response to immunotherapies among melanoma patients.

Forty-three percent of melanoma patients have chronic complications from immunotherapies

Mar. 25, 2021—Chronic side effects among melanoma survivors after treatment with anti-PD-1 immunotherapies are more common than previously recognized, according to a study published March 25 in JAMA Oncology.

A “torque” for tumor blood vessels

Aug. 20, 2020—Vanderbilt scientists have discovered a new target for normalizing tumor blood vessels to improve cancer immunotherapies.

Dona Potter was treated with a new immunotherapy that entails re-engineering a patient’s T cells to target cancer.

Patient’s cancer treatment includes new immunotherapy

Feb. 27, 2020—Dona Potter, 87, rode Harleys and drove 18-wheelers back when men dominated the open highways, and she is still defying expectations.

Journey Home Project supports first CAR-T infusion at VA hospital

Jan. 16, 2020—The Tennessee Valley Healthcare System performed its first CAR-T infusion recently at the Veterans Administration hospital in Nashville.