Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center has climbed dramatically in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, emerging as Florida’s top cancer center and entering the nation’s top 25. The University of Miami–based center is now ranked No. 23 in the United States, a substantial rise from No. 45 the previous year. The 2026 ranking places Sylvester at the forefront of cancer care in Florida and reinforces its position as South Florida’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. The recognition arrives as Sylvester researchers report advances spanning blood cancers, artificial intelligence, stem cell transplantation, treatment-related nerve damage, and minimally invasive lung cancer surgery.

One of the most consequential discoveries involves the growing problem of drug resistance in blood cancer. Scientists at Sylvester and collaborating institutions have identified a rare genetic mutation that allows certain cancers to escape two generations of therapies aimed at Bruton tyrosine kinase, or BTK. BTK is a signaling protein that helps malignant B cells receive survival and growth signals. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia and related diseases, conventional BTK inhibitors block the protein’s activity, while newer BTK degraders attempt to eliminate the protein altogether. The newly described mutation appears capable of undermining both strategies, revealing how cancer cells can evolve resistance even when therapies attack the same target in different ways.

The work, published in the journal Cancer Discovery, provides a molecular explanation for this cross-resistance and may help guide the design of future treatments. By studying the altered protein and its structural behavior, investigators were able to examine why the mutation prevents both inhibition and degradation. The findings also point toward a potential combination strategy. Researchers reported that pairing a BTK degrader with a drug targeting BCL2, another protein that supports cancer-cell survival, may reduce the likelihood that resistant cells will emerge. This approach reflects a broader shift in oncology: rather than waiting for resistance to appear, physicians and scientists are increasingly attempting to suppress evolutionary escape routes from the beginning of treatment.

A second study suggests that the rules governing stem cell donor selection may be changing for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes, and other blood cancers. For decades, transplant teams have generally favored donors whose human leukocyte antigen markers closely matched those of the recipient. These immune-system markers help the body distinguish its own cells from foreign tissue, and mismatches can increase the risk of complications such as graft-versus-host disease, in which donor immune cells attack the patient’s organs. Findings from the ACCESS study, published in Blood Advances, indicate that some patients may achieve encouraging outcomes after receiving transplants from younger, unrelated donors with greater genetic mismatches than traditionally accepted.

The results could expand access to potentially curative transplantation, particularly for patients from ethnically diverse backgrounds who are less likely to find a closely matched donor in existing registries. Donor age and immune biology may influence outcomes alongside the degree of genetic matching, suggesting that transplant decisions could become more individualized. Rather than treating donor compatibility as a single yes-or-no measurement, future models may weigh multiple factors, including age, immune risk, disease status, and the condition of the patient before transplantation. Such a change could shorten searches and make transplantation available to more people who previously had limited donor options.

At the same time, Sylvester is investing in computational tools designed to transform how cancer is studied. An almost $800,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health has funded an NVIDIA N-200 computing platform, an advanced artificial intelligence and high-performance computing system secured by Yan Guo, Ph.D., director of Sylvester’s Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource. Cancer research produces enormous quantities of genomic, clinical, imaging, and molecular data. Conventional methods often examine these information streams separately, but machine-learning systems can analyze relationships across them, identifying patterns that may be invisible to human observers or conventional statistical approaches.

The new platform is intended to help researchers search for molecular signatures linked to tumor behavior, treatment response, and patient outcomes. In precision medicine, the goal is to move beyond broad cancer categories and identify the biological features that make an individual tumor vulnerable—or resistant—to a specific therapy. Artificial intelligence does not replace laboratory validation or clinical judgment, but it can accelerate the process of generating and testing hypotheses. By processing large datasets at high speed, the system may help investigators uncover connections between genetic alterations and clinical outcomes, supporting the development of more accurate biomarkers and more targeted treatment strategies.

Cancer research at Sylvester also extends beyond tumor destruction to the long-term effects of treatment. Marlon Wong, P.T., Ph.D., an associate professor of clinical physical therapy, has received a three-year, $225,000 grant from Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation to study chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. This condition develops when anticancer drugs damage peripheral nerves, particularly those in the hands and feet. Patients may experience burning pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, impaired balance, and difficulty walking or handling objects. Because symptoms can persist long after chemotherapy ends, the condition can affect employment, independence, physical activity, and overall quality of life. Wong’s research will focus on understanding these lasting effects and developing more effective ways to help patients manage them.

The center is also building a pipeline of scientists trained to approach cancer from multiple disciplines. Thirty undergraduate students participated this summer in Sylvester’s 10-week Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, working alongside investigators on projects connected to biomedical discovery. Since the program began in 2017, more than 300 students have competed for its 30 positions, making it a highly selective entry point into cancer research. Another initiative, NEXCITE—short for Next-Generation Cancer Internship and Training Excellence—places undergraduates in laboratory environments where they can observe how experiments move from basic biology toward better patient care. Together, the programs expose young researchers to experimental design, data analysis, molecular biology, and the translational process that connects discoveries at the bench with decisions in the clinic.

In lung cancer, Sylvester investigators are advancing both surgery and molecular diagnosis. Nestor Villamizar, M.D., is helping drive the use of robotic and minimally invasive techniques that allow surgeons to operate through small incisions rather than opening the rib cage. Robotic systems provide magnified, three-dimensional visualization and highly controlled instrument movement, potentially reducing surgical trauma, blood loss, pain, and recovery time for appropriately selected patients. In parallel, a large international study led by Sylvester researchers has found that younger adults with non-small cell lung cancer are significantly more likely than older patients to carry genetic alterations that can be matched with targeted therapies. The findings, developed through collaboration with LabCorp and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, are scheduled for presentation at the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Seoul. Together, the surgical and genomic advances illustrate a rapidly changing field in which treatment is increasingly shaped by both the physical characteristics of a tumor and the individual biology of the person who has it.

Subject of Research: Cancer research, blood cancer, lung cancer, precision medicine, artificial intelligence, stem cell transplantation, and cancer treatment side effects.

Article Title: Sylvester Cancer Center Advances Blood Cancer Therapies, AI Discovery, Stem Cell Transplants, and Lung Cancer Care

Web References: https://news.med.miami.edu/sylvester-comprehensive-cancer-center-rises-to-no-1-in-florida-and-no-23-in-the-nation/; https://news.med.miami.edu/blood-cancer-btk-resistance-mutation-discovery/; https://news.med.miami.edu/access-trial-expands-stem-cell-donor-options-blood-cancer/; https://news.med.miami.edu/ai-computing-platform-cancer-research-sylvester/; https://news.med.miami.edu/robotic-lung-cancer-surgery-villamizar/; https://news.med.miami.edu/lung-cancer-younger-adults-genetic-alterations-study/

References: Cancer Discovery; Blood Advances; U.S. News & World Report; National Institutes of Health; Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation.

Image Credits: Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Keywords: cancer research, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, blood cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, BTK inhibitors, BTK degraders, BCL2, stem cell transplantation, artificial intelligence, precision medicine, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, lung cancer, robotic surgery, genomic medicine, cancer rankings

Tags: artificial intelligence in cancer researchblood cancer drug resistancecancer research advancementsFlorida’s top cancer treatment centersgenetic mutations in leukemiainnovative cancer treatment strategiesminimally invasive lung cancer surgeryNational Cancer Institute designated cancer centerstem cell transplantation breakthroughsSylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center rankingstargeted cancer therapiestreatment-related nerve damage