Bisrat Debeb

Associate Professor @MDAndersonNews - investigating Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and brain metastasis. Tweets are my own. RTs not endorsements.

[Bisrat Debeb @Debeblab]

@HindRafei @NatRevImmunol @RanjanMDPhD Amazing work! This is going to be my go-to reference for CAR-T cell therapy work. Congratulations!!!

[Hind Rafei @HindRafei]

What an extraordinary time to be in the field of engineered cell therapy!
I am incredibly excited to share our Review, published in @NatRevImmunol, A Guide to CAR T Cell Therapy, written with brilliant immunologists, @RanjanMDPhD and #PamSharma.
This Review is our attempt to tell the story of CAR T cells, from the decades of discoveries in T cell biology that made these therapies possible, through the engineering innovations that transformed them into life-saving treatments, to the clinical milestones, current challenges, and exciting opportunities that lie ahead. We also share our perspectives on several of the most important unanswered questions that we believe will shape the future of the field.
We were honored to dedicate this work to the memory of Zelig Eshhar, whose vision and pioneering work forever changed cancer immunotherapy and continues to inspire generations of scientists and physicians.
A heartfelt thank you to #KirstyMinton and the outstanding editorial team at @NatRevImmunol for their guidance throughout this process.
As both a physician and scientist, I feel incredibly privileged to work in a field where fundamental immunology, bioengineering, and medicine come together with a single purpose: to bring better therapies to patients.
Here's to the science, the collaboration, and to continuing our shared mission of making cancer history. @UTMDAnderson

[gelareh-zadeh @gelarehzadeh]

More research needed to understand #cancer #metastasis #MRS2026 a great conference for exchange of new discoveries

[AACR @AACR]

The AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2026 is now available. The report outlines the myriad factors that drive and perpetuate cancer disparities and proposes a collaborative approach to achieve health equity. Learn more: https://t.co/aldR4YSkuq #CancerDisparitiesReport

[Boyi Gan, PhD @BoyiGan]

Our new #openaccess study in @CellCellPress reveals a role of #Cuproptosis (a form of copper-induced cell death) in regulating anti-tumor immunity and overcoming #immunotherapy resistance. @UTMDAnderson @NCIARTNet. https://t.co/fMVlB2CyPE

[UT MD Anderson @UTMDAnderson]

Can copper-induced cell death help overcome immunotherapy resistance?

Researchers found that cuproptosis activates antitumor immune responses, creating a feedback loop that enhanced the effects of immunotherapy in preclinical models.

Read more about the study published in @CellCellPress: https://t.co/4wgG0f06vQ #EndCancer @BoyiGan

[Bisrat Debeb @Debeblab]

Huge congratulations @RanjanMDPhD and @HindRafei! So well deserved. BMO is honored to have him, and we're excited to work together to translate the incredible advances from his field into new opportunities for breast cancer patients. #EndCancer

[Hind Rafei @HindRafei]

What an incredible night celebrating our outstanding Hematology/Oncology fellows graduating from the premier program @UTMDAnderson.
I was especially honored to present the Waun Ki Hong Award for Achievement in Basic Science Research to @RanjanMDPhD. Ranjan’s work has been truly exceptional, and this recognition is so well deserved.
Ranjan was the first (quite courageous) fellow to join my group, and it has been a privilege to watch his scientific vision, rigor, and dedication grow. I am thrilled that he will continue his journey as an Advanced Scholar/instructor in the Division of Cancer Medicine, where he will pursue his noble quest to make cancer history through science in the #RafeiLab while caring for patients with breast cancer in BMO.
Congratulations, Ranjan, and congratulations to all of the graduating fellows and awardees! I am so excited to see what the future holds for each of you.
Grateful to Drs. @CarinHagberg, @ChrisRFlowersMD, @vincedcataldo and the Division of Cancer Medicine for their support and leadership in training the next generation of physician-scientists and oncologists.

[National Cancer Institute @theNCI]

#ICYMI Daraxonrasib nearly doubled overall survival compared with chemotherapy for people with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer in a phase 3 trial—these findings highlight how years of research can lead to new treatment options for patients. https://t.co/iDSltTPa3f

[Giulia Notini @NotiniGiulia]

🧵 1/10

Do you know everything about Trop2? 🤔

In this pan-cancer multi-omic analysis, we explored TACSTD2 expression, regulation, and biological associations across normal tissues and tumor types.

🔗https://t.co/WhTZRfT62R

[UT MD Anderson @UTMDAnderson]

As cells age, they increasingly export R-loops from the nucleus, triggering inflammation.

A UT MD Anderson study identified a two-protein complex involved in exporting R-loops and tested an approved drug to block this process: https://t.co/s8lwPifKNQ #EndCancer

[Henning Willers, MD, FASTRO @HenningWillers]

🔥Genomics of aging in @Nature !!🔥

https://t.co/gNhZiRo5GP

[Morgan Fox @morgan_fox_]

I'm excited to share our article in press in Nature Communications!

This project encompasses the bulk of my dissertation research, investigating the role of FGFR1 in ER+ breast cancer brain metastasis. 🧵

https://t.co/1Ozwg63pZ5
@CUCancerBio @cittelly

[Bisrat Debeb @Debeblab]

@morgan_fox_ @CUCancerBio @cittelly Congratulations Morgan!!! Great work!

[Dr. Patrick Hwu @PatrickHwuMD]

🧬 #ScienceSaturday

❓ What if a simple blood test could reveal that the lungs are becoming “cancer-friendly” years before #lung cancer is diagnosed?

➡️ In a new study published in @CellCellPress, researchers found a 14-protein signal in blood plasma that helped predict future lung cancer risk, sometimes more than 5 years before diagnosis.

➡️ These proteins were not just signs of an existing tumor. Instead, they seemed to reflect an inflamed lung environment, one that may help early cancer-prone cells survive and grow.

➡️ The team found that air #pollution, smoking-related inflammation, EGFR cancer-driving mutations, and a molecule called IL-1β could all raise parts of this protein signal.

➡️ They also studied a prevention trial involving canakinumab, a drug that blocks IL-1β. People with a high protein signature appeared more likely to benefit from this anti-inflammatory approach than people with a low signature.

🌟 This study suggests a future where cancer prevention could become more personalized: instead of treating everyone the same, doctors might use blood signals to identify who is most likely to benefit from prevention before #cancer fully develops.

🔗 Read the study: https://t.co/EvaXZWws9Y

@CharlesSwanton @DrClareWeeden @TheMarkFdn @TheCrick @ucl @SwantonLab @uclcancer

[Guolan Lu @GuolanLu]

1/8 ✨Thrilled to share that our paper is now online
@NatureBiotech
“Single-cell spatial pharmacobiology identifies conserved stromal barriers to therapeutic antibody delivery in human solid tumors”
https://t.co/Gm5vVtduHT
(open access): https://t.co/UuxG8JJC2M

[Eric Topol @EricTopol]

Big progress vs cancer, folks.
The kind of event curves from randomized trials that we've not seen before for a couple of the most deadly cancers. Congrats to the oncology research community for getting these trial done. #ASCO26, @ASCO

[Kelley Coffman D’Annibale MD @coffman_kelley]

This curve brought me to tears.

I treated a patient on this trial, and it took his terrible pain away completely within days, which is simply not common.

This represents decades of scientific perseverance and millions of patients who will now live longer and with less pain. 👏🏻

[Nancy Lin, MD @nlinmd]

ZN1041:

➡️Oral HER2 selective TKI

➡️>100x penetration across intact BBB vs tucatinib

➡️ ++activity combined with TDXd or maintenance HP

➡️ph 2/3 BREnnA study just launched (ZN/cape/tras vs tuca/cape/tras). Pts w/ or w/o brain mets and LMD eligible!

https://t.co/mw5GmIhJLv

[NEJM @NEJM]

Original Article: Daraxonrasib or Chemotherapy in Previously Treated Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer (phase 3 RASolute 302 trial) https://t.co/y4G27hfORg

#ASCO26 | @ASCO

[UT MD Anderson @UTMDAnderson]

Presented by Dr. Pavlos Msaouel at #ASCO26, a collaborative multi-institutional study identified EGFR as a key therapeutic vulnerability in SMARCB1-deficient renal medullary carcinoma, a rare and highly aggressive kidney cancer.

Panitumumab-based therapy produced a 53.9% response rate, including complete responses, in heavily pretreated patients, supporting a promising new treatment approach for this disease. @PavlosMsaouel #EndCancer