November 2025

The Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center has been named a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a significant milestone affirming our scope of cancer research, clinical excellence, and commitment to health equity.

“This designation is a testament to the dedication and brilliance of our faculty, staff, students, and patients,” said Ramon E. Parsons, MD, PhD, Director of The Tisch Cancer Institute and the Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center. “It affirms Mount Sinai’s role not only as a place of scientific discovery but as a leader in bringing those discoveries to our patients.” 

Comprehensive Cancer Centers are recognized for their leadership and resources, depth and breadth of research, and substantial transdisciplinary research that bridges scientific areas.

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NCI-Designated Cancer Centers

Join a Special Celebration on November 13 honoring

two major accomplishments: 

• Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center becomes NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center
• The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 6 in the nation for Cancer by U.S. News & World Report

Celebration

November 13, 4:30 pm

Guggenheim Pavilion, Seventh Floor Atrium

RSVP

Adriana Malone, MD, earned the distinction of Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO). The FASCO designation honors members for their extraordinary volunteer service, engagement, and dedication to the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Association for Clinical Oncology (collectively ASCO). Dr. Malone directs both the Hematology and Medical Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy fellowships and is System Vice Chair for Education, Department of Medicine. 

Ernesto Guccione, PhD , was named Mount Sinai Professor in Epigenetic Therapeutics at a ceremony on October 15. The endowed professorship recognizes Dr. Guccione’s research, focused on basic mechanisms of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation with the goal of identifying therapeutic opportunities in oncology. Dr. Guccione is Professor of Oncological Sciences, Pharmacological Sciences, and Immunology & Immunotherapy.



Ernesto Guccione Laboratory

Sundar Jagannath, MBBS, and Santiago Thibaud, MD, were selected as recipients of the 2025 Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Provider Communication. The award recognizes Mount Sinai providers who rank in the top five percent nationally for outstanding communication in clinical care. The award ceremony took place on October 23.

Pictured, left to right: Santiago Thibaud, MD; Susan Cullman and Edgar Cullman (brother and sister); Sundar Jagannath, MBBS; Brendan Carr, MD, MA, MS

Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ONTiC Best of Lung Cancer Congress, taking place December 5-6 in Cairo. Organized by the OncoThoracic International Association in collaboration with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, the meeting aims to serve as a catalyst for collaboration to ensure that advances in thoracic oncology promote better patient outcomes. Dr. Hirsch is Executive Director of the Center for Thoracic Oncology and Co-Director of the Center of Excellence for Thoracic Oncology.

Dahniel Sastow, MD, Hematology and Medical Oncology fellow, was selected to receive the 2025 Doctors of Distinction “Cutting Edge” award from the Westfair Business Journal. He will be recognized at the Doctors of Distinction Ceremony on November 13 at New York Medical College. Dr. Sastrow earned his MD from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he also completed residency in Internal Medicine. His clinical and research interests focus on hematologic malignancies, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.

Igor Bado, PhD, received R01 grant funding from the National Cancer Institute for “Mechanisms and Impact of NRG3 Induction in Bone Metastasis.” Dr. Bado recently identified a bone-induced factor (NRG3) that may have significant implications in progression of cancer metastasis. He will now use molecular approaches to functionally characterize the NRG3 regulome induced in the bone microenvironment, identify the NRG3 signaling, and assess the impact of NRG3 depletion on metastasis from bone to visceral organs. Findings may uncover bone-mediated properties with therapeutic potential.

TCI’s cancer clinical trials enterprise is now using a system powered by IgniteData’s Archer platform that automatically transfers clinical data from Epic into research databases in real time. “This integration marks a turning point in how we conduct clinical trials,” said Karyn Goodman, MD, MS, Associate Director for Clinical Research at TCI. “By automating data transfer and improving accuracy at the source, we can conduct more studies, reach more patients, and deliver promising therapies faster.” 

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Do you have breaking news/high impact news that might be appropriate for media coverage? Contact Diego Ortiz Quintero in the Press Office.

See recent press releases at https://icahn.mssm.edu/research/tisch under Discover the Latest.

Sujit S. Nair, PhD; Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD; Ashutosh K. Tewari, MBBS, MCh, and colleagues

Prostate Cancer in Situ Autovaccination With the Intratumoral Viral Mimic Poly-ICLC: Modulating the Cold Tumor Microenvironment

Med. 2025 Oct 10. PMID: 41173002

This Phase 1 clinical trial (NCT03262103) was the first to explore intratumoral immunotherapy and to examine the activity of a neadjuvant sequential intratumoral/intramuscular immunotherapy strategy for patients with intermediate- to high-risk localized prostate cancer scheduled for radical prostatectomy. Findings showed that the treatment is safe and may modulate the tumor microenvironment, enhancing antitumor responses, and positive immune modulation in the tissue and blood. This approach, which doesn’t rely on a single tumor target and trains the immune system to recognize the whole tumor, could be used to inject other immune agents or combinations, opening new paths for targeted treatment in the prostate. The findings support larger trials to assess effects on long-term clinical outcomes.

Press Release

Matthew Galsky, MD, and colleagues

Adjuvant Nivolumab Versus Placebo for High-Risk Muscle-Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma: 5-Year Efficacy and ctDNA Results From CheckMate 274

Annals of Oncology. 2025 Oct. 17. PMID: 41110694

The phase III multicenter CheckMate 274 trial comparing adjuvant nivolumab versus placebo in patients with high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma after radical surgery demonstrated that adjuvant nivolumab improved disease-free survival (DFS). Five-year data confirm that adjuvant nivolumab delivers a sustained and clinically meaningful DFS benefit without long-term safety issues. Postoperative ctDNA testing stratified patients into distinct prognostic groups, suggesting potential for improved adjuvant therapy selection.

Reuben Ben-David, MD; John Sfakianos, MD, and colleagues



Clinical Utility of Tumour-Informed Circulating Tumour DNA in Patients With Testicular Cancer

BJU International. 2025 Oct 7. PMID: 41054348

Using longitudinal tumor-informed circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) collected prospectively from consecutive patients during 2022-2023, this study examined whether ctDNA predicts oncological outcomes in the minimal residual disease (MRD) window after radical orchiectomy or retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) and evaluated the diagnostic performance of ctDNA in reference to imaging studies in clinical stage (CS) I testicular cancer. Findings suggest that ctDNA status is a strong predictor of event-free survival and recurrence-free survival in the peri-orchiectomy and peri-RPLND settings. If further validated by prospective studies, ctDNA could potentially aid in guiding treatment decision-making and relaxing surveillance protocols for patients with CS I disease, with the goal of reducing treatment toxicity and radiation exposure.

Beau Baars, MS; Poulikos Poulikakos, PhD, and colleagues

RAS Mutation-Specific Responses to Paralog- and State-Selective RAS Inhibitors

Molecular Cancer Research. 2025 Oct 15. PMID: 41091575

This study compared the effects of state- and paralog-selective RAS inhibitors with mutant-specific agents (KRAS(G12C), KRAS(G12D)) on signaling dynamics in both RAS-mutant and normal cells and introduced the Signaling Inhibition Index (SII)—a new quantitative metric describing the ratio of MAPK pathway inhibition in RAS-mutant vs. normal cells, providing a framework to assess therapeutic index. Findings show that state- and paralog-selective inhibitors exhibit enhanced activity in the same KRAS-mutant cancer models that respond to mutant-specific inhibitors and that, despite their mechanistic diversity, the drugs all converge on the same subset of sensitive KRAS-mutant tumors. Findings further show that most KRAS-mutant cancers are intrinsically resistant and will escape inhibition regardless of whether the drug is mutant-specific or state/paralog-selective. This work highlights the importance of integrating SII-based selectivity measurements into the design and clinical application of RAS/MAPK inhibitors to maximize therapeutic benefit.

Drishti Panse, MD; Julie Bloom, MD, and colleagues

The Role of Immunotherapy and Radiation Therapy in the Treatment of Breast Cancer

Biomedicines. 2025 Sep 9. PMID: 41007771

This review discusses the impact of radiation therapy on anti-tumor immunogenicity and examines the role of immunotherapy and radiation therapy in early-stage, locally advanced, recurrent, and metastatic breast cancer. It addresses ongoing clinical studies, side effects, and optimal timing of combined immunotherapy and radiation therapy to enhance therapeutic outcomes.

Medical students at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who participated in the TCI Mentored Medical Students Summer Scholars (MMSSS) program in 2025 presented their research on October 23.

Angelo Angione: “Investigating the Role of VGF in Glioblastoma Using a Genetically Engineered Mouse Model”

Mentor: Dolores Hambardzumyan, PhD, MBA (formerly at Mount Sinai)

Olivia First: “Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment in Mucosal Melanoma: A Retrospective Analysis of the National Cancer Database”

Mentors: Maaike van Gerwen, MD, PhD; Alexander Shoushtari, MD

Veer Shah: “Sex Differences in Lung Cancer Survival Outcomes”

Mentor: Juan Wisnivesky, MD, DrPH

Ronit Sethi: “Trends in End-of-Life Immunotherapy Use in Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma”

Mentor: Maaike van Gerwen, MD, PhD

Andrew Zhu: “Optimizing mRNA-LNP Cancer Vaccines With miRNA Targeting Technology”

Mentor: Brian Brown, PhD

The MMSSS program, open to rising second year medical students at the Icahn School, provides support for original cancer research. Co-Directors of the program are Janice Gabrilove, MD, and Jenny Lin, MD, MPH.

Tuesdays at noon, Davis Auditorium

November 11

Amanda Lund, PhD, NYU

“Tumor Evolution and Progression in the Lymphatic System”

Hosted by Poulikos Poulikakos, PhD

November 25

Cory Abate-Shen, PhD, Columbia University

“From Mouse to Man: Learning About Human Prostate Cancer Metastasis by Studying Genetically Engineered Mouse Models”

Hosted by Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD

TCI Shared Resources Fair



November 18, 12-2:30 pm

Davis Auditorium, Hess Center for Science and Medicine

The Tisch Cancer Institute Cancer Survivorship Retreat



November 20, 1-5 pm

Hess, Seminar Room A 

Seventh International Prostate Cancer Symposium and World Congress of Urologic Oncology

December 3-5

Stern Auditorium, The Mount Sinai Hospital Annenberg Building

Register

Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, served as Annual Program Committee Chair and Robert Samstein, MD, PhD, served as Annual Meeting Organizer for the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting, held November 7-9 in National Harbor, MD.

Faculty participation at the meeting, including the pre-meeting Primer on Tumor Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy, is outlined here.

Igor Bado, PhD, presented at the 2025 AACR Grantee Summit, held on October 7 in Philadelphia. Presentation title: “Determining FGF2-Mediated DTC Fate in Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis”

Presentations at the Lymphoma, Leukemia & Myeloma Congress, held October 14-17 in New York City:



Adam Kittai, MD: “Novel Targeted Therapeutics and Essential Strategies for Optimized Outcomes in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia”

Samir Parekh, MBBS: “Targeting the Bone Marrow Microenvironment” 

Joshua Richter, MD: “Evolving Strategies for CAR T-Cell Therapy in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma: Identifying and Addressing Barriers to T Cell Therapy”

Adriana Rossi, MD: “Managing Toxicities of T-Cell Directed Therapies”

Samir Parekh, MBBS, presented “Novel Myeloid-derived Resistance Mechanisms for CAR-T/TCE Therapies” at the International Workshop on High-risk Multiple Myeloma, held October 22-24 in Charleston, SC. He also co-chaired a session on CAR therapies and data in high-risk disease.

Joshua Richter, MD, presented “Should We Continue to Transplant Myeloma?” at MYELOMAS: Personalized Prognosis and Precision Medicine Approaches for Enhanced Patient Care in Multiple Myeloma, held October 10-11 in Rome. 

Presentations at HEMO 2025 - Brazilian Congress of Hematology, Hemotherapy and Cell Therapy - held October 29-November 1 in Sao Paolo:

Joshua Richter, MD

• “Real World Experience on Transitioning From Injectable PI-Based Induction Therapy to an All-Oral Regimen for Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients”
• “Extramedullary Disease and Plasma Cell Leukemia: Can Emerging Therapies Improve Outcomes?”

Adriana Rossi, MD

• “Risk Assessment of Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma”
• “Use of CAR T in 2L MMRR: From Clinical Study to Real Life”
• “Relapse and Resistance to CAR T-Cell Therapy in Multiple Myeloma: Promising Strategies to Impact Clinical Practice”

Cesar Rodriguez, MD

• “Biochemical Progression: Is it Time to Treat? The Role of Anti-BCMA Bispecific Antibody in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma” 

Emily Bernstein, PhD, presented “Mechanisms of Chromatin Remodeling Mutations in Cancer” at EpiCypher 2025: Biological and Clinical Frontiers in Epigenetics, held November 2-7 in Cancún.

Sacha Gnjatic, PhD, and Diego Chowell, PhD will present at the International Symposium of the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund, taking place November 15-17 in Tokyo.

Dr. Gnjatic: “Tumor-Infiltrating Plasma Cells and Humoral Responses to Cancer-Testis Antigens Underpin Clinical Benefit to Immune Checkpoint Blockade”



Dr. Chowell: “Language Models to Accelerate Neoantigen-Specific TCR Discovery for Cancer Immunotherapy”