Dr. Young Kwang Chae

Chae takes pride in bridging the gap between cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs and clinical medicine, taking advantage of the latest treatment advances.

His practice focuses on a variety of cancers, including breast and lung cancers, mesothelioma, thymic carcinoma and gastrointestinal disease.

“I see patients with all different types of cancers. And my patients know that I put their best interest over any other responsibilities I may have,” he said. “I make sure that things happen in a timely fashion for my patients. I do understand that every moment counts when you’ve been diagnosed with cancer.”

Active in Clinical Trials

Chae runs several clinical trials, many of which involve immunotherapies and biomarker development, searching for any advantage he can find for his patients.

“I believe my job is to help patients fight cancer by bringing these breakthroughs into my clinic, helping patients through a heroic journey,” he said. “I envision a future where cancer is no more a dreaded disease, but a personal challenge that together we can conquer.”

Three of his clinical trials involve the immunotherapy drug Opdivo (nivolumab) in combination with other drugs.

Opdivo already is being used successfully — and extending survival — by some patients with mesothelioma.

One of those trials, in combination with metformin, is for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Metformin is approved by the FDA for the treatment of diabetes, but it is still experimental with cancer.

Another trial combines Opdivo with veliparib, a potential anti-cancer drug that is not yet approved in the U.S. but has seen success fighting cancer in Europe. The trial is designed for patients with advanced solid tumors.

The third trial with Opdivo is combined with Yervoy (ipilimumab), another immunotherapy drug. This one is aimed at rare solid cancers such as pleural mesothelioma.

Trained at MD Anderson

Chae is part of the Northwestern Medical Group and the Feinberg School of Medicine, which has a long history of making progressive, research-oriented treatment advances.

He has co-authored several articles recently, including ones on T-Cell checkpoint inhibitors, tumor mutational burden and DNA repair and PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy.

Chae completed his fellowship in hematology and oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.

He did a residency in internal medicine at the Einstein Medical Center. His medical degree is from Seoul National University.