Description of Research Expertise

Dr. Aggarwal is the Leslye Heisler Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Hematology-Oncology Division at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. She is an active member of the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) where she serves as Physician Leader for the clinical research program for Airways Malignancies.

Dr. Aggarwal specializes in the management of patients with lung and head and neck cancer, with a specific and clinical research focus on the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches, and the discovery and application of biomarkers to guide therapy and monitor treatment. She serves as the local and national principle investigator for multiple clinical trials focusing on the development of “targeted” immunotherapeutic approaches including cellular therapy and CAR-T for solid tumors. Dr. Aggarwal has led the development of a DNA plasmid based HPV specific immunotherapy for HPV associated head and neck cancers. She is actively involved in evaluating the role of plasma-based NGS in management of patients with metastatic lung cancer.

She has extensive experience in the planning, design and execution of clinical trials, is an active member of ECOG, and has served as a national sub-study chair for SWOG-NCI’s LUNG-MAP. She has served on the Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), ASCO Education Committee, NCI- Head and Neck Metastatic Task Force Steering Committee and ACC’s Data Safety and Monitoring Committee. Dr. Aggarwal’s ultimate goal as a clinical and translational investigator is to perform patient-centered, scientifically relevant novel immunotherapy clinical trials that will make a tangible impact and advance our understanding of immunotherapy in patients with Lung and Head and Neck Cancer.

Selected Publications

Mountzios G, Aggarwal C.: Pembrolizumab Administration Frequency, Dose Exposure, and Toxicity: Is Switching Safe? J Thorac Oncol. 17 (10): 1155-1157,2022.

Kurzrock R, Aggarwal C, Weipert C, Kiedrowski L, Riess J, Lenz HJ, Gandara D.: Prevalence of ARID1A Mutations in Cell-Free Circulating Tumor DNA in a Cohort of 71,301 Patients and Association with Driver Co-Alterations. Cancers (Basel) 14 (17): 4281,2022.

Aggarwal C, Gyawali B: Aumolertinib in EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer: Will the Promise of Cost Disruption Ease Access? Journal of Clinical Oncology 40 (27): 3103-3105,2022.

Vega DM, Nishimura KK, Zariffa N, Thompson JC, Hoering A, Cilento V, Rosenthal A, Anagnostou V, Baden J, Beaver JA, Chaudhuri AA, Chudova D, Fine AD, Fiore J, Hodge R, Hodgson D, Hunkapiller N, Klass DM, Kobie J, Peña C, Pennello G, Peterman N, Philip R, Quinn KJ, Raben D, Rosner GL, Sausen M, Tezcan A, Xia Q, Yi J, Young AG, Stewart MD, Carpenter EL, Aggarwal C, Allen J.: Changes in Circulating Tumor DNA Reflect Clinical Benefit Across Multiple Studies of Patients With Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. JCO Precis Oncol. 6 : e2100372 ,2022.

Singh A, Horng H, Roshkovan L, Weeks JK, Hershman M, Noël P, Luna JM, Cohen EA, Pantalone L, Shinohara RT, Bauml JM, Thompson JC, Aggarwal C, Carpenter EL, Katz SI, Kontos D.: Development of a robust radiomic biomarker of progression-free survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with first-line immunotherapy Scientific Reports 12 (1): 9993,2022.

Ciunci CA, Reibel JB, Evans TL, Mick R, Bauml JM, Aggarwal C, Marmarelis ME, Singh AP, D'Avella C, Cohen RB, Langer CJ.: Phase II Trial of Combination Nab-paclitaxel and Gemcitabine in Non-squamous Non-small Cell Lung Cancer After Progression on Platinum and Pemetrexed Clin Lung Cancer 23 (4): e310-e316,2022.

Govindan R, Aggarwal C, Antonia SJ, Davies M, Dubinett SM, Ferris A, Forde PM, Garon EB, Goldberg SB, Hassan R, Hellmann MD, Hirsch FR, Johnson ML, Malik S, Morgensztern D, Neal JW, Patel JD, Rimm DL, Sagorsky S, Schwartz LH, Sepesi B, Herbst RS: Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) clinical practice guideline on immunotherapy for the treatment of lung cancer and mesothelioma Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 10 (5): e003956,2022.

Herbst RS, Majem M, Barlesi F, Carcereny E, Chu Q, Monnet I, Sanchez-Hernandez A, Dakhil S, Camidge DR, Winzer L, Soo-Hoo Y, Cooper ZA, Kumar R, Bothos J, Aggarwal C, Martinez-Marti A.: COAST: An Open-Label, Phase II, Multidrug Platform Study of Durvalumab Alone or in Combination With Oleclumab or Monalizumab in Patients With Unresectable, Stage III Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology : 2022.

Brody RM, Shimunov D, Cohen RB, Lin A, Lukens JN, Hartner L, Aggarwal C, Duvvuri U, Montone KT, Jalaly JB, LiVolsi VA, Carey RM, Shanti RM, Rajasekaran K, Chalian AA, Rassekh CH, Cannady SB, Newman JG, O'Malley BW, Weinstein GS, Gimotty PA, Basu D.: A benchmark for oncologic outcomes and model for lethal recurrence risk after transoral robotic resection of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers Oral Oncology 127 : 105798,2022.

Aggarwal C, Prawira A, Antonia S, Rahma O, Tolcher A, Cohen RB, Lou Y, Hauke R, Vogelzang N, P Zandberg D, Kalebasty AR, Atkinson V, Adjei AA, Seetharam M, Birnbaum A, Weickhardt A, Ganju V, Joshua AM, Cavallo R, Peng L, Zhang X, Kaul S, Baughman J, Bonvini E, Moore PA, Goldberg SM, Arnaldez FI, Ferris RL, Lakhani NJ.: Dual checkpoint targeting of B7-H3 and PD-1 with enoblituzumab and pembrolizumab in advanced solid tumors: interim results from a multicenter phase I/II trial Journal of Immunotherapy in Cancer 10 (4): e004424,2022.

Academic Contact Information

Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
10-137, South Pavilion
3400 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-662-6318
Patient appointments: 800-789-7366