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Innovations in Review 2025

Oncology

NewYork-Presbyterian cancer specialists are at the forefront of expanding and innovating treatment for everything from breast cancer to glioblastoma. In 2025, our physicians and researchers from Columbia and Weill Cornell Medicine improved progression-free survival for multiple types of cancer, employed artificial intelligence to inform clinical care, discovered biomarkers that predict treatment responses to help personalize care in complex cases, and more. These advancements are breaking ground for new solutions that can improve cancer outcomes for all patients.

doctor looking through a microscope
doctor looking through a microscope

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Read more about our top research and key innovations from 2025:

A Decade Of Results On Nivolumab And Ipilimumab For Advanced Melanoma

Novel Drug Regimen Shows Promise In Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Trial Using Liquid Biopsy Shows Novel Drug Slows Progression Of Advanced ER+/HER2- Breast Cancer

Dedicated Ophthalmic Oncology Expertise Expands Care Options For Patients

Deep Learning Helps Predict Treatment Response In Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Novel Treatment Method Can Address Aggressive Pediatric Brain Tumor

New Trial Device Opens Blood-Brain Barrier To Treat Glioblastoma

Biomarker Predicts Response To BCMA Car T-Cell Therapy In Multiple Myeloma

Single-Cell Sequencing Uncovers Insights Into Rise In Early-Onset Colon Cancer

Solving Long Term Side Effects Of Chemotherapy Treatments

A Decade Of Results On Nivolumab And Ipilimumab For Advanced Melanoma

The pivotal CheckMate-067 trial investigated the use of nivolumab and ipilimumab for individuals with metastatic melanoma, both as monotherapies and in combination. Jedd Wolchok, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Meyer Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, was the lead author of the study that detailed the trial’s final, 10-year results. The findings revealed that patients who received the combination therapy as their initial therapy experienced greater than 50% melanoma-specific survival at the 10-year mark, highlighting the long-term effectiveness of this treatment approach.

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A Decade Of Results On Nivolumab And Ipilimumab For Advanced Melanoma

Novel Drug Regimen Shows Promise In Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Results from the I-SPY 2.2 trial have demonstrated the promise of a neoadjuvant treatment strategy for early-stage breast cancer patients with an immune-positive subtype, as well as for those with a challenging hormone-negative/immune-negative/DRD-negative subtype. Meghna S. Trivedi, M.D., M.S., an oncologist and site investigator for NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia, co-led the trial arm that investigated the effectiveness of datopotamab deruxtecan plus durvalumab as an initial treatment for patients with high-risk stage 2/3 HER2-negative breast cancer. The findings revealed that 50% of all patients in this treatment block achieved a pathologic complete response, setting the stage for further investigation in a phase 3 trial.

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Novel Drug Regimen Shows Promise In Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Trial Using Liquid Biopsy Shows Novel Drug Slows Progression Of Advanced ER+/HER2- Breast Cancer

The current standard of treatment for ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer is an aromatase inhibitor plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor, but many patients develop a treatment-resistant genetic mutation. Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D., an oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, coauthored research that shows patients who switched from an aromatase inhibitor to camizestrant — a next-generation selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) — after the mutation was detected had better progression-free survival. The findings were from the global SERENA-6 trial, which used liquid biopsy to detect the ESR1 mutation before the disease progressed. This study highlights novel SERDs as a new pathway for the management of ER+/HER2- breast cancer and underscores the value of liquid biopsy in detecting early stages of the disease.

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Trial Using Liquid Biopsy Shows Novel Drug Slows Progression Of Advanced ER+/HER2- Breast Cancer

Dedicated Ophthalmic Oncology Expertise Expands Care Options For Patients

NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia eye cancer specialists Brian Marr, M.D., director of ophthalmic oncology and a global leader in the field, and Lauren Yeager, M.D., ophthalmic oncologist, treat diseases that are so rare other physicians may never encounter them. They lead one of the few high-volume ophthalmic oncology centers in the country, pioneering innovative approaches to diagnosis and treatment, including intra-arterial chemotherapy and tumor genetic profiling. Patients receive multidisciplinary care that can include specialists across neurosurgery, otolaryngology, interventional radiology, and more, with access to the latest clinical trials. Through research and innovation, the center is helping improve outcomes and reduce disease recurrence for patients with rare eye cancers.

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Dedicated Ophthalmic Oncology Expertise Expands Care Options For Patients

Deep Learning Helps Predict Treatment Response In Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

A study co-led by Bishoy Faltas, M.D., a genitourinary oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, explored the ability of deep learning models to enhance treatment decision-making for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, potentially sparing them from surgery to remove the bladder. Dr. Faltas and his team evaluated the novel Graph-based Multimodal Late Fusion model, which integrates histopathology and cell type data, and found that it accurately predicted response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy by identifying biomarkers of response. Results show the technology could help patients avoid a surgery that has high morbidity and mortality, demonstrating the potential of AI in personalizing clinical care.

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Deep Learning Helps Predict Treatment Response In Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Novel Treatment Method Can Address Aggressive Pediatric Brain Tumor

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is an aggressive and fatal pediatric brain tumor with a survival rate of less than 10% two years after diagnosis, and treatment remains difficult due to how quickly it spreads and the ongoing challenge of permeating the blood-brain barrier (BBB). A phase 1 clinical trial led by Mark Souweidane, M.D., director of pediatric neurological surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, demonstrated the efficacy of convection-enhanced delivery (CED) in administering treatment past the BBB. CED was able to safely infuse 124I-omburtamab, a radio-labeled monoclonal antibody, directly into the brainstem, where DIPG typically starts, offering hope that long-term survival for patients may be possible.

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Novel Treatment Method Can Address Aggressive Pediatric Brain Tumor

New Trial Device Opens Blood-Brain Barrier To Treat Glioblastoma

Bypassing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) remains an obstacle to treating glioblastoma. Brian Gill, M.D., a neurosurgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia, began recruiting patients last year as the site investigator for a pivotal, multicenter phase 3 clinical trial assessing the efficacy of a novel device to address this challenge. The device is surgically implanted after tumor resection and uses sonication (focused ultrasound along with an intravenous infusion of microbubbles) to temporarily disrupt the BBB and allow carboplatin to reach the tumor bed directly. This technology has the potential to enhance quality of life for patients with recurrent glioblastoma and could change the standard of care.

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New Trial Device Opens Blood-Brain Barrier To Treat Glioblastoma

Biomarker Predicts Response To BCMA Car T-Cell Therapy In Multiple Myeloma

A retrospective study led by Mateo Mejia Saldarriaga, M.D., a hematologist/ oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, has identified absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) as a crucial biomarker for predicting response to BCMA CAR T-cell therapy in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The study found that a high ALC is an independent predictor of disease progression, showing that patients with an ALC greater than 1,000 in the first two weeks of treatment experienced a median progression-free survival of 30 months, versus six months for those with an ALC of 500 or less. The discovery gives physicians a powerful new tool in assessing and personalizing treatment plans.

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Biomarker Predicts Response To BCMA Car T-Cell Therapy In Multiple Myeloma

Single-Cell Sequencing Uncovers Insights Into Rise In Early-Onset Colon Cancer

The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer is rising among individuals under 50, yet the cause remains unclear. On the Advances in Care podcast, Joel Gabre, M.D., a gastroenterologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia, explored several hypotheses for this trend, shared initial findings around the role diet and bacteria may play in increasing a person’s risk for developing cancer, and explained how he and his colleagues are using cutting-edge molecular biology techniques to unearth the differences between early-onset and late-onset tumor cells.

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Dr. Joel Gabre

Solving Long Term Side Effects Of Chemotherapy Treatments

Taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) is a common side effect experienced by many patients undergoing chemotherapy with taxanes, but physicians still lack a clear understanding of why TIPN develops. On the Advances in Care podcast, Meghna S. Trivedi, M.D., M.S., an oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia, discussed a study conducted by her team that identified five factors that raise a person’s risk for side effects, which collectively serve as a predictive model. These efforts, along with other research to uncover a biomarker for TIPN, are crucial steps toward developing targeted therapies that can prevent or treat the condition in its earliest stages and help improve long-term quality of life for patients undergoing cancer treatment.

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Dr. Meghna S. Trivedi