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This image shows various types of immune cells in the lymph node, each colored based on its cell type. Image by Spitzer Lab

Can Lymph Nodes Boost the Success of Cancer Immunotherapy?

Cancer treatment routinely involves taking out lymph nodes near the tumor in case they contain metastatic cancer cells. But new findings from a clinical trial by researchers at UC San Francisco and Gladstone Institutes shows that immunotherapy can activate tumor-fighting T cells in nearby lymph nodes.

A Black female doctor holds a digital tablet as she consults with a female patient.

New App Calculates Women’s Risk for Advanced Breast Cancer

A new tool, developed by UC San Francisco’s Karla Kerlikowske, MD, and colleagues at other institutions, now helps to calculate risk for those who may develop advanced breast cancer that goes undiagnosed despite regular screenings.

Judy Yee with a patient at an MRI machine

Paid Sick Leave Means More People Get Screened for Cancer

Mandates May Help Reduce Health Care Inequities for Minorities, Low-Income Workers

Science World Honors Kevan Shokat for High-Impact Cancer Research

The UC San Francisco scientist who developed a successful approach to drugging a protein produced by the mutated KRAS gene has won two prestigious awards in the opening weeks of 2023.

UCSF is No. 1 Public Recipient of National Institutes of Health Funding in 2022

UC San Francisco received the most funding of any public institution from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2022 for the 16th year running. UCSF was second highest among all the public and private institutions in the country.

If Immunity Is Innate, What Impacts Our Ability to Fight Infections?

The UC San Francisco lab of Balyn Zaro, PhD investigates the cause and consequence of genetic diversity in the immune system, in hopes that her discoveries can lead to better treatments for all patients.

“Smarter” Breast Cancer Screening Measures Risk Down to Your DNA

A novel UC San Francisco study that aims to transform breast cancer screening is expanding to reach women as young as 30, with the intention of including thousands of women who could be at higher risk of developing aggressive cancer.

The Radical Compassion of Awake Brain Surgery

UCSF Magazine spotlights Dr. Shawn Hervey-Jumper, a neurosurgeon who specializes in awake brain surgery, in which patients are alert and engaged during parts of the procedure in order to prevent severe brain damage

Mission: A Tobacco-Free World

Q&A with Pamela Ling, director of UCSF’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education

Aggressive Surgery Increases Survival with Low-Grade Brain Tumors

The transition of a low-grade, slow growing brain tumor to a lethal one can be delayed if neurosurgeons remove as much as possible soon after diagnosis, according to the results of a study led by UC San Francisco.

Sketches cover a hood shield in UCSF chemist Kevan Shokat’s lab

UCSF Researchers Uncover New Pathway for Molecular Cancer Drug Therapies

Bitopic Inhibitors May Lay Foundation for New Approach to Disease Treatment

Rethinking How Cancer Cells Evade Targeted Therapy

UCSF Researchers Identify the Cellular Source of Recurrent Glioma

Killing Pancreatic Cancer with T Cells that Supercharge Themselves

Novel Immunotherapy Pumps Out Cancer-Killing Cytokines Only Within the Tumor

How AI Found the Words to Kill Cancer Cells

Using new machine learning techniques, researchers at UC San Francisco, in collaboration with a team at IBM Research, have developed a virtual molecular library of thousands of “command sentences” for cells, based on combinations of “words” that guided engineered immune cells to seek out and tirelessly kill cancer cells.