Gastrointestinal Cancer Research at City of Hope

November 22, 2024

This page was reviewed under our medical and editorial policy by Laleh Melstrom, M.D., M.S., associate professor of surgery and immuno-oncology, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, City of Hope® Cancer Center Duarte

Getting treated for gastrointestinal cancers at City of Hope means you are steps away from labs where new treatments for GI cancers are being developed every day. That proximity means you benefit from something unique in cancer care — bench to bedside treatment.

“Bench to bedside” means innovative research we are conducting in our labs is moved quickly to the bedside to treat our patients. We offer drug, surgical and other clinical trials aimed at improving survival rates and enhancing quality of life.

Gastrointestinal Cancer Clinical Trials

Clinical trials – research studies that involve volunteer patients – are a crucial component to developing new, more effective treatments that save lives. Many of today’s standard therapies are based on the results of previous trials, some of which were initiated at City of Hope.

Our GI cancer clinical trials are available for several GI cancer types, including:

Browse through some of our clinical trials and research projects.

Patient Stories from Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment at City of Hope

City of Hope patients have triumphed in many ways. Sara Alvarenga, who was treated for stage 4 colorectal cancer at City of Hope in 2018. Despite having been told by other doctors that her condition was terminal, a second opinion at City of Hope helped her find optimism. Then 33, Alvarenga had chemotherapy, surgery, ablation and other colorectal cancer treatments, and despite the challenges she faced during that journey, she found hope and is still enjoying life six years later.

The triumphs also include Larry Jarvis, who had survived prostate cancer and was then diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Following surgery and a combination of chemotherapy treatments, Jarvis also found help through City of Hope’s extensive supportive care programs. “We’re hopeful about the future,” his wife said two years after his initial diagnosis.

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