2025 Innovations in Review: Oncology

INNOVATIONS IN REVIEW | 2025

ONCOLOGY

ONC

INNOVATIONS IN REVIEW

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

COLOGY

W

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.

Learn more about our advances

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

A Decade of Results on Nivolumab and Ipilimumab for Advanced Melanoma

5

Novel Drug Regimen Shows Promise in Early-Stage Breast Cancer

7

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

9

Dedicated Ophthalmic Oncology Expertise Expands Care Options for Patients

11

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

13

Novel Treatment Method Can Address Aggressive Pediatric Brain Tumor

15

New Trial Device Opens Blood-Brain Barrier to Treat Glioblastoma

17

Biomarker Predicts Response to BCMA CAR T-Cell Therapy in Multiple Myeloma

19

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

21

Solving Long Term Side Effects of Chemotherapy Treatments

23

ARTICLE

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.

Read more

Dr. Jedd D. Wolchok

5

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

“

The results of this study now enable us to convey a sense of hope to our patients that we couldn’t 15 years ago.”

— Dr. Jedd Wolchok

6

ARTICLE

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 hormonenegative/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.

Read more

Dr. Meghna S. Trivedi

7

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

“

The trial demonstrates the potential of personalized treatment in early-stage breast cancer by using response-predictive subtypes and evaluation with breast MRI and biopsies to maximize treatment efficacy and minimize toxicity for the patient.”

— Dr. Meghna Trivedi

8

ARTICLE

TRIAL USING LIQUID BIOPSY SHO NOVEL DRUG SLOWS PROGRESSI OF ADVANCED ER+/ BREAST CANCER

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

Read more

Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli

9

OWS

ION /HER2-

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

At two years, nearly

30% of patients in the

camizestrant group were alive without disease progression, compared to

5.4% in the aromatase inhibitor group.

romatase t rian ed from ceptor urvival. ect the as a new alue of

10

ARTICLE

DEDICATED OPHTH ONCOLOGY EXPERT EXPANDS CARE OPTIONS FOR PATIE 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.

Read more

Dr. Brian Marr

11

Dr. Lauren Yeager

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

HALMIC TISE

ENTS

“

Ophthalmic cancers are rare and technically demanding. There’s a steep learning curve, and patients can’t afford for their doctor to be treating the disease for the first time.”

— Dr. Brian Marr

12

ARTICLE

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 Graphbased 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.

Read more

Dr. Bishoy Faltas

13

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

“

If we are able to predict which patients are going to have a complete response to neoadjuvant therapy, in the future we could have a bladder-sparing treatment approach.”

— Dr. Bishoy Faltas

14

ARTICLE

NOVEL TREATMENT METHOD CAN ADDRESS AGGRESSIVE PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMOR

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is an aggressive and fatal pediatric brain tumo 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., direct 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-labe monoclonal antibody, directly into the brainstem, where DIPG typically starts, offering hope that long-term survival for patients may be possible.

Read more

Dr. Mark Souweidane

15

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

T

or s

ctor e,

eled g

“

‘Survival’ is not a word we use with DIPG — these findings offer a glimmer of hope where there was none.”

— Dr. Mark Souweidane

16

VIDEO

NEW TRIAL DEVICE OPENS BLOOD-BRA 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.

Watch here

Dr. Brian Gill

17

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

E AIN T

“

This clinical trial builds on the exciting results of the phase 1 and phase 2 trials using this device, which showed that it’s safe, but also showed some promising data with regards to efficacy.”

— Dr. Brian Gill

18

VIDEO

BIOMARKER PREDI RESPONSE TO BCM CAR T-CELL THERA IN MULTIPLE MYELO

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.

Watch here

Dr. Mateo Mejia Saldarriaga

19

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

ICTS MA APY OMA

,

“

Our goal is to leverage our findings in the multiple myeloma space and translate it to lymphoma and other malignancies to really benefit all the community that is affected by cancer.”

— Dr. Mateo Mejia Saldarriaga

20

PODCAST

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.

Listen here

21

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

E Dr. Joel Gabre

22

PODCAST

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.

Listen here

23

NYP.ORG/ADVANCES

Dr. Meghna S. Trivedi

24

N Y P. O R G /A D VA N C E S