Dr. Hinrichs on Unmet Needs with Cellular Therapy in Metastatic Epithelial Cancer

Christian S. Hinrichs, MD, chief of Cancer Immunotherapy, and co-director of the Duncan and Nancy MacMillan Cancer Immunology and Metabolism Center of Excellence, program co-leader of the Cancer Metabolism and Growth Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, professor of Medicine at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, discusses unmet needs with cellular therapies in metastatic epithelial cancer.

Currently, the biggest unmet need in cellular therapy in epithelial cancer is, in turn, the largest unmet need in cancer overall, Hinrichs says. Many patients with epithelial cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage and curative therapies are not available for patients with metastatic disease, Hinrichs adds. Although some patients can be cured, it is rare which makes this a significantly challenging disease to manage, Hinrichs says.

Research efforts are trying to develop better treatments, and especially trying to develop curative therapies for patients with metastatic epithelial cancers, Hinrichs concludes.