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UCLA Health

UCLA Health

Academic Medical Center

Appears in 2 stories

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Therapeutic cancer vaccines emerge from decades of development

New Capabilities

UCLA researchers developed an off-the-shelf vaccine targeting KRAS mutations in pancreatic and colorectal cancer, showing strong immune responses in early trials. - Developing off-the-shelf KRAS-targeted cancer vaccine

Metastatic breast cancer typically kills most patients within five years. A small group of women vaccinated in a Duke University clinical trial two decades ago have defied that prognosis entirely—all remain alive today. Researchers discovered these survivors still carry specialized immune cells capable of recognizing their cancer, pointing to a mechanism that could make therapeutic cancer vaccines work reliably.

Updated Jan 31

The first human bladder transplant

New Capabilities

One of the nation's top-ranked hospitals, home to the world's first bladder transplant program. - Conducting ongoing bladder transplant clinical trial

On May 4, 2025, surgeons at UCLA performed the first successful human bladder transplant. Oscar Larrainzar, a 41-year-old father of four who'd spent seven years on dialysis after losing his bladder and both kidneys to cancer, received both organs in an eight-hour procedure. The kidney started producing urine immediately. Two days after going home, Larrainzar urinated on his own for the first time in seven years.

Updated Jan 7