Fred Hutch

04/17/2026

Immunotherapy is changing cancer care — but there’s still more work to do.

Immunotherapy has joined surgery, radiation and chemotherapy as a major pillar of cancer treatment. For some patients, it can even provide lifelong protection against a cancer returning.

These treatments work by helping the immune system “see” cancer cells again — using tools like CAR T cells, immune checkpoint inhibitors and antibody-based therapies. In certain cancers, including melanoma, they’ve led to powerful, life-changing responses.

But here’s the reality: most patients don’t benefit yet.

Even in cancers considered “responsive,” only about 30% of patients see lasting results. For people with pancreatic, uterine, germ cell and many other cancers, immunotherapy often hasn’t made a difference at all.

“Our immune system is designed to protect us from cancer,” says Dr. Kevin Barry, a molecular biologist at Fred Hutch. "But the immune system can be overrun by cancer. Only around 30% of patients respond to this type of treatment ... we have work to do.”

Thanks to a $270,000 grant from the American Cancer Society, Dr. Barry is taking on that challenge. His team will study how the tumor’s immediate environment helps cancer hide from the immune system — and how we might break that protection to help more patients respond to treatment.

Click the link in the comments to learn more.

04/16/2026

⏰ A 4 a.m. wake-up call with a global impact. 🌍🦠

Last fall, a Fred Hutch Cancer Center grad student logged onto a 4 a.m. video call with the World Health Organization.

Caroline Kikawa, a University of Washington MD‑PhD student working with Fred Hutch scientist Jesse Bloom, PhD, was there to discuss a new blood‑testing method that could make seasonal flu vaccines more effective.

There was just one catch.

“I didn’t have the data yet,” Kikawa said.

Still, she told the WHO scientists: Give me a month.

She delivered — and then some.

✅ 25,000+ antibody measurements�
✅ Largest dataset of its kind ever created�
✅ Completed in under six months — mostly solo�
✅ Immediately shared publicly

The results? Published in Virus Evolution and recognized with a Beyond the Journal Award for exemplary data sharing.

Even bigger: her data helped shape global flu vaccine recommendations — from Cape Town to Sydney to Buenos Aires — and will inform the vaccine used across Seattle and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere later this year.

🦠 Tap the link in the comments to read more.

04/15/2026

Dr. Lauren Shih breaks down what’s new in head and neck cancer treatment and how has reshaped care in recent years.

04/15/2026

Fred Hutch Cancer Center’s Community Grants Program has recently awarded 10 cancer prevention projects across Washington state up to $15,000 each, for a total of $145,500. These dollars will support community-led solutions for cancer prevention, screening and education, particularly for historically underserved populations.

Since it began in 2014, the Community Grants Program, overseen by the Fred Hutch/UW Cancer Consortium Office of Community Outreach & Engagement, has awarded 71 grants totaling nearly $700,000.

Tap the link in the comments to learn more.

04/14/2026

Join us for the 20th annual event designed to provide education on wellness for those living with a cancer diagnosis. This free conference is designed to provide education on a variety of side effects, including late and long-term, faced by to promote wellness and empowerment.

Space is limited! Register by May 29 using the link in the comments 👇

04/14/2026

AI is becoming part of many health care conversations, but it shouldn’t replace them.

A recent article in The New York Times shares the experience of one family whose loved one used AI chatbots to inform decisions about their cancer treatment. Their story highlights how reliance on AI chatbots to interpret information or guide treatment decisions can carry real risks when it is not grounded in guidance from a medical care team.

Read more: https://nyti.ms/4tKjsSy

Ben Riley was already writing about the risks of chatbots when his dad started trusting A.I. over his doctor.

04/12/2026

In the summer of 2025, Dave Lucas was out biking with friends in the Skagit Valley when he hit a seam in the pavement at 20 miles an hour. He landed on the pavement with broken ribs, deflated lungs, a separated shoulder and a concussion, among other injuries.

What he didn’t expect was a diagnosis of kidney cancer.

A CT scan after the accident revealed a tumor on his right kidney. Within days, he was consulting with Yaw Nyame, MD, MS, a kidney cancer specialist at Fred Hutch Cancer Center.

One of the first things Lucas told Nyame was that he and his wife had planned a bike trip around Croatia that was fast approaching.

“It’s almost as if the stars aligned because before I met him, I thought to myself, this might be one of those cases that's amenable to a robotic approach, something that we’d been planning for,” said Nyame. "Dave seemed to be the perfect patient with regard to motivation to be willing to have us try that approach so that he could have that benefit of a faster recovery.”

Nyame and Lucas discuss the robotic surgical approach that enabled Lucas to carry on with his vacation plans and the value of customizing cancer care to meet a patient’s goals.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4tA5McL

In this episode of From Bench to Bedside and Beyond, Dr. Yaw Nyame and patient Dave Lucas discuss the robotic surgical approach that enabled Lucas to carry on with his vacation plans and the value of customizing cancer care to meet a patient's goals.

04/12/2026

Three Fred Hutch research groups have earned prestigious R01 awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), securing up to five years of funding for high‑impact public health research.

All three awards highlight the biostatistical leadership within Fred Hutch’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division. Supported by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), these studies will tackle key questions in HIV and vaccine science—from long‑term viral reservoirs to PrEP’s effects on antibodies and new ways to estimate vaccine effectiveness.

🔗 Tap the link in comments to read more.

04/11/2026

Thank you to Conan O’Brien and Team Coco for supporting the important work happening here at Fred Hutch! Your commitment to advancing cancer research and showing up for this community means so much. 💙

“Had a wonderful evening raising money for a great cause. Thank you to everyone involved.” -Conan

04/10/2026

You’ve heard it before: sugary drinks aren’t good for you. But they may be worse for you than you thought. A new study by Fred Hutch Scientists shows that having them often might increase your oral cancer risk

Study in the comments.

04/09/2026

A reminder to slow down and notice what’s blooming around us. 🌸 ☀️

04/09/2026