In the first large-scale analysis of cardiovascular complications linked to immune checkpoint inhibitors, Vanderbilt researchers have shown that heart and vessel complications include myocarditis, pericarditis, vasculitis and arrhythmias, and that they occur early in the course of treatment.

The cellular nutrient glutamine launches a metabolic signaling pathway that promotes the function of some immune system T cells and suppresses others, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

An immunotherapy research initiative at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is among those being supported by the Mary Kay Foundation, which has announced $1.2 million in funding that will be equally shared among 12 cancer research institutions.

Patients with stage IV small-cell lung cancer lived longer when given the immunotherapy atezolizumab with chemotherapy, setting the stage for what could become the first new treatment approved in decades for this particularly aggressive form of lung cancer.

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have answered questions about the incidence and timing of rare but sometimes fatal reactions to the most widely prescribed class of immunotherapies.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have identified a growing number of serious and sometimes fatal cases of heart problems among cancer patients treated with some forms of immunotherapy.

James Allison, PhD, whose work led to the development of cancer immunotherapies known as “checkpoint inhibitors,” will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, March 8.