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Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

News and Breakthroughs

Find the latest news and discoveries, as well highlights from Lurie Cancer Center’s programs and events through the links below. To learn more about our accomplishments and the people who make them possible, visit the Lurie Cancer Center news archive.

Visit our gallery to view a wide range of photos and videos for oncology professionals, cancer patients and families, cancer survivors, caregivers and community members.

  • 12.04.2024

    Eight Lurie Cancer Center members were named to the 2023 list of Highly Cited Researchers, published by Clarivate Analytics. The annual list identifies investigators who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their chosen fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the past decade.

  • 12.03.2024

    Advancing breast cancer care for patients -- locally, nationally, and worldwide -- requires a shared commitment. Through the generous support of the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation and a competitive award from Chicago Sister Cities International’s Medical Initiative Program, 19 early-career oncologists from 18 sister cities had the opportunity to take part in the 2024 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium from October 24-27.

  • 11.25.2024

    Physicians and scientists from the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Medicine will present and discuss exciting new research and important clinical findings at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, December 7-10 in San Diego, California, and online. With more than 18,000 members from nearly 100 countries, ASH is the world’s largest professional society serving both clinicians and scientists around the world who are working to conquer blood diseases.

  • 11.20.2024

    Patients with a subtype of glioblastoma who received a combination treatment of a PARP inhibitor and standard chemotherapy did not demonstrate improved survival compared to chemotherapy and placebo, according to a recent clinical trial published in JAMA Oncology.

  • 11.19.2024

    A type of immunotherapy appears to be effective in treating a deadly subset of thyroid cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial published in JAMA Oncology.

  • 11.18.2024

    Dr. Marcelo Bonini thanks the Associate Board of Lurie Cancer Center for its extraordinary support of the board’s Innovative Research Scholar Awards and emphasizes the impact of such vital funding for research. The Associate Board of Lurie Cancer Center is determined to help in the fight against cancer and is raising funds to provide pilot research funding for highly innovative projects that are high-risk, high reward.

  • 11.11.2024

    Just two years out from its launch, the Center for Human Immunobiology has quickly become a bustling hub for collaborative efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms of the immune system and translate discoveries into innovative cures for immune-regulated diseases. 

  • 11.11.2024

    Handling the costs of treatment and other medical expenses, sometimes called financial toxicity, is a common problem faced by cancer patients. But there is no consensus among physicians and researchers on best practices for screening patients for vulnerability to financial toxicity.

  • 10.29.2024

    International oncology experts, including Jessica Altman, MD, Director of Lurie Cancer Center’s Leukemia Program at Northwestern Medicine, are gathering in Accra, Ghana for a series of meetings to update cancer treatment recommendations in the NCCN Harmonized Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa, free resources for optimizing and standardizing cancer care across the region. Dr. Altman, a professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, is Vice-Chair of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines Panel for Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

  • 10.24.2024

    A new five-year grant to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, aims to address cancer disparities and structural inequities through community-engaged research capacity building and outreach.

  • 10.17.2024

    Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered how a protein in a deadly type of lung cancer can control how the immune system responds to the tumor, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

  • 10.16.2024

    The average length of survival for glioblastoma has failed to improve since it was first identified in scientific literature nearly 100 years ago. Despite this, scientists at Feinberg remain steadfast in their commitment to improving the understanding and treatment of glioblastoma through rigorous research initiatives and clinical trials.

  • 10.10.2024

    Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered that a novel combination treatment promotes cancer cell death and tumor regression in mouse models of pancreatic cancer, providing a rationale for testing in future clinical trials, according to recent findings.

  • 10.09.2024

    Investigators have discovered that targeting specific mechanisms linked to lipid metabolism in immune cells within tumors may improve response to current and future cancer immunotherapies, according to a recent study published in the journal Immunity.

  • 10.08.2024

    More than 100 Cancer Administrators Network (CAN) leaders from around the Lurie Cancer Center network came together on Friday for our annual retreat.

  • 10.04.2024

    Patients receiving palliative care via telehealth report similar quality-of-life scores compared to those who had in-person care, according to a multicenter clinical trial recently published in JAMA.

  • 10.03.2024

    Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a new underlying mechanism that controls a specialized group of T-cells, findings that may serve as potential targets for treating inflammatory diseases and cancer, according to a recent study.

  • 10.02.2024

    Minimally invasive implant will eliminate the need for injections and deliver medicine on demand

  • 10.02.2024

    The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University hosted the Midwest Metabolism Meeting (M3) on September 19, 2024. Designed to facilitate the exchange of cutting-edge knowledge and discoveries, the symposium brought together students, postdoctoral fellows, and leading scientists from labs across the Midwest to explore the role of metabolism in cancer and other diseases.

  • 09.30.2024

    A new Northwestern Medicine study suggests using an alternative approach to prostate biopsy is as effective at detecting cancer as the current approach, but without the risk of infection or need for prophylactic antibiotics.

  • 09.27.2024

    Northwestern Medicine scientists have developed a more effective method of delivering a cutting-edge cancer treatment, according to findings published in the journal ACS Nano.

  • 09.24.2024

    Hidayatullah G. Munshi, MD, ‘02, ‘04 GME, has been named chief of Feinberg’s Division of Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Medicine.

  • 09.24.2024

    Cancer patients in the adolescent and young adult (AYA) age group – generally defined as people between the ages of 15 and 39 – face a variety of unique challenges, from navigating a healthcare system that is not designed for them to financial toxicity and the reality of living with disease in the “prime” of their life.

  • 09.23.2024

    Harnessing the body’s own B-cells to fight tumors may be a promising treatment for glioblastoma, according to a Northwestern Medicine study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

  • 09.23.2024

    Ann Lurie, a visionary donor, Northwestern University Trustee, and humanitarian, passed away on June 24, 2024, at 79. We remember her legacy at Northwestern and profound impact upon medical research and patient care in Chicago and globally.

  • 09.23.2024

    On Saturday, November 2, the Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation (HCRF) will celebrate a decade of dedication and support of groundbreaking research at the Lurie Cancer Center at the 10th Anniversary Wings to Cure Gala.

  • 09.20.2024

    Current diagnostic guidelines for a rare type of lymphoma miss a subset of patients with the disease, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in the journal Blood.

  • 09.18.2024

    The MYC oncogene is notorious in the cancer research world because it is implicated in many advanced or aggressive cancers such as treatment-resistant prostate cancer. In this episode, Sarki Abdulkadir, MD, PhD, shares how his team bucked the conventional notion that the MYC gene is “undruggable” and uncovered a handful of compounds that block MYC gene activity, making prostate cancer tumors sensitive to hormone therapy and opening up a potential new therapeutic target for treatment-resistant prostate cancer.

  • 09.18.2024

    In October 2024, Sofia Garcia, PhD, director of the Cancer Survivorship Institute of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, joined directors of other leading U.S. cancer survivorship programs in a webinar and panel discussion on advancing research through clinical survivorship programs. This webinar, part of the NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS) Director’s Series, also featured Precilla Belin, PhD, MA, MCHES of the NCI Office of Cancer Centers. Dr. Belin shared an overview on the role that office plays in advancing survivorship research.

See more news in the article archive.