On the Edge of Breakthrough: Voices of Cancer Research

Live from ASCO 2026: Insights on the Latest in Multiple Myeloma, Prostate and Lung Cancer Research

Alan Bryce, M.D., Chief Clinical Officer, City of Hope Cancer Center Phoenix, discusses promising prostate cancer research that may help doctors treat some patients earlier and more effectively. He explains how a new combination approach around the time of surgery could help keep cancer from spreading and open the door to more treatment options. Kristin Higgins, M.D., Chief Clinical Officer, City of Hope Cancer Center Atlanta highlights encouraging progress in lung cancer driven by treatments tailored to specific genetic changes. She also discusses an important challenge: some people who develop lung cancer may not fit the profile current screening programs are built to catch. Joseph Mikhael, M.D., Professor in Clinical Genomics and Therapeutics Division at TGen, explores how quickly treatment is evolving in multiple myeloma. He shares why newer immune-based therapies are generating excitement and how simpler approaches now in development could make advanced treatment more accessible. For him, the pace of change means new options are reaching patients faster than ever.

What it Takes to Close the Gap in Pediatric Cancer Care with Leo Wang, M.D., Ph.D.

While many childhood leukemias are now highly curable, Dr. Wang explains children with certain aggressive brain tumors still face the same outcomes they did a decade ago. This lag in progress is what drives his work today investigating CAR T‑cell therapy gene therapy in early phase clinical trials. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Wang returns to the idea that progress in pediatric cancer care depends on collaboration across institutions, bringing together patient care, careful study and shared commitment across the research community. For him, the work centers on honoring the trust families place in the field and steadily moving discoveries from the lab to children who need more options and more time.

Reengineering CAR T for Solid Tumors: What Glioblastoma Has Taught Us with Christine Brown, Ph.D.

In this episode of On the Edge of Breakthrough: Voices of Cancer Research, Christine Brown, Ph.D., Deputy Director of the T‑Cell Research Laboratory at City of Hope, joins Monty Pal, M.D., F.A.S.C.O., to discuss how years of research in glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and difficult brain cancers, are helping scientists rethink how CAR T‑cell therapy could effectively treat solid tumors.   Dr. Brown shares lessons learned from treating patients with few options, including how tumors change over time and how the brain’s environment can limit immune‑based treatments.  The conversation explores Brown’s early leadership in delivering CAR T cells directly into the brain, rather than through the bloodstream. The episode delves into her key clinical experiences that revealed both the potential of CAR T‑cell therapy and the challenges of making clinical responses last.  Dr. Brown explains new up and coming approaches designed to improve durability and effectiveness, how these advances could extend beyond cancer to autoimmune diseases. She returns to a simple point: studying how real patients respond—what works, what doesn’t, and why—will shape every next step in her research.

The Long Game of Cancer Genomics: John Carpten, Ph.D., on Building Precision Oncology that Reaches Patients

Dr. Carpten traces the less-linear path that brought him to the forefront of the field, from his early interests in biology and sports to a pivotal moment in college, when a red-covered Life magazine helped crystallize his career trajectory toward genomics. This curiosity led Carpten to his work on the Human Genome Project, where he significantly contributed to mapping the human genome years before a reference sequence existed. He later helped build translational genomics programs from the ground up, including as a founding member of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), turning limited resources into platforms for discovery and application. The episode tackles what makes breakthroughs durable: building programs, technologies and teams that are inclusive, scalable and designed for clinical impact. Carpten shares how City of Hope is integrating genomics, spatial biology and emerging approaches such as AI to accelerate translation—with an emphasis on rigor, implementation and access.

How Engineered Antibodies and Next Generation Imaging Tools are Reshaping Cancer Care with Anna Wu, Ph.D.

Dr. Wu shares insights on her team’s development of engineered antibodies and fast‑clearing mini‑body fragments. These fragments can initially be used for PET imaging and then later paired with therapeutic radioisotopes to precisely target tumors, which help clinicians see where the treatment is going and how well it may work.  She also talks about two exciting initiatives at City of Hope: CEA‑directed agents (targeted cancer therapies) that are being used in clinical imaging and therapy; and PSCA‑targeted radiopharmaceuticals, which are entering first‑in‑human studies for pancreatic and prostate cancers. These new approaches use imaging to zero in on the tumor target, confirm safety, then deliver the radiation therapy directly to cancer cells.