ForEm Foundation
ForEm
Foundation
Medicine &
Research
Cancer research moves in small, careful steps — not overnight miracles. This page tracks real trials, real researchers, and real early results from around the world: some already changing how treatment works, others still years from standard care. We tell you the difference, because the truth is more useful than the hope.
Real science, just the facts.
Medicine & Research
Precision Oncology & Biomarker-Guided Treatment
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong
ImmunityBio
Biomarkers can provide information about the biological characteristics of a person's cancer. In precision oncology, that information may help clinicians determine whether certain targeted therapies or immunotherapies are appropriate for an individual patient. As cancer research advances, biomarker-guided treatment continues to play an important role in matching patients with therapies based on the specific features of their disease.
ALREADY HELPING PATIENTS
Near-Infrared Photoimmunotherapy (Akalux)
Developed by Dr. Hisataka Kobayashi at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US, Near-Infrared Photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) uses a light-activated compound that binds specifically to cancer cells. When exposed to near-infrared light, the compound causes targeted cancer cells to swell and burst without damaging surrounding healthy tissue. The first NIR-PIT drug, Akalux, received conditional marketing approval in Japan in 2020 for certain head and neck cancers, making it one of the first countries to use this breakthrough "selective cell-killing" platform in active clinical practice. Phase III trials in the US and global sites are ongoing to establish it as a wider standard of care.
E7 TCR-T Cell Therapy
Led by Dr. Christian S. Hinrichs at Rutgers Cancer Institute, this Phase II trial is actively recruiting patients with metastatic HPV-associated cancers. The therapy engineers a patient's own T cells to recognize HPV16 E7, a protein produced by HPV-driven cancer cells. The current study builds on earlier clinical research in which E7-targeted T-cell therapy produced durable tumor responses, including complete responses in some patients with advanced HPV-associated cancers. The treatment remains investigational and is not yet standard care.
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05686226
Status last verified: August 2026
ACTIVE CLINICAL TRIALS
Dr. Eva Ramón Gallegos / Photodynamic Therapy
In a small early-stage trial published in 2019, Dr. Gallegos and her team at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico reported that all 29 patients tested negative for HPV following non-invasive photodynamic therapy — a promising early signal for direct viral elimination before cancer develops. These results have not yet been reproduced in the larger, multi-center studies required for standard-of-care status in the US, and should be read as early research, not a proven treatment.
ACTIVE CLINICAL TRIALS
WHAT WE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY
VGX-3100 (Inovio Pharmaceuticals)
A DNA-based therapeutic vaccine designed to treat existing HPV-driven precancerous lesions rather than prevent new infection. In 2021, VGX-3100 became the first DNA medicine to meet its efficacy endpoints in a Phase 3 trial — a genuine milestone. Inovio discontinued its U.S. development program in 2023, though a Phase 3 trial continues in China through partner company ApolloBio, which announced positive topline results from that trial in May 2026.