In addition to treating people with pulmonary conditions, doctors at California Pacific Medical Center are also committed to discovering and developing new treatments through research in their respective subspecialties. In recent years, doctors have participated in research into new devices for conditions like COPD, respiratory failure and lung collapse. CPMC also offers opportunities for people to participate in lung cancer clinical trials.
The doctors are involved in the CPMC Research Institute’s groundbreaking Cancer Avatar Project as well. CPMC is only one of a handful of medical centers worldwide who are creating cell culture and mouse models, or “avatars,” of individual patients’ tumors. These avatars provide a reliable model for oncologists to test how well someone might respond to a particular therapy. The hope is that the Avatar Project will greatly personalize cancer treatment.