Innovation in cancer discovery moves in a cycle, rotating from the bedside to the laboratory and back again until the problem is solved. Laboratory discoveries help us understand the cellular events that lead to the formation and advancement of tumor cells so that we can derive clinical applications that save patients. From smart vaccines to new classes of drugs, we have learned how to switch on a dormant immune system to fight cancer and how to use drugs to turn on silenced tumor suppressor genes or to block proteins contributing to cancer progression. When we can't cure the disease, we've used drugs that, in certain patients, keep tumor growth in check, holding the cancer in a chronic phase. Biomarkers, genetic red flags that reveal important information about the initiation and spread of specific cancers, are being used in early detection, treatment, and in monitoring patients for recurrence of cancer. This is an exciting time in the Kimmel Cancer Center, where the laboratory and clinic have merged to introduce promising new therapies for a variety of cancers.
