Binaytara Lung Cancer Research Award

Parth Desai, MBBS, MD, is an Assistant Professor and Medical Oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center / Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. He pitched “Tracking and Targeting Tumor-State Plasticity During DLL3 T-Cell Engager Therapy in Small Cell Lung Cancer” at Binaytara's Seattle Lung Cancer Conference.

Small cell lung cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of lung cancer, and while a promising new type of immunotherapy can help some patients whose cancer has returned, only about one in three benefit, and doctors currently have no reliable way to know in advance who will. Dr. Desai’s project aims to develop a simple blood test that reads signals released by tumors throughout the body, which could help doctors predict who will respond to treatment, catch early signs that the cancer is becoming resistant, and spare patients repeated invasive biopsies.

“I am honored to receive the Binaytara Lung Cancer Research Award and grateful for Binaytara’s support,” said Dr. Desai. “I loved the shark-tank style of research presentation and the constructive dynamic feedback from the "sharks of oncology" and made some great new and hopefully long-lasting connections! As a physician-scientist, my research is driven by the challenges my patients face every day. This funding will support our efforts to bring precision-guided care to patients with small cell lung cancer—a disease for which tailoring treatment to each tumor’s unique biology remains a largely unrealized opportunity. I am also grateful to my mentors and colleagues at Fox Chase Cancer Center, whose collaboration makes this work possible.”