Giving

Getting Personal with Cancer Care

Beth Y. Karlan, MD, knows we are on the cusp of personalized therapies for cancer. In fact, she is helping to lead the way.

As director of the Women’s Cancer Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Dr. Karlan has launched clinical trials that target ovarian and breast cancers in patients with specific gene mutations.

“We’ll soon be able to reclassify cancers through detailed genetic analysis,” Dr. Karlan says. “Our goal is to customize treatments so each patient gets tailored, effective therapy based upon her genetic makeup and personal risk factors.”

Under Dr. Karlan’s leadership, the Women’s Cancer Program works to bring the most innovative laboratory discoveries to women with breast or gynecologic cancers. “It’s translational research at its finest,” she says, and it provides patients with state-of-the-art care.

“In the future, we will be able to tell women with cancer, ‘We know this treatment approach may be the best possible option for you.’ And Cedars-Sinai has a leading role in building that future.”

—Beth Y. Karlan, MD

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