In one UT San Antonio laboratory, scientists are studying how a single mutation allows cancer cells to outmaneuver therapy. Just a few buildings away, physicians are using that knowledge to shape clinical trials and treatment approaches for the patients most likely to benefit.
The distance between those efforts is small, but what matters most is how closely they work together. That proximity and partnership is a defining strength for San Antonio, accelerating breakthroughs from the lab into real treatments for patients.
At The University of Texas at San Antonio and its academic health center, UT Health San Antonio, that distinctive and deeply integrated connection is built into how the work gets done. Scientists studying cancer biology collaborate directly with clinicians leading clinical trials within a coordinated ecosystem anchored by UT Health San Antonio’s Mays Cancer Center, one of the nation’s National Cancer Institute–designated Cancer Centers, and the UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital.
Together, these programs accelerate the path from discovery to care, expanding access to advanced cancer treatments and clinical trials for patients across South Texas.
Science translates to care
The search for new treatments starts with understanding how cancer works at the molecular level, including how tumors grow, evade the immune system and resist therapy.
“Drug discovery research is collaborative teamwork, requiring expertise from different disciplines, such as strong biomedical research and structural biology, to identify and validate targets,” said Daohong Zhou, MD, co-director of the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery at UT San Antonio.
This collaboration is essential as cancer science becomes more complex, and as cancer rates continue to rise across South Texas, bringing together experts across biomedical sciences, engineering, data science and population health to identify new therapeutic targets.
Recent discoveries illustrate the impact of this work. UT San Antonio scientists helped uncover why some widely used therapies lose effectiveness in patients with BRCA-related cancers. The findings, published in Science, one of the world’s leading scientific journals, revealed a biological mechanism behind treatment resistance and opened new avenues for more durable therapies for breast, ovarian and prostate cancers.
The university also leads the nation’s only National Cancer Institute–funded research program focused on apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide, or APOBEC, a biological process that plays a major role in cancer mutations and recurrence. Supported by a $10 million grant, the initiative aims to interrupt these processes and improve outcomes.
Discoveries move toward patients
Scientific insight alone does not change patient outcomes. Translating discoveries into therapies requires clinical research and patient participation in carefully designed trials.
At the UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital, physicians and researchers evaluate emerging treatments and technologies together. The hospital supports advanced inpatient clinical trials and multidisciplinary care, allowing specialists to coordinate complex treatment plans.
“Clinical trials give patients access to promising therapies while helping us move the science forward,” said Lei Zheng, MD, PhD, executive director at the UT Health San Antonio Mays Cancer Center. “When research and patient care are integrated, we can translate discoveries into real treatment options much faster.”
The hospital recently treated its first clinical trial participant in a novel cancer study, marking the first inpatient clinical trial conducted within the hospital and building on more than 500 active clinical trials across UT Health San Antonio, expanding access to investigational therapies for patients in South Texas.
Many therapies now reaching patients began years earlier in university laboratories. One example is an experimental nanotherapy developed at UT San Antonio’s Health Science Center to treat glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. Early clinical research shows the potential to significantly extend survival for patients with recurrent disease.
Training the next generation of innovators
Behind these discoveries is another critical mission: preparing the scientists and physicians who will lead the next generation of cancer research and care.
“Academic medicine has a responsibility not only to discover new therapies, but also to translate them into treatments that improve patients’ lives,” said Robert A. Hromas, MD, FACP, dean of the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine. “That requires training physician-scientists who understand both the science and the clinical challenges of cancer.”
Students, residents and fellows train alongside physician-scientists, working with experienced researchers and clinicians. They participate directly in translational research connecting discoveries with patient care.
This training pipeline helps ensure that the scientific advances made today continue to shape cancer treatment for decades to come.
Growing national impact
The strength of this ecosystem is embedded in the scale of the university’s research enterprise.
UT San Antonio’s Health Science Center ranks among the top 2% globally for biomedical research output and holds a Carnegie Research 1 status, placing it among the most research-intensive universities in the United States.
This depth of scientific expertise allows the institution to bring together researchers from multiple disciplines, including molecular biology, engineering and data science, to address some of the most challenging problems in cancer medicine.
“When you bring together world-class research, advanced clinical care and the educational mission of a major university, you create an environment where innovation can thrive,” said Francisco G. Cigarroa, MD, senior executive vice president for health affairs and health system at UT San Antonio. “Our goal is to ensure that patients in South Texas and the world have access to the most advanced treatments and clinical trials available to prevent and cure cancer.”
As cancer research evolves, integrating discovery, clinical care and education is increasingly important.
For South Texas families navigating a cancer diagnosis, it means access to new therapies, coordinated care teams and clinical trials that may offer new options when they are needed most.
