14 Health Heroes Who Are Changing Healthcare As We Know It
Our first annual tribute to the many faces of help and healing.
By Jihan Thompson, Elyse Moody, Corrie Pikul & June Jennings
Photos: Courtesy of subjects
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Behnam Badie, MD and Christine Brown, PhD
The Risk Takers
Glioblastoma is the most common and deadliest form of brain cancer in adults, with an average survival of less than 18 months. But that bleak prognosis may be changing, thanks to neurosurgeon Behnam Badie and cancer immunologist Christine Brown, both at
City of Hope cancer center in California. They’re conducting human trials of a game-changing form of CAR T-cell therapy, using a technique in which genetically reprogrammed immune cells are injected directly into the brain to target and kill cancer cells. While the research is still in early stages, preliminary results are promising: Three months of treatment destroyed multiple tumors in one patient, who was able to go back to his job as a physician.
From the
January 2017 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
