Pathways to a Cure: HICCC 2024 Annual Report
The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) is pleased to present the new digital 2024 Annual Report.
This year has been a transformative one for the HICCC. With the launch of our 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, we are reflecting on our achievements and charting a bold path forward. Our vision is clear: our discoveries here will end cancer everywhere. With pioneering work in AI, cell therapy and immunotherapy, and our compassionate, community-informed care, we are transforming how cancer is understood, treated, and prevented.
In This Issue:
Fighting Cancer with Artificial Intelligence
Mention artificial intelligence, and most people will immediately think of the publicly accessible tools whose ability to generate passable term papers, uncanny artwork, and runnable computer code has helped ignite everything from internet memes to union strikes. Behind the broad discussion of AI’s role in society, though, scientists and clinicians have been quietly exploring its potential to revolutionize cancer care and research.
Beyond Precision Oncology: How Base Editing is Shaping the Future of Cancer Therapy
New tools and methodologies have empowered researchers to attack cancer at the molecular level, developing therapies that offer precise, less invasive, and potentially curative treatments. Benjamin Izar, MD, PhD, is pioneering work in base editing, a highly precise form of gene editing that allows scientists to directly change individual DNA bases—the building blocks of genetic material—without causing widespread damage to the genome.
A New Hope for Pancreatic Cancer: Cracking the KRAS Code
In cancer research, progress is often incremental, and breakthroughs rare. For Ken Olive, PhD, his long-awaited revelation—and potentially a revolution—came this year.
Research for Change: Tackling Breast Cancer Inequities
Adana Llanos, PhD, MPH, comes from a family where the risk of breast cancer is high, even from an early age. As a Black woman and cancer epidemiologist, she is acutely aware of the pronounced racial inequities in breast cancer outcomes.
Columbia at the Cutting Edge: Robotic Liver Cancer Surgery
Led by Jason Hawksworth, MD, Columbia’s Robotic Liver Surgery Program is transforming liver cancer care through groundbreaking advancements in robotic surgery. Hawksworth, one of the few surgeons worldwide with expertise in robotic liver resections, spearheads a program that is revolutionizing outcomes for liver cancer patients.
Diverse Voices, Better Outcomes: Bringing Clinical Trials to All
Clinical trials are essential for developing new cancer treatments, but not everyone benefits equally. Despite representing over 30% of U.S. cancer cases, Black and Hispanic patients make up only about 11% of clinical trial participants nationwide. The HICCC is working to address this imbalance and ensure that all patients have access to the promise of clinical research and the latest innovations in care.
Orisel’s Story: Let’s Talk About Cancer
While cleaning the house one day, Orisel Bejaran felt an itch across her chest. She scratched it, immediately noticing a lump on her breast. After an ultrasound and biopsy, Orisel was diagnosed with stage 2 HER2-positive breast cancer a week later, at the age of 31.
Tomorrow’s Health Equity Leaders: YES in THE HEIGHTS
Training the next generation of scientists begins early at the HICCC. Each summer, HICCC’s YES in THE HEIGHTS (Youth Enjoy Science Training in Health Equity, Highlighting Environmental Inequities, & Growing neighborHood Teachers and Students) internship program welcomes high school and undergraduate students from across New York and New Jersey.
A Pipeline for Emerging Clinical Researchers
A new internship program at the HICCC is setting the stage for first year LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC) students to jump-start their careers in clinical research. Offering valuable hands-on experience for community college students, the partnership also creates a pipeline of skilled research assistants offering diverse perspectives.
Stories of Survival: The Velocity Ride
Sasha Stewart, a 2009 Columbia alumna, was working as a comedy writer in New York when she received a cancer diagnosis. What she believed to be an ulcer turned out to be lymphoma, caused by her anti-rejection medication from a kidney transplant 10 years prior.