Medical Breakthroughs from Penn Medicine

Patients with follicular lymphoma who relapse or don’t respond to treatment don’t have many therapeutic options, but a recently FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy may help change that. Dr. Charles Turck is joined by Dr. Elise Chong from Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center to explore this new treatment option.

Current screening tools for postpartum depression may have limitations, but a new texting service as part of the Healing at Home program may help clinicians detect postpartum depression earlier. Dr. Charles Turck is joined by Dr. Kirstin Leitner to take a look at this program and its impacts.

What does Penn Medicine’s newly-opened patient room facility have to offer? Dr. Charles Turck is joined by Penn Medicine Clinical Advisors Kathy Gallagher and Kate Newcomb-DeSanto to discuss the new pavilion and how it's revolutionizing patient care.

Dr. Drew Weissman, Professor of Medicine at Penn Medicine joins Dr. Turck to discuss his new COVID-19 vaccine technology and how RNA and mRNA are being used to provoke an immune response in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patients with uterine factor infertility, or UFI, only had two options if they wanted to achieve parenthood: using a gestational carrier or adoption. Until now.

Joining Dr. Jennifer Caudle to talk about the opportunities of uterine transplants and key information about the UNTIL trial are lead investigators Drs. Kathleen O’Neill and Nawar Latif from Penn Medicine.

Joining Dr. Jennifer Caudle to discuss the latest research furthering our understanding and treatment of multiple sclerosis is Dr. Amit Bar-Or, Chief of the Multiple Sclerosis Division and Director for the Center of Neuroinflammation and Neurotherapeutics at Penn Medicine. Could these recent findings finally help us solve some of the unanswered questions of multiple sclerosis?

Without any targeted therapies available for inherited cardiomyopathy, how can we treat our patients coping with its debilitating symptoms? Here to share her diagnostic and management strategies along with key data from a recent study is Dr. Anjali Owens, Medical Director at the Center for Inherited Heart Disease at Penn Medicine.

Twelve years after performing the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement, Penn Medicine continues to gain momentum in the transformation of cardiovascular transcatheter therapies. Dr. Howard Herrmann recounts the evolution in alternative technologies to improve patient safety and outcomes and the role these advancements have in shaping how we approach treatment.

Improving his patients’ post-surgical experience was Dr. Suhail Kanchwala's goal when he sought to develop a new method for autologous breast reconstruction. The result of his search has brought a new technique to the field, along with an array of benefits for patients, including reduction of post-surgical pain and opioid use.

Power couple Drs. Jean Bennett and Albert Maguire discuss how their new therapy for the RPE65 gene, which causes retinal blindness, was recently approved by the FDA to become the first gene therapy treatment for a genetic disease in the United States and the first worldwide treatment for inherited blindness. Not only do they delve into the mechanics of the corrected gene injection, but they also explain what this milestone means for patient eligibility and how their marriage has played a role in the success of their research partnership.

Dr. Jean Bennett is the F.M. Kirby Professor of Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Albert Maguire is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Attending Physician in the Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Spinal deformity places strain on the vertebrae and supporting muscles, tendons, ligaments, and tissues supporting the spinal column. The treatment and management of this condition becomes centrally important to maintain patient quality of life through functional mobility and activity levels.

Host, Dr. Barry Mennen and Dr. Comron Saifi discuss the leading assessment and treatment options for spinal deformity. Dr. Saifi is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Division of Spine Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

A Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) is a rare sarcoma that begins in the digestive tract or stomach, with an incident rate in the United States of approximately 4,000 to 6,000 cases per year. Since these tumors behave differently from other gastrointestinal cancers, they require a specialized treatment plan.

Host Dr. Shira Johnson chats with Ronald DeMatteo, MD, FACS, Chair of the Department of Surgery and a surgical oncologist at Penn Medicine. They discuss the diagnosis, treatment and current clinical research of GIST. Dr. DeMatteo is a world-renowned surgical expert and researcher for the rare GIST. His research breakthroughs helped develop the new standard of care for GIST.

For years, the foundations of cancer treatment, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy were utilized with the objective of weakening cancer.

But over the past several years, immunotherapy – therapies that enlist and strengthen the power of a patient’s immune system to attack tumors - has emerged as a new tool for fighting cancer. In August 2017, one such treatment approach, called Chimeric Antigen Receptor or CAR T-cell Therapy, received FDA approval for the treatment of children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Additionally, research is continuing to look at CAR-T therapy’s effectiveness for treating solid tumors as well.

Host Dr. Shira Johnson sits down with Dr. Robert Vonderheide, Director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and the John H. Glick, MD, Abramson Cancer Center Director’s Professor, to talk about the potential of CAR-T therapy alongside other emerging immunotherapies in fighting cancer.

Unclogging patient arteries is a key step to preventing stroke in patients with arterial disease. Whether it be preventing the operative stage, or surgery itself, advances in treatment at Penn Medicine are seeking to lessen the effects of arterial disease.

Host Dr. Barry Mennen welcomes Dr. Grace Wang, vascular surgeon and Director of the Vascular Laboratory at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Wang highlights the importance of early detection in arterial disease, as well as the symptoms and risk factors of the disease. She will also discuss the current and upcoming surgical intervention options at Penn Medicine.

Though a relatively rare disease, pancreatic cancer remains at the forefront of clinical discussion due to its highly aggressive nature. Dr. Major Kenneth Lee, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Penn Medicine, estimates that pancreatic cancer will become the number 2 cause of cancer death by the year 2020. This projected rise in mortality is largely due to the need for better advancement in treatment options.

Join host Dr. Jennifer Caudle and guest, Dr. Major Kenneth Lee, as they discuss major signs and symptoms associated with a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, risk factors, and treatment options.

In 2014, the CDC estimated a total of 2,194 cases of acute hepatitis across 40 states and estimates that 2.7-3.9 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis C. Of every 100 persons affected by the disease, 75 to 85 will go on to develop chronic infection, 60 to 70 will go on to develop chronic liver disease, 5 to 20 will go on to develop cirrhosis over a period of 20–30 years, and 1 to 5 will die from the consequences of chronic infection (liver cancer or cirrhosis).

Joining our host, Dr. Jennifer Caudle, is Dr. Vincent Lo Re, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology at Penn Medicine. Dr. Lo Re discusses the current screening guidelines and recommendations regarding hepatitis C, long-term patient care, and the current landscape of treatment options.

Back and neck pain is extremely common, with 80-90% of people experiencing some pain within their lifetime. About 90% of cases resolve within six weeks, but for those patients whose pain persists, questions arise as to who should be referred next for further consultation. While patients often see a spine specialist at first, the care journey sometimes leads to a neurosurgeon or orthopaedic spine surgeon. Can this pathway from primary care to neurosurgery or orthopaedic surgery ever be expedited?

Dr. Patrick Connolly, neurosurgeon at Penn Medicine joins host Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss when primary care physicians should consider referring patients to neurosurgeons for neck and back pain. Dr. Connolly will also discuss the different types of surgical options for patients seeking prolonged back and neck pain relief.

Host Dr. Matt Birnholz is joined by Dr. Ari Brooks, Director of Endocrine and Oncology Surgery and Director of the Integrated Breast Center at Pennsylvania Hospital, and Dr. Brian Englander, Clinical Assistant Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiology at Pennsylvania Hospital. Drs. Brooks and Englander discuss the hot topics within breast cancer innovations. They touch upon the increase in involvement of genetics and genomic research that is impacting breast cancer treatment options, new breast imaging modalities, and continuity of care.

Joining Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss counseling methods for patients who are trying to conceive is Dr. Robert Debbs, Director of the Pennsylvania Hospital Maternal Fetal Medicine Network in New Jersey and Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine. Dr. Debbs will discuss pre-conceptual counseling on a range of topics such as obesity, congenital heart disease, depression, and conceiving after a miscarriage.

Host Dr. Matt Birnholz welcomes Dr. Paris D. Butler, who will be discussing breast reduction surgery for women who suffer from chronic back pain and breast cancer patients undergoing reconstructive surgery following a diagnosis. Dr. Butler will go into detail about the pros and cons of taking an immediate versus a delayed reconstruction approach and the various techniques associated.