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

Simone CB, Yegya-Raman N, Manjunath S, Verma V, Shabason JE, Xu L, Cengel KA, Levin WP, Berman AT, Christodouleas JP, Aggarwal C, Cohen RB, Langer CJ, Pechet TT, Singal S, Kucharczuk JC, Rengan R, Feigenberg SJ.: Prospective Feasibility and Phase I/II Trial of Preoperative Proton Beam Therapy with Concurrent Chemotherapy for Resectable Stage IIIA or Superior Sulcus Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. S0360-3016 (23): 00463-7,2023.

Sun L, Marmarelis M, Aggarwal C.: Re-Evaluating Real-World Evidence in RET Fusion-Positive NSCLC: Are Randomized Clinical Trials Needed? J Thorac Oncol. 18 (5): 549-551,2023.

Aggarwal C, Ben-Shachar R, Gao Y, Hyun SW, Rivers Z, Epstein C, Kaneva K, Sangli C, Nimeiri H, Patel J.: Assessment of Tumor Mutational Burden and Outcomes in Patients With Diverse Advanced Cancers Treated With Immunotherapy. JAMA Netw Open. 6 (5): e2311181,2023.

Aggarwal C, Maity AP, Bauml JM, Long Q, Aleman T, Ciunci C, D'Avella C, Volpe M, Anderson E, Jones LMC, Sun L, Singh AP, Marmarelis ME, Cohen RB, Langer CJ, Amaravadi R.: A Phase II Open-Label Trial of Binimetinib and Hydroxychloroquine in Patients With Advanced KRAS-Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Oncologist. oyad106 : 2023.

Yegya-Raman N, Friedes C, Sun L, Iocolano M, Kim KN, Doucette A, Cohen RB, Robinson KW, Levin WP, Cengel KA, Lally B, Agarwal M, D'Avella CA, Marmarelis ME, Kosteva JA, Singh AP, Ciunci CA, Aggarwal C, Berman AT, Langer CJ, Feigenberg SJ.: Utilization and Factors Precluding Receipt of Checkpoint Inhibitor Consolidation for Stage III NSCLC in a Large US Academic Health System. Clin Lung Cancer S1525-7304 (23): 00054-2,2023.

Aggarwal C, West HJ.: Molecular Marker Testing in Curable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer-Practice Necessarily Precedes Data. JAMA Oncology : 2023.

Grant MJ, Aredo JV, Starrett JH, Stockhammer P, van Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh IK, Wurtz A, Piper-Valillo AJ, Piotrowska Z, Falcon C, Yu HA, Aggarwal C, Scholes D, Patil T, Nguyen C, Phadke M, Li FY, Neal J, Lemmon MA, Walther Z, Politi K, Goldberg SB.: Efficacy of osimertinib in patients with lung cancer positive for uncommon EGFR exon 19 deletion mutations. Clin Cancer Res. : CCR-22-3497,2023.

Marmarelis ME, Sun L, Aggarwal C.: Adjuvant Atezolizumab Should Be Administered to All Patients With Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Expressing Surgically Resected Stage II to III NSCLC After Chemotherapy: In Favor. J Thorac Oncol. 18 (3): 265-267,2023.

Aggarwal C, Leighl NB.: Next-generation ctDNA-driven clinical trials in precision immuno-oncology. J Immunother Cancer. 11 (1): e006397,2023.

Yegya-Raman N, Kegelman TP, Ho Lee S, Kallan MJ, Kim KN, Natarajan J, Deek MP, Zou W, O'Reilly SE, Zhang Z, Levin W, Cengel K, Kao G, Cohen RB, Sun LL, Langer CJ, Aggarwal C, Singh AP, O'Quinn R, Ky B, Apte A, Deasy J, Xiao Y, Berman AT, Jabbour SK, Feigenberg SJ.: Death without progression as an endpoint to describe cardiac radiation effects in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol. 39 : 100581,2023.

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