Cancer Research

Finding ways to bring new cancer treatments to patients

Finding ways to bring new cancer treatments to patients

Every cancer is unique. Pancreatic cancer differs from ovarian cancer, which differs from colon cancer. In fact, similar tumors in different patients can have different genetic makeups and respond differently to the same treatments. This is one of the many reasons cancer is so challenging to treat. Scripps is meeting that challenge.


Research conducted by physicians and scientists at Scripps Health, Scripps Genomic Medicine and other areas are accelerating our understanding of cancer biology and improving our ability to bring new treatments rapidly to patients. Many of these trials are open to our patients, and providing them the first opportunity to benefit from a new or improved treatment method.

Cancer gene studies

Our team of internationally known cancer researchers is using advanced genomics to find the root causes of cancers, studying combination treatments that could minimize the risk of cancer recurrence, testing immunotherapies and determining which preventive measures actually save lives.

Recent cancer research at Scripps

  • Bone marrow transplantation
  • Breast cancer (early- and late-stage)
  • Cervical dysplasia (mild)
  • Colon cancer (early- and late-stage)
  • Developing diagnostics to measure tumor cells circulating in blood
  • Genetic makeup of solid tumors
  • Head and neck cancers
  • Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
  • Improving radiation therapies for prostate cancer
  • Leukemia (acute and chronic)
  • Liver cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Melanoma
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Refining the use of stem cells to treat cancer
  • Testing new chemotherapy agents and new combinations

Translational research

Scripps Health is also working with Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, The Scripps Research Institute and other labs to translate basic research findings into new treatments. By combining laboratory and clinical investigations, Scripps and its partners hope to develop innovative new cancer therapies and diagnostics.


For more information about current cancer research at Scripps, view active studies.