Discover how liver cancer treatment is evolving in this episode of CancerCast. Dr. Manish Shah and Dr. Juan Rocca discuss the liver’s complicated and critical role in cancer care, from its position as a hotspot for metastasis to the role of the liver in impacting how well certain immunotherapy, chemotherapy and other cancer therapies will work. They explore the newest and most cutting-edge treatment options as part of a growing toolkit to personalize treatment for each patient, including open and robotic liver surgery, ablation, and no-cut technologies like histotripsy, using ultrasound shockwaves to liquefy liver tumors while sparing healthy tissue. The conversation also highlights the role and rise of liver transplantation for select cancers, such as colorectal cancer that has spread (metastasized) to the liver, in addition to tumors that start in the liver. There have been many recent treatment advances for both primary liver cancer and metastatic disease, and Drs. Rocca and Shah discuss how combining these new innovations with a team-based, multidisciplinary approach offers patients more options than ever before.

Guest: Juan Rocca, MD, Surgical Director of the Weill Cornell Liver Cancer Program and an attending surgeon in the Division of Liver Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine.

Host: Manish Shah, MD, Chief of Solid Tumor Service and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

In this episode of CancerCast, Dr. Manish Shah is joined by Drs. Gail Roboz and Rick Furman, two internationally renowned Weill Cornell leaders in advancing therapies for leukemia and lymphoma, to preview groundbreaking research from the 2025 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. Drs. Roboz and Furman highlight some of the most impactful abstracts to be presented during the meeting, detailing how these key research developments are poised to impact patients and the hematology field at-large. Tune in to hear more about the cutting-edge science with expert insights into how these innovations are transforming cancer care.

The ASH annual meeting is the largest medical conference in the world dedicated to malignant and benign hematology, bringing together over 30,000 experts from around the world to share the latest research and advancements. Abstracts and studies discussed in this episode include PARADIGM, AML17, AML19, KOMET-007, CaDAnCe-101, CLL17, R-pola-glo, FLAIR, and more.

Gail Roboz, MD, Director of the Clinical and Translational Leukemia Program at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Richard Furman, MD, Director of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Research Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Host: Manish Shah, MD, Chief of Solid Tumor Service and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

A liquid biopsy is a blood test that looks for cancer cells or genetic material, such as DNA, that are shed into the bloodstream in patients with cancer. In this episode of CancerCast, Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli and Dr. Manish Shah explore how liquid biopsies unlock real-time insights into cancer evolution through molecular diagnostics, painting a more comprehensive and holistic picture of what’s going on with cancer inside the body, and often much earlier than other imaging tools. By analyzing circulating tumor cells, cell-free DNA or circulating tumor DNA, liquid biopsies can offer many clues that may predict cancer recurrence, guide treatment decisions, or detect resistance to certain treatments. Learn more about how this evolving non-invasive technology enables more personalized care for patients.

Guest: Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, Associate Director of Precision Oncology at the Weill Cornell Medicine Meyer Cancer Center (MCC), Co-Leader of the MCC Breast Cancer Disease Management Team and Scientific Director of the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine (EIPM)

Host: Manish Shah, MD, Chief of Solid Tumor Service and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Learn more about Massimo Cristofanilli, MD. 

Mismatch repair deficiency is a condition caused by DNA errors in the body that lead to a high number of mutations, increasing cancer risk. Mismatch repair deficiency is also commonly associated with Lynch syndrome, an inherited genetic syndrome linked to higher rates of many cancers at younger ages, including colon cancer.

In this episode of CancerCast, Dr. Manish Shah is joined by two guests, Drs. Frank Sinicrope and Steven Lipkin, to discuss mismatch repair deficient colon cancer and how this subset of colon cancer is managed and treated differently. Drs. Shah, Sinicrope, and Lipkin explain how immunotherapy can be particularly effective for colon cancer patients with mismatch repair deficiency, as well as related research and treatment developments. Tune in to learn more about the latest advances in managing mismatch repair-deficient colon cancer.

Guests: Frank Sinicrope, MD, is a medical oncologist and researcher and the Mayo Clinic Rochester.

Steven Lipkin, MD, a physician scientist at Weill Cornell Medicine and a board-certified geneticist.

Host: Manish Shah, MD, Chief of Solid Tumor Service and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte, or TIL, therapy is a new form of cellular immunotherapy that targets cancer cells by leveraging the body’s immune system and specialized cells called T-lymphocytes. This treatment is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for metastatic melanoma with additional research ongoing in other types of cancer. Dr. Manish Shah spoke with melanoma expert Dr. Barbara Ma about how this treatment works, how it differs from other therapies, the logistics of this treatment process for patients, and more.

Guest: Barbara Ma, MD, MS a medical oncologist and researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Host: Manish Shah, MD, Chief of Solid Tumor Service and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Drs. Manish Shah and Sarah Rutherford explore the groundbreaking research presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. They discuss key developments from this year’s meeting, including new immunotherapy and targeted therapy options, the use of circulating tumor cell (ctDNA) and minimal residual disease (MRD) testing, the importance of selecting the right patients for the right treatments, and more. They also provide insights into how personalized and precision treatment options have the potential to reshape cancer care and minimize patients’ side effects.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, Annual Meeting is the largest oncology conference. Each year, the meeting brings together oncology experts, thought leaders and professionals from around the world to share cancer care insights and present state-of-the-art research poised to impact patient care.

Guest: Sarah Rutherford, MD, a hematologist and researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Host: Manish Shah, MD, Chief of Solid Tumor Service and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

A familiar voice in a new role. Drs. John Leonard and Manish Shah reflect on the past seven years of cancer care and research as Dr. Leonard passes the microphone over to Dr. Shah as the new host of Weill Cornell Medicine’s CancerCast podcast. They reflect on how far podcasting has come since the launch of CancerCast in 2018 and discuss the biggest breakthroughs in cancer care and research, including how immunotherapies and cell therapies have transformed the field during this time. Drs. Leonard and Shah also share their insights and forecast where cancer treatments are headed in the future. From artificial intelligence to new minimally-invasive technologies to treat tumors while minimizing recovery times and side effects, hear from leading hematology and medical oncology experts as they explore what’s next in the fast-paced and cutting-edge world of cancer research and care.

Guest: Manish Shah, MD, Chief of Solid Tumor Service and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Host: John Leonard, MD, a leading hematologist and medical oncologist who specializes in caring for patients with lymphoma

Join Dr. John Leonard for his special annual “Leonard List” episode. He shares his top 10 most interesting lymphoma and blood cancer-related abstracts to be presented at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting. The ASH annual meeting features the latest and most exciting research in the field from global blood cancer experts. For the 7th year in a row, the Leonard List podcast tradition features a comprehensive look at this year’s innovative research plus 5 additional “bonus” abstract selections. 

Host: John Leonard, MD, a leading hematologist and medical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. 

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer. In the last 10 years, immunotherapy has joined the list of standard cancer treatment approaches, alongside chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. There are a number of different types of immunotherapies that work in different ways to target cancer cells in the body. Immunotherapy expert and Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Jedd Wolchok, outlines the ins and outs of how this treatment approach can be used in a variety of cancers.

Guest: Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Host: John Leonard, MD, a leading hematologist and medical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, Annual Meeting is the largest global oncology conference and features state-of-the-art research presentations and cancer care insights from oncology professionals around the world. Every year on the CancerCast podcast, two of Weill Cornell Medicine’s leading experts discuss exciting research stemming from this annual meeting. This episode delves into the 2024 ASCO updates that patients should have on their radar across a wide range of solid tumors and blood cancers.

Guest: Manish Shah, MD, Chief of Solid Tumor Service and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Host: John Leonard, MD, a leading hematologist and medical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.