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Advanced Technologies and Cancer Innovations

At UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, we can provide tailored cancer care through our advanced technologies and innovations.

Contact us at 412-647-2811 or find a UPMC Hillman Cancer Center near you.


Cancer Research Means Access to the Latest Treatments

Our researchers and doctors work closely to give you early access to the newest cancer treatments.

We're committed to leading the way in better cancer care. You can see this commitment in our cancer research, equipment, centers, and people.


Finding New Ways to Treat Cancer

Our doctors publish their research in peer-reviewed journals often.

Our experts lead and take part in:

  • Basic cancer research to learn how cancer cells grow and change.
  • Translational cancer research to bring new cancer treatments from the lab to the bedside.
  • Disease site-specific research to study how cancers affect different parts of the body.
  • Cancer control research to find ways to reduce the number of people who get cancer.

Advanced Tools and Treatments at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

Our experts diagnose and treat all types of cancer using the latest high-tech tools and treatments

We offer CAR T-cell therapy, an FDA-approved treatment for certain types of blood cancer. This advanced immune therapy uses your body's own white blood cells (T cells) to fight cancer.

Doctors draw some of your blood, separate the T cells, and send them to a lab. Experts add a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to the T cells, which helps them bind to cancer cells and kill them.

We then give you an infusion of cells to help your body fight your cancer. UPMC Hillman has treated over 100 patients with this therapy, more than any other center in our region.

SRS targets high-energy beams to precise areas in the head, neck, and spine. With SRS, doctors treat brain and spine cancers without harming nearby healthy tissue.

With SBRT, doctors can treat tumors throughout the body.

Both SRS and SBRT are radiation treatments and don't require any incisions. We use these treatments to provide high doses of radiation with fewer side effects.

Sometimes, cancer spreads throughout the abdomen and to the lining of the abdomen, called the peritoneum. At UPMC Hillman, we treat these challenging cancers with HIPEC.

Doctors direct a high dose of heated chemotherapy drugs directly into the abdominal cavity.

We also use HIPEC to destroy tiny cancer cells that may remain after cancer surgery.

With HIPEC, you may have fewer side effects than you would with standard chemo.

Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that uses your own immune system to fight cancer. UPMC experts use it to treat many types of cancer.

Immunotherapies include:

  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors: Checkpoints are like stop signs that tell your immune system to leave certain cells alone. Checkpoint inhibitors turn off these stop signs so immune cells can kill cancer.
  • Monoclonal antibodies: Experts create proteins that bind to receptors on cancer cells. These proteins, or monoclonal antibodies, help the immune system find cancer cells.
  • Immune system modulators: These drugs help improve how your immune system fights cancer cells.

At the UPMC Medical Genetics and Genomics Labs, we use advanced technologies to diagnose cancers and create customized treatment plans.

We screen for cancers that run in families and offer precise diagnoses of tumor types. We also screen for certain genetic conditions during pregnancy.


Investing in Cancer Innovations

At UPMC Hillman, we invest in new cancer tools to better care for you.

We offer:

  • An app for patients and doctors to get the latest clinical trial updates.
  • Clinical Pathways guides to help doctors find the best cancer treatment for each patient.
  • Advanced diagnostic imaging to help find cancers earlier.

We also invest in advancing cancer research.

Talk to your doctor to see if you can take part in our clinical trial program.


Contact UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

Call 855-960-0578 or contact a UPMC Hillman Cancer Center near you.