Abramson Cancer Center At Penn Medicine

This study tested different reminder systems to help cancer patients complete their symptom questionnaires more regularly. Researchers wanted to see if automated reminders for patients and alerts for nurses would improve how often patients report their symptoms. The goal was to h…

This study tested whether the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab could help prevent lung cancer from coming back in patients who had recently completed treatment for cancer that had spread to only a few other sites. The drug was given by IV every three weeks for up to 16 cycles. Th…

This study tested if giving a heart medication called carvedilol to breast cancer patients at higher risk of heart damage could protect their hearts during chemotherapy. It involved 68 women receiving specific cancer drugs (doxorubicin and/or trastuzumab). The goal was to see if …

This study tested whether the drug niraparib could help control advanced prostate cancer in men with specific genetic defects. The trial included 11 men whose cancer had stopped responding to standard hormone treatments but had responded to platinum chemotherapy. Researchers want…

This study tested whether combining three medications—olaparib, palbociclib, and fulvestrant—is safe for people with advanced breast cancer that is hormone-sensitive and has a BRCA gene mutation. The main goal was to check for side effects and see how long patients lived without …

This study tested four different support programs to find the most effective way to help underserved smokers quit for at least six months. It involved over 3,200 current smokers from Black, Hispanic, low-income, or rural communities who were already scheduled for a lung cancer sc…

This study tested if a friendly text-message chatbot named Penny could help adult survivors of childhood or young adult cancer return for important follow-up care. Researchers compared Penny's reminders and scheduling help to usual care for 53 survivors who hadn't seen a doctor i…

This study tested whether proton radiation therapy could safely treat two rare types of bone cancer called chordomas and chondrosarcomas. Researchers wanted to see if this more targeted radiation approach could control these difficult tumors while causing fewer side effects like …

This early-phase study tested whether combining a short, intense course of radiation with two immunotherapy drugs is safe for patients with advanced cancers that have spread. The trial involved 53 adults with metastatic melanoma, lung, breast, or pancreatic cancer who had tried o…

This study aimed to see if adjusting how a standard PET/CT scan is performed could make it more accurate for determining if non-small cell lung cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes. It involved 30 adult patients who were already scheduled for a standard staging scan. The resea…

This study tested whether social media messages specifically designed for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) youth could prevent them from starting to vape. Researchers worked with over 1,100 teens and young adults to create and test these message…

This study tested whether social incentives like games and charity donations could help low-income families increase their daily walking. Researchers gave 779 participants Fitbits to track their steps for 12 months, followed by 6 months of monitoring. The goal was to find practic…

This project tested whether a community support program could help more people in Philadelphia get to their scheduled lung cancer screenings. Researchers offered free help with transportation to and from appointments for 252 eligible city residents. The goal was to see if this pr…

This study tested whether simple reminders sent to doctors and patients could increase the use of a special breast MRI scan for women with very dense breast tissue. Dense tissue makes cancer harder to spot on regular mammograms, and this extra scan can find more cancers early. Re…

This study tested a community support program to help people in West Philadelphia get to and attend their scheduled lung cancer screening appointments. The program offered phone support from a representative and free Lyft rides to the hospital. Researchers measured whether this e…

This study tested a new program to help more people in underserved Philadelphia neighborhoods get screened for colon cancer. Researchers used a computer program (AI) to identify 385 high-risk patients who had a screening test ordered but not completed. They then provided these pa…

This study tested two different counseling approaches to help people with HIV quit smoking. Researchers compared traditional smoking cessation counseling with a newer method called behavioral activation problem solving (BAPS). Both approaches involved phone sessions over several …

This study tested a new way to help hospitalized patients with advanced lung or stomach cancers talk with their cancer doctors about their care goals and preferences after leaving the hospital. Researchers enrolled 40 participants and randomly assigned half to use a short survey …

This study tested whether a specially designed pamphlet could help older adults with low health literacy make better decisions about colorectal cancer screening. Researchers worked with 60 adults aged 75-85 to see if the pamphlet improved their understanding of screening options …

This study aims to understand how two different types of radiation therapy affect the heart in breast cancer patients. Researchers followed 172 patients who were already enrolled in a larger radiation comparison trial. They measured heart function and collected blood samples befo…

This study tested different ways to encourage people to get genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer risk. Researchers sent messages to patients and alerts to doctors to see which method worked best to get more people tested. The goal was to help more people, especially from…

This study collected small blood samples from healthy volunteers to create comparison samples for validating a new blood test that detects cancer cells. Researchers needed cancer-free blood to properly test their detection method in future cancer patients. The study involved 43 h…

This study tested a new type of PET/CT scan to see if it could show early signs of how well a combination treatment works for advanced melanoma. Six patients received the special scan before and shortly after starting immunotherapy. The goal was to see if changes on the scan coul…

This study aimed to understand how CAR-T cell therapy, a powerful cancer treatment, affects the heart. Researchers followed 44 adults with leukemia or lymphoma, checking their heart function with scans and blood tests before and after treatment. The goal was to learn how often he…

This study aimed to understand if the color of a cigarette package changes how people smoke low-nicotine cigarettes. Researchers recruited 219 daily smokers to test different colored packs over 35 days. They measured how many cigarettes people smoked, their exposure to harmful ch…

This study tested whether connecting experienced gynecologic cancer patients ('ambassadors') with new patients ('mentees') could improve awareness and enrollment in clinical trials. Over 12 months, trained ambassadors held one-on-one discussions with mentees to share their trial …

This study aimed to find the best ways to encourage doctors and patients to use a genetic test before starting certain chemotherapy drugs. The test checks for a gene change that can cause severe, sometimes fatal, side effects. Researchers gathered feedback from doctors, patients,…

This study tested a new robotic system designed to hold a person's head perfectly still. Researchers used motion-tracking cameras to measure how much healthy volunteers' heads naturally moved while lying down. The data collected will help engineers build a better device to keep b…