Sana Karam, MD, PhD

The Tumor-Host Interactions program, led by Diana Cittelly, PhD, explores how the body shapes cancer, advancing immunotherapies for better patient outcomes. Watch the full interview here: youtu.be/ttGsG6o7oX0?si…

@Nature Will have to read it in detail, but how is this even a delta? The difference is barely there. Just because a p value is <0.05 doesn’t necessarily render the response meaningful.

Nature research paper: Androgen loss accelerates brain tumour growth via HPA axis activation go.nature.com/4d5WZc4

NRG-HN016 CONCISE is a pragmatic Phase 3 trial for cisplatin-ineligible locoregionally advanced #headandneckcancer. It is anticipated to be activating soon. Study PI, Dr. Loren Mell @drlorenmell describes the design of the trial in our April newsletter: ow.ly/Bt0250YIZos

So thrilled to celebrate our @washumedicine Dean's Impact awards winners! 🎉Jiayi Huang, MD, MSCI & Thomas Mazur, PhD were recognized for their outstanding efforts to improve clinical care, education & research. bit.ly/4uk8Jig

We are pleased to highlight NRG-CC017 in our April newsletter. This trial is the 1st ever NRG GBM trial with a focus on symptom prevention. We also would like to thank @djlee714 & @AlexisNarvaezMD for talking w/CC017 study PI, Dr. Huang at #NRG2026: youtu.be/oCYxlfXPjRQ.

Physician-scientist @CarlDeSelm presented his research findings at #AACR26! "A novel, first in class chimeric antigen receptor dendritic cell platform driving broad and durable antitumor immunity in solid tumors" #immunotherapy #CancerResearch

Multiple @SitemanCenter @washumedicine experts will be recognized and presenting at #AACR26 over the next week. #Radonc @CarlDeSelm presents in the Mon April 20 Adoptive T Cell Therapy Session! Links here- bit.ly/3Qu3Fce #Immunotherapy

The way our immune cells age differs substantially by sex, from single-cell analysis of ~1,000 people. Implications for propensity for autoimmune diseases (women), vulnerability to cancer (men), immunosenescence and inflammaging @NatureAging nature.com/articles/s4358…

📣 Student Shoutout! ⭐ Sophie Bice recently matched into the Radiation Oncology residency program at Washington University, where she will have ample opportunity to continue amazing research. We are all very proud of her and so excited to see all that she will accomplish!

Protocol Activation! NRG-CC017: A randomized phase III study comparing temporally-modulated pulsed radiation therapy (TMPRT) versus standard radiation therapy with temozolomide for adults with newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma conta.cc/3PKI3bl

@xrtcell @safaviaa @CD_AACR Congrats, Anusha and @JieDengMDPhD . Very nice story and kudos on doing the translational work .

Radiation is a powerful anti-cancer agent, but I considered it a weak immunomodulator. Our new study @CD_AACR changed my mind: in the right context, RT can incite potent systemic immune responses in patients (even rare irAEs). Which context? brnw.ch/21x1b6E A 🧵 /1

@Nature I hope AI Scientist will remember that there are trainees who spend years on end generating these data when nitpicking on some random things that have no bearing whatsoever on anything. In that sense, it maybe more merciful and less destructive than humans..

AI Scientist, an autonomous research tool, first released in 2024, has now undergone peer review, highlighting its strengths and limitations go.nature.com/47oRQdd

A new study co-led by UCLA & published in the journal @CD_AACR suggests combining targeted radiation therapy with an experimental immune-boosting drug & anti-PD-1 therapy before surgery may help the immune system fight aggressive soft tissue sarcomas. bit.ly/4sSZPIh

@DrChoueiri @NEJM @MRCCTU @DanaFarber @neerajaiims @bergsa83 @MikeSerzanMD @PCF_Science @PCFnews @ZEROCancer @PrafulRavi1 @AtishChoudhury @Prof_Nick_James About time!

We keep rediscovering the same truth—hormonal biology works. Estrogen returns in prostate cancer, this time via patches, with noninferior outcomes and potentially better tolerability. Not new—just better applied. Study in @NEJM by the #Stampede group/@MRCCTU nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…

Now published: New study on the controversial role of confirmatory HPV testing in p16+ OPCs 📚 Corresponding author: @BasuLab1 Read more: ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/PO… link in our bio 🔗 #AcademicMedicine #Research #HPV #headandneckcancer

@YVerginadis @AACR @Novocure Congratulations, Yiannis!

I'm truly honored to be the recipient of the 2025 AACR-Novocure Cancer Research Grant. Thank you to @AACR and @Novocure for supporting our work in pancreatic cancer.

@DavidSherMD Great summary as always 🙏🏾… Can we just de-escalate (dose, volume, fractions) and get rid of most of these problems?! 🙃

Come for the critically important data on protons for oropharyngeal cancer, stay for the beautifully written paper. TORPEdO is out, and it is fascinating and instructive. I will warn you upfront that this is a long thread, but there is a lot here to discuss! thelancet.com/journals/lance…

So excited to welcome these amazing folks to WashU Medicine Rad Onc!!