How immunotherapy changed cancer treatment – and why its impact is still growing
When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first immune checkpoint inhibitor, ipilimumab, for the treatment of advanced melanoma in 2011, cancer treatment changed forever.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a type of immunotherapy – a cancer treatment that does not target the cancer itself but trains the immune system to find and eliminate cancer cells.
Since the first therapy was approved, more than a dozen...
Which cancers can be treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors?
Updated February 10, 2026
Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that does not target the cancer itself, unlike traditional treatments...
22 research highlights from the past year
From unlocking the secrets of the tumor microenvironment to advancing new therapies to FDA approval, MD Anderson researchers are driven by...
How MD Anderson is powering breakthroughs in cancer research
Scientific discoveries are essential to driving advances in cancer care. From better screening and diagnostic techniques to innovative new therapies and survivorship programs — all rely on impactful research.
That is why MD Anderson is focused on Breakthroughs as a central theme of our Strategy. Discovery research is the engine for progress in our mission to end cancer and to maximize our impact on humanity.
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Pre-Cancer Atlas: Plotting a course to intercept cancer
The route a cancer takes from its earliest stages to advanced disease is a long and winding road. Often, the first mutations or changes that...
Cancer exosomes: mini cells packed with potential for treatment and diagnostics
First discovered in the 1980s, exosomes are microscopic spherical packages, called vesicles, released by all cells. Their normal role in the...
TIL therapy: 6 things to know
Adoptive cellular therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses cells from our immune systems, such as T cells, as a treatment for cancer....
New research offers treatment advances for stomach and esophageal cancers
Stomach and esophageal cancers are diagnosed in more than 40,000 people each year in the U.S. Most of these cases aren’t detected until the...
How Therapeutics Discovery is developing targeted therapies for more cancer types
Discovering and developing new treatments for cancer is a difficult process with many obstacles. These challenges can slow the process of...
Targeted therapy venetoclax improving acute myeloid leukemia treatment options
Targeted therapies are designed to work against specific vulnerabilities in a cancer cell.
The targeted therapy drug venetoclax is...