Recognition follows strong early clinical results for a novel off-the-shelf CAR T therapy targeting rare and aggressive T-cell malignancies
A novel off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy pioneered at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine is gaining national recognition after delivering striking clinical results in patients with rare and aggressive blood cancers.
The FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to WU-CART-007, an allogeneic anti-CD7 CAR T-cell therapy developed by WashU Medicine researchers. In early global trials, 73% of adults and adolescents with relapsed or refractory (R/R) T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia or T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-ALL/LBL) achieved full remission following treatment — an outcome that positions the therapy as a potential gamechanger in T-cell malignancies.
“Relapsed T-cell leukemias and lymphomas represent one of the most challenging areas in hematologic oncology,” said oncologist John DiPersio, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy at WashU Medicine and an internationally recognized cell therapy leader at Siteman Cancer Center. “We are leading transformative advances for patients with these rare and aggressive cancers. Developing an off-the-shelf CAR T platform that can induce high remission rates in this population reflects the translational depth and cellular therapy infrastructure we’ve built at Siteman.”
DiPersio and Matthew Cooper, PhD, developed the therapy — manufactured using an off-the-shelf approach from healthy donors — to target CD7+ malignancies. The two founded the biotech company Wugen in 2018 to advance the research. Further clinical trials are underway in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia, including at Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
In reviewing results from earlier clinical trials in children, researchers at Siteman Kids noted that WU-CART-007 (also known as soficabtagene geleucel, or sofi-cel) could be a gamechanger if the therapy continues to move almost all patients from disease-state to remission, thus enabling patients to undergo stem cell transplantation.
The rapid advance of WU-CART-007 is just the latest example of what Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, director of Siteman Cancer Center, says arises out of a robust eco-system of innovation, collaboration and excellence in cancer research at WashU Medicine.
Siteman is known internationally for its basic and translational research efforts and is one of only a few institutions to receive three prestigious Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), for leukemia, endometrial and pancreatic cancer research.
Blood Cancer United, formerly known as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, also has awarded scientists at Siteman a Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) grant for lymphoma research. Such grants are specifically designed to accelerate promising translational research into patient care.
“We are committed to continually advancing treatments for cancer and broadening options for patients,” Eberlein said. “Toward that goal, we have initiated several home-grown clinical trials that have changed the course of treatment for many cancers. Our depth and breadth of oncology research is wide, and our expertise is the result of innovation, dedication and multidisciplinary cross-collaboration that occurs throughout our center.”
Other examples of comprehensive, specialized programs at Siteman include the:
Brain Tumor Center, known nationally and internationally for innovative care and neuro-oncology research, including multiple investigator-initiated clinical trials
Translational Research Highlights
In addition to the latest breakthrough in leukemia and lymphoma research and care, examples of other research efforts that have changed practice guidelines include:
New Standard of Care Established for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancers — In the first change in standard-of-care therapy in more than 20 years, the FDA approved the use of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for treatment of resectable locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in adults. The approval, announced in mid-2025, came after a clinical trial initiated at Siteman in 2013. That trial and later ones, including an international trial, demonstrated greater tumor shrinkage prior to surgery and longer survival rates when immunotherapy was added. “It’s exciting to see our ideas move toward clinical practice with such impressive and potentially life-changing results,” said Douglas Adkins, MD, co-director of the Head and Neck Tumor Center at Siteman, who co-led the clinical trials at Siteman and elsewhere.
Addition of Brentuximab Vedotin for Relapsed Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Results in Statistically Significant Survival Benefit — With approximately 40% of patients diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) having relapsed or refractory disease, researchers at Siteman, led by Nancy Bartlett, MD, found in the ECHELON-Phase Three clinical trial that the use of an antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin, when combined with either lenalidomide or rituximab, was not only safe but also demonstrated improved survival benefit in patients with R/R DLBCL.
Dostarlimab Plus Chemo for Primary Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer — Matthew Powell, MD, co-led national studies that found adding immune checkpoint inhibitors to standard therapy for endometrial cancer improves outcomes for many patients, with an average increase in overall survival of 31%.
T-cell Immunotherapy Effective in Treating Rare Soft Tissue Cancers — Siteman Cancer Center’s Sarcoma program was a major clinical trial site for this study, which found that T-cell immunotherapy, specifically the drug afamitresgene autoleucel, or afami-cel, was effective and generated long-term responses in patients with rare soft tissue cancers.
Sotorasib Approved as Targeted Therapy for Patients with Specific Type of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer — Following clinical trials at Siteman and globally, the FDA approved sotorasib for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer whose tumors express a G12C mutation in the KRAS gene and who have already undergone previous treatment. Ramaswamy Govindan, MD, who led the study, noted that the drug targeted the most common mutation, reduced tumor sizes, and improved overall survival rates.
Medicare Approves Whole-Genome Test for Blood Cancers — A test for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) developed at Siteman was the first whole-genome sequencing test for cancer to be approved for reimbursement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Called ChromoSeq, the test is now routinely used by oncologists to guide treatment decisions for patients with blood cancers.
“At Siteman, we have built one of the world’s leading cellular immunotherapy programs focused on developing next-generation treatments for rare and refractory cancers,” Eberlein said. “Many of our most impactful cell therapy trials are investigator-initiated and originated here, reflecting a translational infrastructure designed to bring innovative therapies to patients with the most aggressive and rarest cancers.”
WashU researchers at Siteman Cancer Center are advancing breast imaging to help patients avoid invasive procedures and improve the screening experience
In a new discovery at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, a team of researchers and physicians found that utilizing ultrasound-guided diffuse optical tomography technology can reduce unnecessary breast biopsy rates by nearly 25%.
Now for the first time in a clinical trial, Siteman Cancer Center is using these new methods first, rather than starting with a biopsy, to determine if additional diagnoses are needed to test for cancer. The research was recently published in Breast Cancer Research and supported by a nearly $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
Every year in the United States, more than 1 million breast biopsies are performed. Yet 75-80% of those biopsies turn out to be benign, meaning patients undergo an invasive procedure, anxiety, and waiting — only to learn cancer is not present.
New Research in Breast Cancer Imaging
In a double-blind clinical trial involving 226 patients, the WashU Medicine research and physician team at Siteman found that ultrasound-guided diffuse optical tomography (DOT) — used alongside standard breast ultrasound — can reduce unnecessary benign biopsies by nearly 25%, while maintaining a false negative rate below 2%, consistent with American College of Radiology safety standards.
By combining standard ultrasound with diffuse optical tomography, radiologists gain additional information about tissue biology, not just structure.
Why This Matters for Patients Undergoing Breast Imaging
A biopsy remains the only way to definitively diagnose breast cancer. However, many suspicious findings on mammography or ultrasound are not cancer — and the uncertainty between imaging and biopsy can be one of the most stressful periods in a patient’s experience.
This research aims to improve how physicians distinguish which lesions truly require biopsy and which may be safely monitored. For patients, it means care that is not only the most advanced but thoughtfully designed to ensure that cancer is detected as early and screening is as accessible and low-cost as possible for more people.
Leadership in Breast Imaging Innovation
The study was led by:
Quing Zhu, PhD, Edwin H. Murty Professor of Engineering, WashU McKelvey School of Engineering
The study team also included Steven P. Poplack, MD, formerly of WashU Medicine and Siteman, who is now a professor of radiology (breast imaging) at Stanford University.
# # #
Zhu Q, Bennett D, Hagemann IS, Mannix J, Wiele K, Luther M, Luo J, Poplack SP. Ultrasound-guided diffuse optical tomography: An adjunct to ultrasound that can reduce unnecessary breast biopsies. Breast Cancer Research, published online Dec. 31, 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-025-02206-3
Funding for this research was provided by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (R01CA228047).
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine is pleased to announce funding for 13 new projects, including two clinical trials and community outreach and engagement efforts.
Through this research, investigators aim to improve the understanding of tumor formation and growth, develop safer, more effective therapies, and remove barriers to precision medicine.
The funding is awarded through the Siteman Investment Program, which supports and accelerates the pace of innovation in cancer research. The money awarded comes from a variety of sources, including The Cancer Frontier Fund at The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, which includes gifts from Pedal the Cause, the Foundation’s annual Illumination Gala, and donations throughout the year; the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) from the National Cancer Institute; the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Research Fund; Swim Across America – St. Louis; and various philanthropic gifts.
Please see below for more details about each funded project.
New Clinical Trial Category
Project Title: A Phase II, Single-Center, Open-Label Study of First-Line Ipilimumab plus Nivolumab and Nogapendekin Alfa Inbakicept (N-803) in Patients with Stage IV or Recurrent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (FLINN)
Goal: The study tests the hypothesis that adding nogapendekin alfa inbakicept (N-803), a drug that helps boost the immune system, to the already FDA-approved drug combination of nivolumab (anti-PD-1) and ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4) will enhance anti-tumor responses in patients with stage IV or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Each drug activates the immune system through distinct but complementary mechanisms. Together, these agents may improve the depth and durability of clinical benefit compared with nivolumab and ipilimumab alone. In this study, patients will receive all three agents (nivolumab, ipilimumab, and N-803), and researchers will measure progression-free survival, overall clinical efficacy and the safety of this combination. They will also collect blood and tumor samples to understand how this treatment affects the immune system and the area around the tumor. The results of this study will clarify whether N-803 can further enhance the therapeutic effect of first-line immunotherapy and could establish a foundation for a future definitive trial aimed at improving outcomes for patients with advanced NSCLC.
Morgensztern
Project Summary: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S., and most patients are diagnosed only after the disease has already spread and can no longer be cured with radiation or surgery. At this stage, the main goals of treatment are to relieve symptoms, slow cancer progression and help patients live longer. One of the most important advancements in lung cancer care has been the development of immunotherapy, a class of medications that help the body’s immune system recognize and attack cancer cells. Two immunotherapy drugs, nivolumab and ipilimumab, are already FDA-approved for first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These medicines work by “releasing the brakes” on the immune system, allowing immune cells to attack the cancer more effectively. Although some patients achieve a long-lasting response to the immunotherapy combination, most either do not benefit or eventually experience cancer progression, highlighting the need for more effective and durable treatment options. Our study will test whether adding a new medicine called nogapendekin alfa inbakicept (N-803) can improve how well nivolumab and ipilimumab work in controlling lung cancer. N-803 acts like a natural protein that boosts the activity of two key immune cells: natural killer (NK) cells and CD8+ T cells. Earlier research has shown that combining N-803 with nivolumab is safe and may help control the cancer. N-803 is already FDA-approved for the treatment of early-stage bladder cancer. By giving all three medicines together, we hope to strengthen the immune system’s ability to fight lung cancer and achieve a more durable response. If successful, this study could lead to a new, more effective, chemotherapy-free treatment option for patients with advanced lung cancer and pave the way for a larger national study.
Project Title: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase lb Study Evaluating the Safety and Toxicity of Recombinant Human IL-7 (NT-I7) in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma Following BCMA CAR-T Therapy (Cilta-cel)
Goal: This is a two-arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, phase Ib study testing the safety and toxicity of adding NT-I7 to BCMA CAR-T (standard of care) therapy in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). The hypothesis is that NT-I7 will help CAR T cells expand more and persist longer in the body, which will help get rid of multiple myeloma cells while still being safe. Patients receiving standard of care therapy will be randomized to either receive the addition of NT-I7 or a placebo. Correlative studies will evaluate CAR-T cell expansion, persistence, immune-phenotype, function and correlate with clinical outcomes.
Project Summary: Multiple myeloma is treated with medical therapy and stem cell transplant, but none of these therapies are curative. An alternate approach in myeloma therapy is to engineer patients’ own immune cells to detect and destroy myeloma cells. These chimeric antigen receptor T cell (or “CAR T cell”) therapies cause the cancer to shrink in 9 of 10 patients and can sometimes control myeloma for years, but are still not curative. Based on work in the researchers’ laboratory, the addition of a naturally occurring protein messenger called interleukin 7 (IL-7) can improve the ability of CAR T cells to get rid of blood cancer cells. In response to IL-7, CAR T cells divide more and persist longer, raising the possibility that the combination may be able to permanently eradicate myeloma cells. This study proposes the use of NT-I7, a long-acting version of IL-7, to improve myeloma-directed CAR T cell therapy. Similar drugs have been used to treat patients with severe infections and have been shown to be safe in that setting, with few side effects reported. By combining NT-I7 with standard-of-care CAR T cells, the researchers hope to enhance CAR T cell efficacy, achieve deeper remissions and achieve cures for patients with myeloma.
Pre-R01 Category
Project Title: Metabolic Control of Antigen Presentation in aCD40 Cancer Immunotherapy
Goal: To uncover how a chemical called itaconate affects the way our body recognizes and attacks harmful invaders called antigens. The researchers want to discover which antigens are most important for making our immune system respond strongly. By using advanced tools to study genes, metabolites and DNA, they will learn which immune cells are involved and how they can help the cells identify and destroy tumors more effectively.
Project Summary: This project explores how immunometabolic regulation within myeloid cells affects tumor antigen presentation and response to immunotherapy. The labs of Artyomov and Robert Schreiber, PhD, have long investigated mechanisms of tumor rejection, emphasizing the role of myeloid antigen-presenting cells. Their joint studies reveal that during effective immunotherapy, myeloid cells undergo a shift toward a pro-inflammatory and metabolically remodeled state — highlighting the metabolite itaconate as a key player in this transformation. Itaconate is produced in activated myeloid cells and has been shown to regulate immune responses. Preliminary data from the Artyomov lab show that mice deficient in itaconate (Irg1-/-) completely reject EG7 tumors when treated with αCD40 immunotherapy, while wild-type mice fail to do so. Mechanistically, itaconate inhibits GILT, a thiol reductase crucial for processing disulfide-rich neoantigens, thus impairing effective antigen presentation in wild-type settings. These findings support a novel hypothesis: Itaconate suppresses tumor antigen processing via GILT inhibition, thus limiting anti-tumor immunity. The significance and innovation of this proposal lie in several novel insights: (1) New Mechanistic Insight: It is the first to suggest that itaconate modulates cancer immunotherapy by directly impacting antigen processing through covalent modification of GILT and other endosomal proteases; (2) Complete Tumor Rejection Phenotype: Unlike previous studies focused on T cell–centered therapies like checkpoint inhibitors, αCD40 therapy in Irg1-/- mice results in complete tumor clearance, revealing the central role of myeloid metabolism in driving anti-tumor responses; and (3) Cutting-edge Tools and Expertise: The team possesses all required platforms — from in silico neoantigen prediction to in vivo validation — to dissect antigen presentation and immune responses.
Project Title: Defining and Targeting the Non-Transcriptional Functions of MYC in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Goal: To understand the different ways the MYC protein helps leukemia grow, both inside and outside the cell’s nucleus. By figuring out how MYC moves around the cell and controls RNA, the researchers hope to uncover new weaknesses in leukemia cells. Ultimately, this work aims to create safer and more effective treatment strategies for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Project Summary: AML is one of the most aggressive blood cancers. Many patients relapse after treatment, and older adults often cannot tolerate intensive options like chemotherapy or bone marrow transplant. Because AML is driven by many different genetic changes, it has been very difficult to develop effective, targeted and less toxic treatments. One protein, called MYC, is abnormal in almost every case of AML and is a major driver of the disease. MYC normally works inside the nucleus of the cell to turn genes on and off. However, we still do not fully understand how MYC causes leukemia, especially because traditional drugs that try to block its gene-regulating role have not worked well in patients. Our recent research shows that MYC does more than control genes. We found that certain mutations in MYC can cause leukemia by changing where MYC is located inside the cell and by altering how it interacts with RNA. These effects happen outside the nucleus and represent a completely different way MYC may drive cancer. These discoveries suggest that MYC has additional, “extranuclear” functions that help leukemia grow, and that these functions could be targeted separately from MYC’s usual gene-regulating role. By revealing these new and unexpected roles of MYC, this research aims to lay the groundwork for more effective and less toxic treatments for AML and potentially other MYC-driven cancers.
Project Title: The Role of Endogenous Memory NK Cells in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Goal: To improve a type of immune cell called memory-like (ML) natural killer (NK) cells to help fight lung cancer. The researchers want to study these special immune cells in lung cancer patients to learn more about how they work. This understanding will give them the tools to develop better NK cell therapies for lung cancer. They will apply this knowledge to optimally design clinical trials that boost the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer.
Project Summary: Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer. Recent therapies have been aimed at activating the patient’s immune system and have seen improved responses, but only a subset of patients have benefitted from this treatment. Therefore, new treatment options are needed. In this proposal, we are focused on natural killer (NK) cells, a type of immune cell that can kill cancer. We previously found that when we treat NK cells in the lab with three specific proteins, the NK cells develop memory, which means they are better at fighting cancer. For instance, lab-created memory NK cells have been shown to be effective at treating blood cancer. The researchers believe that memory NK cells could improve outcomes for solid tumor patients as well. They have found that memory NK cells were increased in lung cancer patients and that this increase remained even in lung cancer that has spread to the brain. However, researchers do not understand why memory NK cells, which are more effective at fighting blood cancer, are increased within lung cancer. This is the first study to identify that memory NK cells can reside in cancer without first creating them in the lab. This proposal will determine the ability of the endogenous — the body’s own — lung memory NK cells to fight off lung cancer. The researchers will measure the cells’ abundance. Also, they will measure the cells’ proximity to the tumor. Researchers will also identify how to can make the endogenous memory NK cells better at fighting cancer. These results are expected to provide critical data for longer-term funding. Working with collaborators, the researchers expect to develop a new clinical trial to activate endogenous memory NK cells in the future.
Project Title: A Novel Targeted Treatment Combination for BRAF Mutant Melanoma
Goal: To improve the effectiveness of current melanoma treatments to shrink tumors more and for a longer time. The researchers will test the combination of two FDA-approved drugs, dabrafenib and entrectinib, against human melanoma tumors previously isolated from patients and now grown in mice to mimic the natural behavior and growth environment of these tumors. This would establish a novel combination of FDA-approved drugs for melanoma that has a specific mutation (in a gene called BRAF) and no longer responds to current treatments. Success would support future clinical trials for this drug combination in humans.
Project Summary: Melanoma usually arises first on the skin and is extremely dangerous due to its tendency to spread, sometimes early, to other organs. Newly developed drugs have improved our ability to treat melanoma and prolong many patients’ lives. However, even our most quickly effective treatments, called targeted therapies, often work only for a limited time as melanoma eventually becomes resistant to these drugs and continues to grow and spread. For many patients, these targeted therapies are the last line of treatment that they can tolerate due to other medical issues or because of ongoing negative effects from prior treatments that overactivate the immune system. In this proposal, we seek to understand how melanoma becomes resistant to current targeted therapy and determine if we can overcome this resistance with other drug combinations. In our studies thus far, we have found an exciting new combination of existing and readily available drugs that may overcome this resistance in certain melanomas. This combination of two drugs works in resistant melanoma cells grown in the lab, and we now aim to test their effectiveness against human cells in mouse models. If successful, this study would provide essential support for future clinical trials for this drug combination in patients who have exhausted currently available treatments and who desperately need these additional treatment options for melanoma that would otherwise be nearly untreatable.
Project Title: Tumor-Associated Macrophage Modulated Radioimmunotherapy of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Goal: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a serious type of cancer that is hard to treat successfully. The area around the tumor (called the tumor microenvironment, or TME) can weaken the body’s immune response, making treatments less effective. To tackle this problem, the researchers have developed a new type of treatment that uses radiation to target certain immune cells called tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). By doing this, they hope to change the TME so other treatments, like chemotherapy or immunotherapy, work better. The goal is to create a targeted radiation therapy that attacks specific TAMs called CD163+ to improve treatment for people with HNSCC.
Project Summary: Despite advances in prevention and treatment, survival for HNSCC patients has minimally improved over the past 30 years. The substantial morbidity and mortality rates for HNSCC and the toxicity associated with the standard treatment options emphasize the need to seek alternatives. Targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) is a kind of treatment that delivers radiation directly to the cancer cells to minimize damage to healthy cells. This method has helped improve outcomes for some types of cancer. However, TRT can still cause problems over time, like treatment resistance and cancer coming back. So, the researchers need new ways to use TRT for treating HNSCC. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), especially CD163+ TAMs, are an essential component of the tumor microenvironment and maintain a critical role in orchestrating tumor progression, metastasis and resistance to therapies. The goal of this application is to develop CD163+ TAM- targeted therapy for HNSCC. The researchers believe that using a special probe labeled with radioactive copper (64Cu/67Cu) can help them see and change the tumor environment, making other treatments like immunotherapy work better.
Project Title: Targeting COPS5 to Overcome PARP Inhibitor Resistance in Ovarian Cancer
Goal: To develop and test a new therapy for the most common type of ovarian cancer by targeting a protein called COPS5. Through rigorous mechanistic, translational, and preclinical studies, this work aims to establish COPS5 as a target for a new therapy that will weaken the tumor and make it more susceptible to other known treatments, such as PARP inhibitors.
Project Summary: Most patients with ovarian cancer develop resistance to standard treatments, including platinum chemotherapy and PARP inhibitors, resulting in a low five-year survival rate. Once resistance develops, there are limited effective treatment options. This research focuses on a protein called COPS5, which helps cancer cells repair DNA and survive therapy. Early results show that blocking COPS5 makes resistant ovarian cancer cells more sensitive to PARP inhibitors and increases treatment-related DNA damage. Patients with high COPS5 levels have worse outcomes. In this project, the researchers will determine whether COPS5 is elevated in tumors that do not respond to PARP inhibitors, test whether blocking COPS5 safely strengthens PARP inhibitor effectiveness, and study how COPS5 helps cancer cells resist therapy. This work will lay the foundation for developing new treatments that overcome resistance and help more women benefit from PARP inhibitors.
Project Title: Predicting Response of HER2-low Breast Tumors to Trastuzumab-Deruxtecan Through Quantitative Imaging
Goal: The vast majority of patients with advanced breast cancer become resistant to anti-HER2 antibody-drug therapies. The use of predictive biomarkers (genes, proteins, or other molecules in the body) to guide antibody-drug response is necessary for improving survival in patients with breast cancer and for sparing them from unnecessary side effects. This proposal seeks to optimize a whole-body imaging approach that can identify how well Trastuzumab-drug conjugates will work against HER2-low breast tumors.
Project Summary: Breast cancer leads to a significant number of deaths each year. To reduce these numbers, we need effective ways to detect the disease and treat it. Antibody-drug conjugates, which are a combination of antibodies that specifically target cancer cells and a drug that kills them, have shown promise in treating breast tumors with high levels of a protein called HER2. Recently, some of these drugs have also been found to be effective in patients with tumors that have lower levels of HER2, but resistance occurs over time. In this proposal, the researchers will test approaches of whole-body imaging to identify which breast tumors will benefit most from antibody-drug therapies, reducing unnecessary side effects for those who may not respond well. In addition, the researchers will combine antibody drugs with other treatments to improve their efficacy. This approach will lead to future clinical trials that offer more effective options for diagnosing and treating breast cancer.
Project Title:Targeted Radionuclide Therapy for Cervical Cancer
Goal: To evaluate a new treatment for cervical cancer that uses a radioactive peptide that sticks to a specific protein (called integrin αvβ6) on the surface of tumor cells. If successful, this method will boost the effectiveness and safety of radiation treatment.
Project Summary: Cervical cancer is among the top cancers in incidence and mortality of young women worldwide, with about 350,000 cancer-related deaths per year. Following standard-of-care treatment, many locally advanced cervical cancer patients experience recurrence and have a five-year survival rate below 10%. Therefore, more sophisticated targeted therapeutic options are urgently needed to improve clinical outcomes. To address this, the researchers propose to deliver radiation in a specific manner to a protein that is highly expressed on cervical cancer cells but not on normal tissues. This protein is ideal for delivery of highly toxic radiation that can kill the cancer cells while not being toxic. The researchers have developed a novel peptide that carries radiation and, when injected into a living subject, will seek out this protein and bind strongly to it. In this proposal, the researchers will investigate the radioactive peptide for its binding properties to cervical cancer cells in a dish, followed by its evaluation in mice that have cervical cancer tumors. At the conclusion of these studies, the researchers anticipate they will have a well-characterized radioactive peptide that is ready to be moved into the clinic for the treatment of cervical cancer. In addition, this peptide can also be used for the treatment of other cancers, such as pancreatic, lung or breast cancer, since the protein it binds to is also highly expressed in these cancers.
Project Title: Imaging, Phenotyping, and Molecular Targeting of CD38-Resistant Multiple Myeloma Cells
Goal: Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable blood cancer that nearly always relapses, and patients who fail CD38-targeted immunotherapies have poor survival measured in months. This project directly addresses an urgent clinical need by investigating mechanisms of resistance to CD38-targeted therapies. The findings of this proposal will ultimately guide development of new interventions to improve survival in patients with relapsed and refractory MM. The overall goal is to address the unmet clinical need to identify these aggressive and highly metastatic MM cells early on and identify effective treatments that will improve patient outcomes.
Project Summary: MM is the second most common blood cancer. It arises from abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow that multiply uncontrollably and produce harmful levels of antibodies. This disease damages the bones, weakens the immune system, and can lead to kidney failure. Current treatments often work well at first, but nearly all patients eventually relapse with more aggressive disease, and no existing therapy can cure MM. A new class of drugs has targeted a protein called CD38, which is found in high amounts on most myeloma cells. Drugs such as daratumumab and isatuximab initially work well, but many patients either do not respond or become resistant, with survival dropping to less than six months once these treatments fail. Because CD38-targeted therapies are now being used earlier in treatment, resistance is expected to become even more common. Our research focuses on understanding why MM becomes more aggressive when CD38 is lost. In laboratory mouse models, myeloma cells without CD38 caused more bone damage, spread to the kidneys, and grew faster than normal myeloma cells. We also observed changes in several cellular pathways and abnormal blood chemistry, indicating that “CD38-low” myeloma is particularly dangerous. This project will study both the tumor cells themselves and the surrounding microenvironment to uncover how CD38 loss drives aggressiveness and resistance. By identifying the key pathways and markers of these high-risk cells, the researchers aim to develop strategies to detect them earlier and create more effective treatments. The long-term goal is to improve survival and quality of life for patients facing this incurable and often devastating disease.
Project Title: Identifying a DHX9 Pathway Vulnerability in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Goal: To define why triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) depends on the RNA helicase DHX9. The work will determine how TNBC cells use DHX9 to grow and survive. The project will test the DHX9 inhibitor ATX968 in TNBC models and measure its ability to slow growth and kill tumor cells. The results aim to provide the evidence needed to support a clinical trial in TNBC patients.
Project Summary: TNBC refers to breast cancers that lack estrogen, progesterone and HER2 receptors. This aggressive subtype of breast cancer is often metastatic and is associated with lower overall survival across all stages compared to other breast cancer subtypes. TNBC poses significant challenges to patients, clinicians and researchers due to a lack of effective therapies, its high mortality rate and the absence of a well-defined molecular target. Recent work points to a new opportunity. DHX9 is a protein that plays a crucial role in several important functions within cells, including how genes are turned on and off, and how genetic material is kept stable. Many cancers produce high levels of DHX9, and this pattern is linked to poorer outcomes. TNBC cells appear to rely on DHX9 to manage complex RNA structures that would otherwise trigger stress or cell death. This makes DHX9 a promising target for therapy. The researchers’ work shows that DHX9 is highly active in breast tumors with worse prognosis. The scientists reduced DHX9 in aggressive breast cancer cells and found that this led to slower growth and more cell death. These results suggest that TNBC cells depend on DHX9 to survive. Blocking the activity of the DHX9 protein may also help the immune system recognize and attack these tumors. This project will build on these findings using tissue samples from patients and mouse models of TNBC. The researchers will use a new drug called ATX968 that inhibits DHX9 activity and has already been cleared for initial testing in humans.
COE Supplement
Project Title: Leveraging Community Input for AI-based Applications for Cancer Patients and Caregivers
Goal: To define the unique factors that impact molecular cancer testing and outcomes in patients throughout the Siteman catchment area. The researchers aim to deliver community-informed, AI based methods to compare access to precision medicine and its impact on cancer outcomes. They further expect to develop a prototype AI-based application for interactive use by community patients and caregivers to address barriers to molecular testing and precision medicine therapies.
Gomez
Project Summary: In this pilot study, the researchers will leverage large language models (LLM), a type of artificial intelligence designed to standardize and accelerate the review of bulk data, to collate cancer molecular testing data, social determinants of health (SDOH) and cancer-specific outcomes from notes extracted from medical records. LLM-extracted data will be compared to manually abstracted data performed by an oncology clinical coordinator from the same patient charts.
In parallel, the researchers will seek input and feedback from their community partner, the Cancer Support Community of Greater St. Louis. Through that network, the researchers will engage participants to understand their knowledge of precision medicine, the barriers they have faced and their thoughts on artificial intelligence.
Linnenbringer
The researchers will incorporate their input into a prototype AI-based application and elicit additional feedback via testing of the improved prototype.
WashU Medicine grant recipients will focus on lung and blood cancers
Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, is pleased to announce the next cohort of pilot projects funded by the Institutional Research Grant from the American Cancer Society. The three projects are described below.
Jason Weber, PhD
Under the leadership of Jason Weber, PhD, who has been principal investigator of the grant since 2011, these awards support independent, self-directed investigators early in their careers and enable them to conduct research in areas of special interest to the American Cancer Society.
WashU has funded early-career oncology researchers with this grant since 1958. Learn about projects initially supported in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Project Title: Complement Modulation as a Strategy to Sensitize Tumors to Radiotherapy Radiotherapy Principal Investigator:Vaishali Kapoor, PhD
Vaishali Kapoor, PhD
Summary: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 85% of all cases. Radiation therapy (RT) is one of the most common and effective treatments for NSCLC, used in combination with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. While many patients initially respond to RT, most eventually experience cancer recurrence. One reason for treatment failure is that tumors can change their surrounding environment to hide from the immune system and resist therapy. This research focuses on the complement system, a part of the body’s natural immune defense, which helps recognize and destroy harmful cells. Surprisingly, new evidence suggests that in cancer, activation of the complement system can have the opposite effect: Instead of helping the immune system, it may help tumors survive. Researchers have found that RT activates the complement system, releasing a molecule called C3a, which then signals through a receptor called C3aR to recruit cells that suppress the immune system. At the same time, RT generates another molecule called iC3b, which programs certain immune cells to become less effective at fighting cancer. In this project, the researchers will investigate how these processes occur and test whether blocking C3aR — using a drug that already exists — can reprogram the immune system, allowing it to work together with RT to fight cancer more effectively. The long-term goal is to develop new combination therapies that enhance the power of RT, make immunotherapies more effective and improve survival for patients with lung cancer.
Project Title: Glycan-Guided Pathomic Signatures of Immunotherapy Response in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Summary: A type of treatment called immunotherapy has transformed care for some patients with advanced lung cancer by helping the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells. Unfortunately, this treatment does not work for everyone, and doctors currently lack reliable ways to know in advance which patients will benefit. As a result, many patients are exposed to treatments that may not help them while losing valuable time for other therapies. Researchers will explore whether patterns inside tumor tissue can help predict which patients are most likely to respond to immunotherapy. They will use lung tissue samples that were already collected from patients treated by WashU Medicine physicians. With the help of advanced imaging techniques, the researchers can map molecules such as sugars and proteins within the tumor. These maps will then be linked to digital images of the same tissue under the microscope. By analyzing these images with computer algorithms, scientists can detect subtle patterns that are invisible to the human eye. The goal of this work is to identify new patterns in tumor tissue that indicate whether a patient will respond well to immunotherapy. If successful, this approach could improve the way doctors select treatments for lung cancer, ensuring patients receive therapies that are most likely to help them. In the future, this research may also open the door to better tests that can guide treatment decisions for many other types of cancer.
Project Title: Germline Genome Sequencing in Patients with Myeloid Neoplasms in Paraguay Principal Investigator:Samuel Urrutia, MD, MS
Samuel Urrutia, MD, MS
Summary: This study is about understanding what causes myeloid neoplasms, a type of blood cancer, in a diverse population in Paraguay. While treatments for these cancers have improved in high-income countries, they’re often not available in places like Paraguay. A project called GEMA is already underway there, using advanced genetic testing to diagnose these cancers. This new project, an expansion of GEMA, aims to go a step further. It will look at two main things. First, it will search for inherited genetic changes (germline variants) that make people more susceptible to these cancers and see how they interact with new genetic changes (somatic alterations) that happen later in a person’s life. Second, the study will investigate how a person’s genes and their environment (gene-environment interaction) might work together to cause these cancers. To do this, researchers will analyze genetic information from saliva samples collected from patients. By combining this new information with data on their ancestry, environment and the genetic changes in their cancer cells, the study’s researchers hope to get a complete picture of why these cancers develop in this specific population. Ultimately, the goal is to identify new risk factors and better understand the unique challenges faced by patients with myeloid neoplasms in Latin America, which could lead to more effective prevention and treatment strategies in the future.
Moving toward a diet with more whole foods and fewer processed and fast foods is a great goal for everyone — and can have many health benefits. Adding more whole grains to our weekly menus can help us do just that.
If someone asked us to name five ways to improve our health and lower the risk of illness, “eat a healthy diet” would probably land on most of our lists. And it certainly belongs there. Research has shown that healthy eating could prevent over 80,000 cancer cases each year in the U.S. and help even more people prevent heart disease and diabetes.
While most of us have ways we could make our weekly menus healthier, eating more whole grains is one area where there can be a lot of room for improvement. As many as 90% of us aren’t getting the amounts recommended for our health and wellness.
Wheat, oats, rice, corn and barley are examples of grains. They offer the most benefit when they are whole grains — that is, when they include the three key parts of the natural grain kernel: bran, germ and endosperm. Bran and germ are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and other healthy compounds. When the bran and germ are removed during processing, they become refined grains.
The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans — along with those of other organizations —recommend focusing on eating whole grains over less-healthy refined grains. Whole-wheat bread and brown rice are classic whole-grain foods, compared to their refined versions, white bread and white rice.
Most adults should aim for 2-4 servings of whole grains a day, with one serving equaling a half cup of cooked oatmeal, a cup of dry breakfast cereal or a slice of bread.
One simple way to choose more whole grains is to look for foods that are labelled “100% whole grain,” “100% whole wheat,” “100% whole-grain oats” or something very similar. You can also look for “whole grain” listed as a first ingredient, which means whole grains are the primary ingredient in the food.
Try these options for working more whole grains into your day. See which ones might be a good place to start, then build from there — and add your own creativity to fit them into your favorite foods.
Snacks
Whole-grain pretzels, whole-grain pita chips and whole-grain crackers
Whole-grain granola with Greek yogurt
Air- or pan-popped popcorn
Breakfast
Oatmeal or whole-grain oat dry cereal
100% whole-wheat toast
Whole-wheat or whole-grain buckwheat pancakes
Lunch
Whole-wheat spaghetti or whole-wheat pasta salad
Sandwich with 100% whole-wheat bread
Rice bowl with brown rice
Dinner
Soup or stew with added barley or brown rice
Burrito with whole-wheat tortilla and brown rice
Whole-grain veggie burger with whole-wheat bun
When eating out, ask about whole-grain options — for bread, buns, tortillas, fillings or side dishes. They may not always be listed on menus, or if they are, may not be highlighted. But they’re becoming more common options at many restaurants and can be an easy way to sneak more whole grains into our days.
It’s also good to choose whole-grain foods that are lower in added sugar, sodium and unhealthy fats. Some whole-grain breakfast cereals, for example, can still have a lot of added sugar and sodium. Choosing healthier options overall provides an even bigger nutrition boost.
Moving toward a diet with more whole foods and fewer processed and fast foods is a great goal for everyone — and can have many health benefits.
Adding more whole grains to our weekly menus can help us do just that. It can take a little extra time and effort to make the switch. But it’s 100% worth it.
Access to the novel immunotherapy — which “has the potential for cure” — is the latest offering by the national leader in pediatric hematology, oncology, and cell therapies.
Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, along with WashU Medicine, is the first site to test a novel immunotherapy drug for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, juvenile myasthenia gravis, juvenile dermatomyositis, and ANCA-associated vasculitis in children and young adults.
The clinical trial, called HELIOS Descartes-08 (202510129), evaluates dosing levels of an autologous chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy that targets the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA). Significantly, no neoadjuvant chemotherapy is needed prior to the start of Descartes-08 therapy.
“We are the first site in a multicenter clinical trial that will offer qualified patients an infusion of mRNA-modified CAR-T cells that target plasma cells,” said WashU Medicine hematologist/oncologist Melissa Mavers, MD, PhD, site principal investigator and a leader on the childhood cancers specialist team at Siteman Cancer Center. “This trial is exciting because this is the first available therapy targeting plasma cells in autoimmune disease and has the potential for cure for these patients.”
Earlier results of the Descartes-08 therapy, developed by Cartesian Therapeutics, have been promising. The FDA has granted it Orphan Drug Designation and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy Designation.
To be eligible for the clinical trial, a patient must:
Be age 12 or older
Diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematous, juvenile myasthenia gravis, juvenile dermatomyositis, or ANCA-associated vasculitis
Have undergone systemic treatment
The trial will be administered through the Pediatric Hematopoietic Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program at Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Other Major Advancements
The clinical trial launch follows these recent advances at Siteman Kids:
The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for WU-CART-007, an allogeneic CAR-T therapy for T-cell malignancies developed by WashU Medicine researchers at Siteman Cancer Center. WU-CART-007 is an off-the-shelf, anti-CD7 CAR T-cell therapy for children and adults diagnosed with relapsed or refractory T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia or T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (R/R T-ALL/LBL). The FDA designation, announced in January, came after global clinical trials found that WU-CART-007 (also known as soficabtagene geleucel, or sofi-cel), resulted in 73% of adults and adolescents in the trials achieving full remission after receiving a full dose of the cellular therapy. WashU Medicine pediatric hematologist/oncologist Thomas Pfeiffer, MD, co-led the pediatric component of the clinical trial at Siteman Kids.
Global consultations and referrals continue to expand the reach and impact of an International Neuro-Oncology Tumor Board that originated at Siteman Kids. WashU Medicine neuro-oncologist Mohamed Shebl Abdelbaki, MD, director of the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program at Siteman Kids, began the monthly tumor board meetings in early 2021. To date, more than 2,500 health care specialists from 71 institutions in 41 countries have participated in the meetings, which have resulted in several advancements in best care practices for the management of complex brain tumors in infants, children and young adults.
Also available at Siteman Kids is participation in the CONNECT1906: PEP-CMV vaccine phase II clinical trial that is testing a CMV-directed peptide vaccine in children with recurrent medulloblastoma or newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas or diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas. The multicenter study advances investigations into whether CMV-targeted vaccines can serve as a novel immunotherapeutic approach and boost responses against these cancers in pediatric patients. Eligible patients will receive a single, 5-day course of oral chemotherapy followed by PEP-CMV injections. Siteman Kids’ site principal investigator is Eric Thompson, MD.
For patients with malignant brain tumors, Siteman Kids also is involved in a multicenter phase I trial investigating the safety and dosing of intra-tumoral injections of NK cells in patients with recurrent or progressive tumors located in the upper part of the brain. Siteman Kids is one of only seven institutions offering this trial through the Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium. WashU researchers are known internationally for their breakthroughs in the development and use of NK cell immunotherapies. Site principal investigators are WashU Medicine neuro-oncologists Mohamed Shebl Abdelbaki, MD, and Michael Angelo Huang, MD, MS.
“These are just a few of the leading-edge research efforts and collaborations we have underway at Siteman Kids,” said Jorge Di Paola, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and the Elizabeth Finney McDonnell Endowed Chair in Pediatric Hematology Oncology at Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and WashU Medicine. “We have 12 basic and translational research labs solely dedicated to advancing understanding and treatments for a wide range of pediatric cancers and more than 280 clinical trials available.”
For more information regarding clinical trials at Siteman Kids, email [email protected] or call 800-600-3606 to make a referral.
Project team identified more environmentally friendly solutions throughout the building process
The Gary C. Werths Building at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Buildings that achieve this recognition must meet stringent criteria in categories such as energy efficiency, water conservation and material recycling — all indicators of lower environmental impact. The nine-story Werths Building opened in September 2024 on the Washington University Medical Campus.
While numerous factors such as monitoring energy use and improving air quality contributed to the accomplishment, the WashU Medicine Operations and Facilities Management team’s embodied carbon effort set it apart. The Embodied Carbon Program was developed by WashU Medicine and the Werths Building’s project management team. It involves maintaining a comprehensive inventory of materials used during a building’s design, procurement and construction, and identifying more environmentally friendly alternatives throughout the process. Carbon-conscious decision-making informed everything from choosing more eco-friendly carpet and concrete to preventing unnecessary transportation and construction waste.
In total, WashU Medicine’s energy reduction efforts have avoided 4.2 million kg Co2e in emissions, equivalent to 208 garbage trucks of waste recycled instead of sent to a landfill. WashU Medicine has since incorporated the Embodied Carbon Program into its design standards for future projects and has provided training on it for the WashU Office of Sustainability.
The Werths Building provides a healing environment for patients, with the design focused on their comfort and convenience and reducing the need to return for multiple appointments. Within its walls, WashU Medicine physicians also offer access to more than 600 clinical trials designed to assess the effectiveness of innovative treatments and applications for people with various cancer types.
The LEED point system is widely recognized as the industry standard for green buildings in the United States and more than 160 countries around the world. The more points a building earns, the higher its LEED rating will be. There are four levels of LEED certification: Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points) and Platinum (80+ points). The Werths Building was awarded all 65 points that were submitted.
New ‘atlas’ of immune cells in bone marrow cancer lays foundation for more reliable prognosis
A new study maps the immune cell landscape of bone marrow in patients with multiple myeloma, a rare cancer that develops in the plasma cells of the bone marrow and has no cure. This large immune cell atlas, which includes robust patient outcome data, provides unparalleled new insights into how the immune system interacts with cancerous plasma cells and can be used to determine how aggressive a patient’s multiple myeloma is likely to be. The knowledge may improve survival predictions, guide treatment decisions and help in the development of new immune-based therapies for patients with multiple myeloma.
“It is time for a better understanding of the immune system in multiple myeloma,” said WashU Medicine co-senior author Li Ding, PhD, the David English Smith Professor of Medicine and a research member of Siteman. “In addition to targeting the cancerous plasma cells directly, we also want new and better ways to activate the immune system to attack the malignant cells. This large-scale immune cell atlas will serve as a critical resource to investigators studying multiple myeloma and working to develop better therapies.”
While considered a rare cancer, multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer after leukemia, accounting for about 15%-20% of new blood cancer diagnoses in the U.S. annually. Plasma cells are white blood cells in the bone marrow. When they grow out of control, they crowd out healthy blood cells. About 60% of patients are still living five years after diagnosis.
Many new treatment options have emerged for multiple myeloma in recent years that can extend survival for many patients, sometimes for more than a decade. Even so, the disease almost always returns after periods of remission, emphasizing the need for new and better options.
Several of the newest therapies for multiple myeloma are immune system-based, including CAR-T cells and what are known as bispecific antibodies. But researchers suspect there may yet be untapped opportunities for immune-based treatments for multiple myeloma, and the immune cell atlas is a new tool to harness in pursuit of such therapies.
“This immune atlas provides a roadmap for the next generation of myeloma care,” said coauthor and WashU Medicine oncologist Ravi Vij, MD, the Jeffrey S. and Prue H. Gershman Distinguished Professor of Medicine and a research member of Siteman. “As immunotherapies like CAR-T cells and bispecific antibodies become central to treatment, understanding the immune context in which they operate is essential. Clinically, this work lays the foundation for immune-informed risk stratification and rational development of new therapies that not only target the tumor but also restore effective anti-myeloma immunity.”
Vij treats patients with multiple myeloma and other blood cancers at The Blood Cancer Center at Siteman.
A cell-by-cell catalog of multiple myeloma
The research team performed a rigorous and cutting-edge genetic analysis called single-cell RNA sequencing of almost 1.4 million individual plasma and immune cells in bone marrow sampled from 337 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. This type of analysis can reveal how individual immune cells may function — or become dysfunctional — in the context of multiple myeloma.
The data describe patients enrolled in MMRF’s CoMMpass Study, which is the first large-scale, long-running study of patients with multiple myeloma focused on analyzing disease progression and treatment response based on the genomic and molecular profiles of the patients. WashU Medicine is one of multiple sites participating in the CoMMpass Study.
The investigators found that patients with certain types of immune cells in their bone marrow at diagnosis were more likely than others to relapse quickly, meaning their cancer returned soon after a first round of treatment. The researchers identified signaling patterns between the cancer cells and immune cells that drive inflammation, which might be boosting the cancer’s growth in patients with aggressive disease.
The team also identified a type of T cell that had stopped working as expected and, rather than attacking the tumor as it should, acted to suppress immune activity against the cancer. Together, these findings could help make prognosis more accurate and aid in selecting the best therapies.
“This immune atlas represents the power of collaborative science,” said co-senior author and MMRF Chief Scientific Officer George Mulligan, PhD. “The MMRF’s CoMMpass Study, combined with the expertise from investigators at WashU Medicine and leading institutions across the country, has created an unprecedented resource that will accelerate discovery and improve outcomes for myeloma patients.”
Importantly, the researchers showed that knowledge of the immune environment in a patient’s bone marrow could improve upon current methods for predicting which patients are most likely to experience an aggressive course of the disease and have shortened survival. Such predictions can help guide treatment decisions in terms of matching the intensity of the treatment with the aggressiveness of the cancer.
Current methods for determining whether a patient has high-risk multiple myeloma versus standard risk rely on knowing the genetic features of the cancer cells combined with clinical aspects of the patient’s health. The new study found that adding an immune component to this analysis would likely improve the accuracy of the categorization.
“More work is needed to develop specific immune-based blood tests, for example, that clinicians could order to better identify the aggressiveness of a particular case of multiple myeloma and help them select the best treatments for that patient,” Ding said. “This immune cell atlas fills a gap in knowledge that is needed to develop these types of new clinical tools.”
The MMRF designed and funded this research, which involved collaboration among the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Harvard Medical School and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
# # #
Pilcher WC, Yao L, Gonzalez-Kozlova E, Pita-Juarez Y, Karagkouni D, Acharya CR, Michaud ME, Hamilton M, Nanda S, Song Y, Sato K, Wang JT, Satpathy S, Ma Y, Schulman J, D’Souza D, Jayasinghe RG, Ohlstrom D, Ferguson KE, Cheloni G, Bakhtiari M, Pabustan N, Nie K, Foltz JA, Saldarriaga I, Alaaeldin R, Lepisto E, Chen R, Fiala MA, Thomas BE, Cook A, Vieira Dos Santos J, Chiang I, Figueiredo I, Fortier J, Slade M, Oh ST, Rettig MP, Anderson E, Li Y, Dasari S, Strausbauch MA, Simon VA, Immune Atlas Consortium, Radkevich E, Rahman AH, Chen Z, Lagana A, DiPersio JF, Rosenblatt J, Kim-Schulze S, Lonial S, Kumar S, Bhasin SS, Kourelis T, Dhodapkar MV, Vij R, Avigan D, Cho HJ, Mulligan G, Ding L, Gnjatic S, Vlachos IS, Bhasin M. A single-cell atlas characterizes dysregulation of the bone marrow immune microenvironment associated with outcomes in multiple myeloma. Nature Cancer. Jan. 9, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s43018-025-01072-4.
This work was designed and supported by the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation; the Myeloma Solutions Fund; the Paula C. and Rodger O. Riney Blood Cancer Research Fund; and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant numbers U24CA224319, U01DK124165, P30CA196521, R50CA211466, R35CA210084, 5K12CA090628, U24CA211006, U2CCA233303, PJ000021702, R01CA258776 and UL1TR004419. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
It’s a number to celebrate: 3.9 million. That’s the likely number of Americans saved from lung cancer since 1970 with efforts to curb cigarette smoking. Seen another way, this translates to over 76 million years added to people’s lives. It’s truly astounding and doesn’t even include the impact from lower risks of many other cancers and diseases caused by smoking.
Looking ahead, these gains will only grow as fewer youth and young adults take up smoking — and as more people who currently smoke, quit.
Quitting, though, isn’t easy — as anyone who’s done it can tell you. But thousands of people do it every day, and right now in the U.S. there are more people who used to smoke than who currently smoke.
For those who want to quit — or are just thinking about it — getting support can really help, doubling the chances of success. This can include reaching out to your health care clinic or provider for assistance.
There’s also free support at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) and smokefree.gov, which offers texting tools, an app and other services.
Support usually includes a mix of medication as well as in-person and virtual classes and programs. Medications can be prescription drugs, like bupropion, as well as nicotine replacement therapy, like gums and patches. These help with nicotine withdrawal and cravings. Programs and classes can help with developing skills and behaviors for staying smoke-free.
“Services like the smokefree.gov texting program provide encouraging, motivating daily messages,” said Dr. Li-Shiun Chen, director of smoking cessation at WashU Medicine and Siteman Cancer Center. “A lot of my patients love that. They wake up and get a text that says, ‘Hey, it’s a new day. Why don’t you take a walk outside instead of lighting a cigarette?’”
Along with such support, one of the most important approaches to quitting is simply to keep at it.
“On average, it takes a person seven to nine attempts to succeed,” Chen said. “One gentleman we worked with tried 13 times, but then he succeeded with help from a lifestyle coach and medicine. He said that support made all the difference. So, don’t worry about failure. It’s very important to keep trying, even just to reduce how much you smoke.”
FDA-approved products, like nicotine replacement therapy, have the best evidence for helping with quitting. But electronic cigarettes and vaping, which aren’t FDA-approved, may have a role in certain situations, Chen said. “In an adult who smokes cigarettes routinely, actually transitioning to safe vaping is harm reduction. ‘Safe vaping’ means just nicotine — not adding cannabis, not adding flavors. And this type of vaping can be an intermediate step to getting rid of tobacco.”
Vaping, though, is a double-edged sword, Chen warned. It has some inherent dangers, and kids should totally avoid it. Among other risks, it can lead to nicotine addiction and tobacco smoking. “If you’re a 12-year-old, vaping is really bad.”
No matter how long you’ve been smoking or how old or healthy you are — in almost any situation, really — there are important benefits to quitting. And these benefits start just days in and build over the years. Breathing quickly improves. Food starts tasting better. And wrinkles on the face from early aging can start to relax. Then, the risk of serious diseases like cancer, stroke, heart disease, lung disease and dementia begin to drop, with some eventually reversing to the same risk as someone who never smoked.
“Quitting smoking can add about 13 years of life back to a person, but it’s not only a longer life, it’s also a higher quality of life,” Chen concluded. “It’s an amazing opportunity to improve your health, and it’s the best thing you can do for yourself and your loved ones.”
Heading into a new year, it feels like a great time to mix things up. So, after several years interviewing leaders in health and medicine to get their insight for this column, I thought it seemed only fair to turn the tables and have a colleague interview me.
The result was a great discussion that touched on issues big and small — and that may provide a peek behind the curtain of medical research and how I incorporate health recommendations into my own life.
Much of your work focuses on helping people improve their health and prevent diseases like cancer. What drew you to this?
When I was a medical student and we’d visit cancer patients, it seemed like lung cancer was everywhere, and no one really talked about tackling smoking as a way to prevent it. People were talking about how to prevent heart disease and high blood pressure, but not cancer. It looked like there was real potential to go after cancer prevention in a creative and impactful way.
If someone asked you for the top three behaviors they should follow to lower cancer risk, what would you recommend?
The top one is: Don’t smoke. Or, if you smoke, quit. Next would be to avoid weight gain. That may be surprising to hear, but extra weight increases the risk of many different cancers. Regular physical activity helps with controlling weight, as does my third top behavior: eating a healthy diet. Try to focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains — and limit fast and processed foods.
What’s something you do that’s pretty simple but can have a large payoff for health?
One easy thing has been building short walks into my daily life. A regular 15- to 20-minute walk to work or school or a nearby store can have amazing health benefits. I’m not perfect with it, but I’ve tried to make it a routine to walk instead of drive when it’s safe and pretty easy to do. I like to get longer walks in when I can, but it’s great to have this basic amount of activity built into my day.
Most of us can improve the way we eat. Do you have something you’ve been trying to work on recently?
One thing I started doing was switching to alcohol-free, or NA, beer. I’m Australian, and we’re known for liking beer. And the NAs are really good now — with a lot of options in stores and at bars and restaurants. So, I was like, “Let’s give it a go and switch.” It also felt important to do because we’ve tried to bring more attention to the message that zero alcohol is the best choice when it comes to cancer risk and overall health.
Health recommendations can change over time, whether it’s what to eat or drink or when we should get screening tests. Why this is?
This can feel frustrating, for sure. But we can also see such changes and say, “It’s really good news. We know a lot more now than we used to.” Looking at breast cancer screening, mammogram technology today is much better than what we used to have. The richness of the image is better. And we have more studies that have gone on for longer periods of time. So, we have more evidence on the positive impact of mammograms on women’s health. With this, we can revisit and refine recommendations for when women should start screening and how often they should have it. This also applies to many other health recommendations. They can be refined over time as we learn more.
Wrapping things up, do you have any specific health goals for the coming year?
I’d like to lose a few more pounds and get back into the normal weight range. As a nation, the weight issue stands out. It’s a driver of so many chronic conditions — not just cancer, diabetes and heart disease, but also mobility and memory problems. And we haven’t done a great job with policies and approaches that make it easier for people to be physically active and choose healthier foods. That’s a bigger goal for policymakers and health professionals like me. But on a more personal level, I’ll try to keep up with the steps that can help me get to a healthier weight in 2026.
