Knowledge of genetics and women’s cancers has come a long way in the 20 years since the BRCA1/2 genes were discovered. Scientists are able to identify more genes that can increase risk, leading to better prevention and improved treatment. “One of the most exciting developments is the knowledge that patients with hereditary risk have tumors … Read more
Eating processed meat products, such as hot dogs and bacon, can increase a person’s risk for colorectal cancer, according to research from an international cancer agency. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), said today that processed meat is “carcinogenic to humans” based on “sufficient … Read more
This blog post originally appeared on Cancer Research Catalyst, the official blog of the American Association for Cancer Research. By Karen Honey, PhD Last week, new ground was broken in the field of cancer immunotherapy when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first cancer treatment to combine two of these cutting-edge agents: … Read more
CA-125, the abbreviated name for cancer antigen 125, is a protein that’s often elevated in ovarian cancer as well as other types of cancers, such as those of the lung and breast. It’s also elevated when disease or inflammation arises in the pleura – the tissue that enfolds the lungs – or the inner lining … Read more
When Donna Gregory’s ovarian cancer came back for the third time, she began looking for alternatives to chemotherapy. She’d been diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer in 2003, at age 58. After having surgery to remove her tumors, she tried platinum-based chemotherapy, but her cancer did not respond. Several more chemotherapy drugs worked, but only … Read more
This post originally appeared on the AACR Cancer Research Catalyst Blog. This week, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released the results of a national survey on American voters’ opinions about cancer and cancer research funding in conjunction with its fifth annual Cancer Progress Report. The report highlights how federally funded research can power … Read more
An immune checkpoint inhibitor is a drug that unleashes an immune system attack on cancer cells. Often made of antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors act on the immune system, therefore such drugs are known as immunotherapies. How do checkpoint inhibitors work? Checkpoint inhibitors seek to overcome one of cancer’s main defenses against an immune system attack. Immune … Read more
The inner world of a cancerous tumor is a place of intense rivalry, subversion, and aggression. Multiple subgroups of malignant cells – each with its own pattern of molecular features – vie with one another for nutrients, access to the blood supply, and room to grow and spread. This diversity, or “heterogeneity,” complicates efforts to … Read more
At its most basic level, gene therapy is a powerful technique for correcting mistakes (called mutations) in DNA of human cells. Lately, the therapy has been gaining traction as a potentially life-saving treatment for children with an array of inherited rare blood and immune disorders, as well as certain cancers. Gene therapies are being carefully … Read more
Although treatments for childhood cancer patients are improving, cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children. Doctors and researchers are also focused on decreasing the toxicity of these treatments, which can have side effects years after a child finishes treatment. “The war against childhood cancer is hardly over,” says Kimberly Stegmaier, MD, … Read more
A metastatic breast cancer diagnosis can be a stressful, life-changing event. While metastatic breast cancer it is not curable, it is treatable. Today, with the help of new treatments including biologic targeted therapies and novel drug combinations, many patients with metastatic disease can live well for years. Metastatic breast cancer means that the cancer has … Read more
Women born with mutations in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 have an increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, but the degree of increase depends on a variety of factors. Not all mutations within these genes raise the risk equally. A study published earlier this year tracked breast and ovarian cancer occurrences over a 75-year … Read more
Since 1980, more than 88,000 cyclists have taken to Massachusetts’ roads for the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) to raise funds for cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber. Among the riders are many patients, their family members, and their doctors. Christopher Sweeney, MBBS, medical oncologist in Dana-Farber’s Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, is one of them. … Read more
Growing up in the San Francisco area, Cigall Kadoch, PhD, had a passion for puzzles. The daughter of a Moroccan-born, Israeli-raised father and a mother from Michigan who together developed an interior design business, Kadoch excelled in school and pretty much everything else. Above all, she loved to solve brain-teasers. In high school, however, Kadoch … Read more
The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug Iressa® for a form of metastatic lung cancer represents a return to prominence for the compound that launched the era of targeted therapy in lung cancer – even if that wasn’t clear at the time of its original clinical trial in patients. The FDA approved Iressa (gefitinib) … Read more
As one of the most difficult cancers to treat, childhood brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under age 10. However, researchers are making more progress than ever before. “Over the last 10 years there has been a lot of excitement about new treatments for pediatric brain tumors,” says Peter Manley, … Read more
Any treatment that uses elements of the body’s immune system to fight cancer is considered cancer immunotherapy. In recent years, as research has revealed many of the basic workings of the immune system and how the immune system interacts with tumor cells, scientists have developed, tested, and demonstrated the effectiveness of an array of immunotherapy … Read more
By Eric Bender Multiple myeloma is a poster child for recent advances in treatment: In the past decade, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved no fewer than nine treatments for the blood cancer, and several more drug approvals appear to be near. Not coincidentally, multiple myeloma is also a popular target that researchers … Read more
For many women with localized breast cancer, a lumpectomy followed by breast radiation therapy may be the most effective treatment, with survival rates equal to a mastectomy. But if the cancer comes back, can women have additional lumpectomies? Women should not have a second lumpectomy in the same breast if they were previously treated with … Read more
Eagerly awaited new data from trials of immunotherapy drugs, vaccines to treat brain tumors, and improved treatments for blood cancers sparked waves of optimism at the year’s biggest cancer meeting. The 2015 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) drew about 30,000 cancer specialists to Chicago May 29 – June 2. Immunotherapy, … Read more