News and Breakthroughs

A new Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered how a key immunoregulatory receptor plays an unexpected dual role in promoting T-cell exhaustion during chronic infection and cancer, according to findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have uncovered a biological mechanism that helps explain why most patients with glioblastoma fail to respond to immunotherapy, according to a study published in Nature Communications.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered that one of the body’s most fundamental biological processes — how red blood cells are made — works differently in humans than previously thought, according to a new study published in Nature Genetics.

A large international clinical trial has found that adding the drug apalutamide to standard hormone therapy before and after prostate cancer surgery significantly improves outcomes for men with high-risk disease, according to details published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

On Sunday, June 7, our Cancer Survivors’ Celebration Walk & 5K brought together over 2,500 survivors and supporters to walk, run, connect as a community, and accelerate life-changing cancer research. Thank you for being part of our 33rd annual celebration on National Cancer Survivors Day!

A new Northwestern Medicine study suggests that a simple blood test could help identify which patients with head and neck cancer are most likely to benefit from immunotherapy, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

A drug widely used to treat asthma and allergies may also help fight aggressive cancers, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study that uncovered how tumors hijack common white blood cells to evade immunotherapy.

Robert Murphy, MD, executive director of the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health, and member of the Lurie Cancer Center, has been honored with the 2026 Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Distinguished Leadership in Global Health Award.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have uncovered an unexpected role for a well-known cancer-related protein, revealing a new layer of genetic regulation that could reshape how certain cancers are treated.

Scientists have discovered that increased expression of a novel long non-coding RNA drives glioblastoma cell growth alongside a genetic amplification found in more than half of glioblastoma tumors, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Cell Biology.

A little-studied group of cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream may play a bigger role in breast cancer progression than previously thought, according to new research published in Science Translational Medicine that sheds light on how the disease spreads and why some patients fare worse than others.

For 40 years, the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation has been a philanthropic partner of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, supporting breast cancer research, physician training, and clinical collaboration at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Carolyn Passaglia Appointed Associate Director for Administration at Lurie Cancer Center

CAR T-cell immunotherapy improved progression-free and overall survival in patients with relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma, according to a recent clinical trial published in The Lancet.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a potent immunotherapy approach for treating meningiomas, the most common type of primary brain tumor, according to a recent study published in Nature Communications.