News
This is How Dense Breast Tissue May Lead to Cancer
Breast cancer often grows in tissue that is unusually dense. That’s why clinicians flag women with this kind of breast tissue for follow-up after a mammogram. A UC San Francisco study has uncovered a mechanism that could help explain how this dense environment promotes breast cancer. Dense tissue
A New Drug Born at UCSF is Revolutionizing Pancreatic Cancer Care
UC San Francisco researchers took on one of science’s lost causes. Today, their work has finally ushered in hope for pancreatic cancer — one of medicine’s most devastating diseases. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved daraxonrasib, the first drug shown to substantially extend
Why Novel Cancer Vaccine Tested at UCSF Marks New Treatment Era
A personalized mRNA vaccine tested at UC San Francisco has become the first to successfully prevent the return and spread of cancer in late-stage clinical trials. The results could signal a new era of vaccines to treat a range of cancers, says UCSF Professor of Medicine Adil Daud, MD, who led the
This Is How To Treat Cancer With Teacher Cells and Tumor Pieces
The immune system possesses legions of T cells that, if they were primed, could hunt down and destroy tumors. Now, a UC San Francisco team has invented a way to do this by combining immune cells that are grown in the lab with samples from a patient’s tumor. Like giving a scent to a hound dog, it
From Digital Health to Drug Discovery: Cancer Projects Funded in RAP Spring 2026 Cycle
Nine investigators and teams were awarded grants in support of cancer research projects in the spring 2026 cycle of the UCSF Resource Allocation Program (RAP). Funded by various agencies across UCSF, the awards span a range of topics from digital health and drug discovery to imaging, survivorship
Shaping Our AI Future
As AI continues to reshape medicine and biomedical research, the Cancer Center is taking a thoughtful approach to its potential—and its limitations. Below, Julian Hong, MD, the Cancer Center’s new head of AI, discusses the role AI can play in improving patient care, accelerating discovery, and
For Early Prostate Cancer ‘Active Surveillance’ Is Now #1 Choice
Three decades after UC San Francisco pioneered “active surveillance” for patients with low-risk prostate cancer, a new study has found that the vast majority of veterans with the diagnosis pursued this option instead of treatment. In 2024, 93% of veterans with low-risk prostate cancer — so called