Penn Medicine Launches Center for Cancer & Aging to Redefine Care for Older Adults with Cancer
October 31, 2025
The Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) at Penn Medicine announces the creation of a new hub for addressing the needs of aging populations with cancer: The Center for Cancer & Aging. Housed at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I), the new center aims to redefine geriatric oncology by advancing research, transforming care delivery, providing education, and fostering interdisciplinary training. The Center for Cancer & Aging is co-led by Dr. Efrat Dotan and Dr. Ramy Sedhom. It is funded by $2 million in start-up philanthropic funding from Penn Medicine Princeton Health and Lancaster General Health’s Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute.
Older adults face a disproportionate burden of cancer, with approximately 60% of new cancer diagnoses occurring in people 65 or older. By 2040, 73 percent of cancer survivors will be 65 or older. Yet older adults remain underrepresented in clinical trials and underserved in routine cancer care, leading to critical gaps in evidence-based approaches to ensuring that their care needs are met and that their overall burden of comorbidity is reduced. To address these gaps, the Center for Cancer & Aging will focus on integrating patient-centered geriatric principles into oncology care, focusing on outcomes that matter most to older adults, and promoting clinical and translational research in the interface of cancer and aging.
The Center aims to have a multi-pronged approach to making change within geriatric oncology, including an expansion of research and scholarship to advance high-impact science in the field, followed by the launch and scaling of science-informed initiatives across Penn Medicine’s Cancer System. “By studying, implementing, and disseminating evidence-based approaches for this growing population,” explains PC3I’s Director Katharine Rendle, PhD, MSW, MPH, “the Center will not only make lasting, sustainable change across Penn Medicine, but across the broader field as well.”
“This Center is deeply aligned with the ACC’s commitment to comprehensive care, innovative treatment, and leading-edge treatments for patients with cancer and represents a transformational evolution of our prior efforts in geriatric oncology,” affirmed David Dougherty, MD, MBA, Deputy Director for Clinical Services at the Abramson Cancer Center. “It positions us for national and international leadership around redefining care for older adults with cancer. I look forward to seeing the impact of its vital work for patients across our Cancer System and beyond.”
Efrat Dotan
Efrat Dotan, MD is Executive Medical Director of the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health and an internationally renowned expert in geriatric oncology. An Innovation Faculty member at PC3I, she also serves as Chair of the Older Adult Oncology Guidelines Panel for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and Chair of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Geriatric Oncology Committee.
Ramy Sedhom
Ramy Sedhom, MD is a nationally recognized leader in geriatric oncology and palliative care and the Division Chief of Medical Oncology at Penn Medicine Princeton Health. The Director for PC3I’s Program in Geriatric Oncology & Supportive Care Innovation, he also chairs the ASCO Supportive Care Guideline Committee and was a recent recipient of the ACCC Innovator Award for his work in Geriatric Oncology.
To read more about the Center and support its work, visit pc3i.upenn.edu/cancer-aging. To make a donation towards transforming care for older adults with cancer or for any other information, please contact pc3i@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.
