Innovative approaches with lung cancer clinical trials
At Penn Medicine, yesterday's lung cancer clinical trials have become today's lifesaving treatments. Our researchers are focused on finding the next new lung cancer breakthrough with treatment opportunities based on the latest science. We’re involved in every area of lung cancer study, finding the best treatments for our patients.
Clinical trials are conducted throughout several stages—some are open to patients who haven’t started treatment yet, while others are specifically aimed at patients who are either undergoing or have completed treatment. Ask your doctor if a clinical trial is right for you.
Our Center for Precision Surgery is currently testing a technique that makes disguised or hard-to-find tumors glow during surgery. Called TumorGlow®, this technique was developed at Penn Medicine and helps with early detection and better treatment success for our lung cancer patients.
CAR T cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that retrains the body's immune cells to recognize and remove cancer cells. Penn Medicine researchers developed this technique, which is FDA-approved to treat certain forms of leukemia and lymphoma. Our doctors are focused on finding ways to use CAR T cell therapy for patients with solid tumors, including lung cancer.
Medical oncologists at Penn Medicine are internationally recognized for using vaccines to stimulate the immune system in cancer treatment.
Vaccine therapy works similarly to immunizations—it teaches the immune system to recognize and remove cancer cells. Our doctors are working to create a personalized vaccine for lung cancer by:
- Analyzing a sample of the tumor to identify abnormal proteins.
- Engineering tumor-fighting cells to target those proteins.
- Infusing these cells into a vaccine that’s put back into the patient's body with the goal of removing cancer cells.
Our specialists are working to minimize the risk of lung and heart injury during treatment for advanced-stage lung cancer. One way is by investigating the use of advanced imaging tools to better plan radiation treatments. These tools include four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT), dual-energy CT, positron emission tomography (PET)-CT, and functional and cardiac MRI.
Our Tobacco and Environmental Carcinogenesis Program studies the relationships between environmental exposures and cancer. It focuses on the prevention of tobacco and asbestos-related cancers including lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and mesothelioma.