Gregory Bowman, PhD hopes to uncover how to drug proteins related to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes which, when mutated, can lead to breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.

“Ovarian cancer is often said to be a silent killer because it doesn’t have early symptoms, when in fact it does have symptoms, they’re just very general and could be caused by other things,” explained Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD, director of the Ovarian Cancer Research Center, and Gynecologic Cancer Research, in the Basser Center for BRCA.

A new study found that allowing a break in hormone suppression therapy to allow breast cancer survivors the chance to get pregnant and breastfeed did not appear to increase the risk of cancer recurring. Susan M. Domchek, MD, executive director of the Basser Center, who was not involved in the study, described the findings as “a gift we can give our patients."

Learn what men should know about BRCA gene mutations from Kara Maxwell, MD, PhD, director of the Men & BRCA Program at the Basser Center for BRCA.

Gregory R. Bowman, PhD, the first researcher funded by the Basser Cancer Interception Institute (BCII) and Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics and Bioengineering, shared his team’s work using a neural network to find hidden pockets in proteins that could potentially be targeted with drugs to treat cancer.

Penn Medicine has cemented its identity as a place that incubates and brings to life some of the most transformative modern medical advancements. Science has shifted toward more discoveries based on the underlying mechanism of disease, especially in new cancer drug discovery.

“From cutting-edge basic science and translational science all the way into population science, we’re going to learn about trial results that will change practice,” Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the Penn Medicine Abramson Cancer Center said.

Penn Medicine researchers will present four plenary sessions at the AACR – including remarks from the 2023 Annual Meeting Program Committee Chair Robert Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the Abramson Cancer Center.

Researchers and oncologists have long looked to the body’s own defenses as a possible tool to conquer cancer. “We need to look at cancer vaccines to prevent disease or prevent relapse — to intercept cancer,” said Robert Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the Abramson Cancer Center. Vonderheide also provided a glimpse of some of the groundbreaking research to be presented at the event.

AACR Program Committee Chair Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, Director of the Abramson Cancer Center is excited for the topics that will be covered at the AACR Annual Meeting in 2023.

Susan M. Domchek, MD, executive director of the Basser Center for BRCA, discussed the importance of germline testing in breast cancer care.