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

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.

Aggarwal C, Gyawali B: Aumolertinib in EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer: Will the Promise of Cost Disruption Ease Access? Journal of Clinical Oncology : 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 : 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.

Thompson JC, Aggarwal C, Wong J, Nimgaonkar V, Hwang WT, Andronov M, Dibardino DM, Hutchinson CT, Ma KC, Lanfranco A, Moon E, Haas AR, Singh AP, Ciunci CA, Marmarelis M, D'Avella C, Cohen JV, Bauml JM, Cohen RB, Langer CJ, Vachani A, Carpenter EL. JTO Clin Res Rep. 2022 Mar 8;3(4):100301. doi: 10.1016/j.jtocrr.2022.100301. eCollection 2022 Apr. PMID: 35392653 Free PMC article.: Plasma Genotyping at the Time of Diagnostic Tissue Biopsy Decreases Time-to-Treatment in Patients With Advanced NSCLC-Results From a Prospective Pilot Study JTO Clinical Research Reports 3 (4): 100301,2022.

Marmarelis ME, Yang YX, Hwang WT, Mamtani R, Singh A, Ciunci C, Aggarwal C, Cohen RB, Langer CJ.: Platinum Re-Exposure as a Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Treatment Strategy in the Age of Immunotherapy Clinical Lung Cancer S1525-7304 (22): 00005-5,2022.

Aggarwal C, Bubendorf L, Cooper WA, Illei P, Borralho Nunes P, Ong BH, Tsao MS, Yatabe Y, Kerr KM.: Molecular testing in stage I-III non-small cell lung cancer: Approaches and challenges. Lung Cancer 162 : 42-53,2021.

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