Continuing the theme of Translational Centers of Excellence (TCE’s), Penn started these Centers at Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center so that flagship medical programs could be created.  These Centers bring together experts from diverse fields in cancer research to address major challenges in cancer care facing the world today.

Faculty from the Penn community were invited to form teams and develop multidisciplinary, disease-specific Centers to try to find solutions to the most pressing issues confronting cancer patients.  These Centers will hopefully accelerate the pace of discoveries that will help today's patients become — and stay — cancer-free.  Everyone from scientists and engineers to medical doctors have been brought together to help eradicate cancer completely.

Last month, our focus was the Ovarian Cancer TCE.  This month we will focus on the 2-Prevent Breast Cancer: Translational Center of Excellence.  We are incredibly fortunate that so many people beat breast cancer these days, but it is important to recognize that 30% of people do relapse in addition to having late treatment effects. Our 2-PREVENT Breast Cancer Translational Center of Excellence is the only program in the country with a focus on preventing, identifying, and treating the issues that may arise after the initial treatment for breast cancer.

Research plays a vital role in preventing, identifying and treating relapsed breast cancer. Penn Medicine’s investigators study all parts of the disease to determine the best preventative care and treatment.  The areas of research include cancer cell detection, genomic testing, immunotherapy, and screening for late treatment effects.

Read more about this potential new treatment strategy from Penn Medicine here: https://www.pennmedicine.org/cancer/cancer-research/translating-research-to-practice/ovarian-cancer-tce