Early in his career, Vinayak Venkataraman, MD, noticed that one group of patients was putting on a brave face in his sarcoma clinic. In conversations with nurses and social workers, he learned that his young adult patients were struggling with physical, emotional, and social challenges even if they sometimes didn’t tell him directly. “Patients can … Read more
Bilasan Hammo, MD, had just turned 30, and everything seemed set up for a successful move into adulthood. As she wrapped up her residency at Cleveland Clinic Children’s, she landed a prestigious fellowship in Boston Children’s Hospital’s Gastrointestinal-Nutrition Department. Heavily influenced by her father – who is also a pediatric gastroenterologist – the fellowship felt … Read more
Sarcomas are cancers that occur in bone or soft tissue, such as muscles and fat. These cancers are rare and diverse, with more than 150 different variations. Treatment is advancing for some sarcomas, but most forms of the disease are still treated using chemotherapy, radiation and/or surgery. In some cases, there are few options if the cancer comes back. Dana-Farber physician-scientists are evaluating innovative new therapies in clinical trials … Read more
Since she was a young child in a family in which Portuguese and German were often spoken, Sarah Downey, 23, has been fascinated with different languages and cultures. Now, as a recent college graduate living with a very rare cancer of the heart known as cardiac angiosarcoma, Downey is committed to helping others facing cancer, along with their providers and caregivers, … Read more
Under a microscope, normal adipose cells – which make up the body’s fatty tissue – look a bit like densely packed raindrops on a windshield. Each cell is filled with fat and is highly biologically active, regulating both metabolism and immunity. Liposarcoma, a cancer subtype that affects adipose tissue, perturbs these essential activities. In some … Read more
In 2014, Dana-Farber pediatric oncologist Brian Crompton, MD, discovered that a gene called STAG2 is mutated in about 15 percent of patients with Ewing sarcoma, a form of bone cancer that largely occurs in children and adolescents. Now, that molecular insight could hold the keys to advancing treatment for the disease. New research led by senior authors Crompton and pediatric oncologist Katherine Janeway, MD, Dana-Farber Pediatric Oncology Section Chief and Chair of the Children’s … Read more
The walk is a little different each day, sometimes a twisting, turning path through the various side streets of Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, and on other occasions more of a straight line down bustling thoroughfares. One thing, though, remains consistent: no matter which route Paris Prinsen, 21, takes from her apartment to classes at the … Read more
Like many teenagers, Isabella (Bella) Snow Fraser, 15, enjoys immersing herself in action role-play games online. Her favorite, Genshin Impact, allows participants to join an interstellar traveler as they seek their lost twin across a mysterious world of danger and unforeseen challenges. This futuristic fantasy in many ways mirrors Bella’s own life. After being diagnosed … Read more
She may be an accomplished competitive skier, but Maggie Gove, 15, is just as adept at getting up and over mountains as she is racing down them. Gove is a three-time cancer survivor who has managed to keep up on the slopes and with her studies despite long periods sidelined by surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation … Read more
A study led by Dana-Farber researchers has revealed that inherited variations in certain DNA damage repair genes may increase an individual’s susceptibility to Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive cancer that tends to strike teenagers and young adults. Ewing sarcoma is rare, with only about one in a million cases diagnosed annually in the United States, and … Read more
Carcinomas and sarcomas are different types of cancer. Carcinomas are much more common than sarcomas, but the biggest difference between them is where they occur in the body. Carcinomas are usually named for the location where they arise (such as breast cancer, colon cancer). Sarcomas can occur in many different body locations and are generally … Read more
One of the rarest of rare cancers, cardiac angiosarcoma is a tumor of the heart that has gained some notoriety because it caused the death of fashion designer Virgil Abloh in 2021 at the age of only 41. Abloh, the artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear and the founder of his own brand, Off-White, lived … Read more
Asked how he has dealt with three bouts of bone cancer and a partial right leg amputation in less than four years, 14-year-old Jack Berry says that he takes things “one step at a time.” That is, when he’s not surfing, riding his mountain bike, sprinting across tennis courts, or winning ski races. An osteosarcoma … Read more
Investigators led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Kimberly Stegmaier, MD, have discovered that knocking out a protein regulator in Ewing sarcoma cells causes the tumor cells to die from an overdose of a cancer-promoting protein. The regulator, a protein known as TRIM8, is critical to the survival of Ewing sarcoma cells because it controls the levels … Read more
Cancers known as sarcomas develop in the connective tissues, such as muscle, fat, and bone, that hold the body together. Liposarcomas originate from immature fat cells that develop abnormally into cancerous fatty growth as a result of errors that can develop in its genes. Sarcomas are rare, accounting for about 1% of cancers in … Read more
At 4:00 a.m. on a mid-March morning, while most of the country was hunkering down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jennifer Huber began the long drive from her home in the Hudson Valley Region of New York to Boston. With her was her 14-year-old daughter, Emma Levine, who was suffering from excruciating headaches caused by … Read more
For almost half of his life, Michael Murray has had to grapple with cancer, including multiple relapses. One of his hardest setbacks was hearing that his cancer had returned just weeks before he was set to start his freshman year at Boston College. With the news, Murray worried that his future would be in jeopardy. … Read more
Cancer biologists led by Cigall Kadoch, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, have identified a key molecular event that leads to synovial sarcoma, a rare, aggressive cancer in adolescents and young adults for which scientists are seeking better treatments.
To make Sarcoma Awareness Month, we take a look at the symptoms of Ewing sarcoma, a rare disease that grows from cells in bones or in the soft tissue surrounding bones.