Highlighting Moffitt’s Top Research Stories of 2025
As Florida’s only National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Moffitt Cancer Center continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in cancer science. In 2025, our researchers delivered breakthroughs that are reshaping prevention, diagnosis and treatment across dozens of cancer types. Here are some of the discoveries that are defining the future of cancer care.
Moffitt Cancer Center Receives $22.4 Million Grant to Advance Research and Clinical Trials for Leptomeningeal Disease
The competitive award is the only grant funded among 14 national applicants. It will support four years of research and two clinical trials led by Peter Forsyth, MD, chair of Moffitt’s Neuro-Oncology Department.
Moffitt Becomes First Cancer Center To Open Nikon Center of Excellence
Nikon Centers of Excellence are recognized worldwide for their advanced imaging capabilities and contributions to scientific innovation. With this accomplishment, Moffitt joins a distinguished group of institutions that serves as hubs for high-end microscopy, imaging techniques and technology-driven research collaborations.
Moffitt-Led International Study Finds New Drug Delivery System Effective Against Rare Eye Cancer
A multi-institutional study led by Moffitt researchers found that percutaneous hepatic perfusion using a melphalan hepatic delivery system may help patients with a rare eye cancer that has spread to their liver. This disease, known as metastatic uveal melanoma, is traditionally very hard to treat and usually has poor outcomes.
Moffitt Cancer Center Launches Study To Improve Advanced Lung Cancer Outcomes in the Black Community
Recent studies show lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Black men and the second leading cause among Black women. Moffitt’s study seeks to create a path forward for improved treatment, access to clinical trials and personalized care for communities with limited access to care.
Moffitt Study Finds Vaccine May Improve Breast Cancer Treatment Outcomes
Moffitt researchers have discovered a promising new vaccine strategy for treating a specific type of breast cancer. The innovative approach targets human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive, estrogen receptor-negative (HER2-positive, ER-negative) breast cancer and has shown encouraging results in a recent pilot study.
Moffitt Develops First Genetically Engineered Cancer Model in Naked Mole Rats
The findings, published in Cancer Discovery, shed light on how cancer begins in this unusual rodent and may reveal new parallels to tumor development in humans.
New Trial Aims To Target Rare Form of Cancer
Moffitt is one of the first centers in the world to open the trial, enrolling and treating the first two patients in the United States. It’s offered to patients with solid tumors linked to MSI-H, a type of gene alteration, or DNA mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR), a condition that can cause several gene mutations in the tumor, more commonly seen in colorectal cancer.
