Wind up a mechanical mouse, set it down, and watch it go. New research by Dana-Farber scientists shows that boosting a single protein in the liver can have the same animating effect in real mice. The protein, called MIC19, produces changes deep inside liver cells that help the body burn nutrients, protecting against obesity and … Read more
There are several ways to ruin a tune: play the wrong notes, play them at the wrong time, or with the wrong emphasis. Cancer cells, working from a corrupted score – their genome – manage to do all three. In cancer, bad instructions meet improper execution. Tumor cells are notorious for alterations of their genome: … Read more
Anal cancer, which forms in tissues of the anus, the opening at the bottom of the rectum, is diagnosed in about 9,800 people each year in the United States, most often in older adults. It is more common in white women and Black men than other groups, and while it is a serious disease, it … Read more
The artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT has wowed users with its seemingly human-like ability to generate and respond to language, and worried others by that very same ability. Like virtually every technological innovation that has come before — from the telephone to refrigeration to plastics — ChatGPT is sure to find uses in medicine. People are … Read more
People who inherit mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are at heightened risk for a variety of cancers, including breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic. It’s estimated that one in 300-400 people in the general population carry a mutation in either of these genes. Among people of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish descent, the prevalence is … Read more
Like a mill crumbling into a river, solid tumors constantly shed bits of themselves — including their DNA — into the bloodstream. This free-floating genetic material, known as circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA, contains a trove of information about the tumor. Advances in technology have made it possible to extract ctDNA from a blood sample, … Read more
In 2022, the drug teclistamab became the first bispecific antibody to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Experts say the drug represents one of the most important advances in recent years against myeloma, a blood cancer diagnosed in more than 35,000 people in the United … Read more
In most ways, Bill Ross’s stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma at Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center (DFBCC) wasn’t out of the ordinary. He received chemotherapy to destroy the tumor cells in his body and then an infusion of his own hematopoietic stem cells, which flocked to his bone marrow and regenerated his blood supply. Over … Read more
Stem cell transplants are used to treat patients with a variety of blood-related cancers. The goal of a transplant is always the same: to cure the disease or significantly extend a patient’s life. Stem cell transplants can be used in the treatment of the following cancers: Why might a patient need a stem cell transplant? … Read more
In a branch of the PI3K protein family — with members named PI3Kα, PI3Kβ, PI3Kδ, and PI3Kγ — PI3Kβ was long treated as the proverbial middle child: neglected by cancer scientists in favor of its more prominent siblings. In a new study, Dana-Farber researchers demonstrate that it doesn’t deserve its obscurity — that in fact … Read more
In general, standard of care is treatment accepted by medical experts for a certain type of disease and that is widely used by healthcare professionals. It is also called best practice, standard medical care, and standard therapy. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology lay out the recognized standards for cancer … Read more
Although hemorrhoids and colon cancer share certain symptoms, such as rectal bleeding, they are very different conditions. People who experience symptoms of either should get evaluated by a physician: while hemorrhoids are far more common than colon cancer, an exam is necessary to determine which one, if either, a patient has and how it should … Read more
One of the ways of classifying breast cancers is by the level of a protein called HER2 on the surface of tumor cells. HER2, which stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, helps control how breast cells grow, divide, and repair damage. Breast cancers marked by high levels of HER2 are known as HER2-positive … Read more
When the time came for Jeffrey Ferreira to undergo a stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), his Dana-Farber hematologist, Corey Cutler, MD, MPH, had some intriguing news: he was eligible for a clinical trial of a new approach to lowering the risk of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a common and sometimes severe aftereffect … Read more
Bone marrow is the soft, spongy material inside our bones. Occupying one of the most protected places in the body, it produces nearly all the components of blood. These include red blood cells, which deliver oxygen throughout the body, white blood cells, which help fight disease, and platelets needed for clotting. The marrow generates approximately … Read more
A stem cell transplant is one of the most powerful tools doctors have for treating certain kinds of cancers and blood-related diseases. The “grafted” cells involved in a transplant are known as hematopoietic stem cells, meaning they’re able to develop into all types of blood cells — red blood cells, which deliver oxygen throughout the … Read more
When scientists named microglial cells after the Greek word for “glue,” they thought it conveyed all one needed to know about the cells. The cells’ role, it was believed, began and ended with providing connective tissue for neurons, the information carriers of the nervous system. Research over many years has shown that moniker to … Read more
On a wave of promising research and positive media stories, psychedelic drugs are edging closer to mainstream use for treating a variety of mental disorders. A clinical trial recently launched by Dana-Farber investigators is the first to evaluate such an agent in patients receiving hospice care. The trial, which plans to enroll 15 patients served … Read more
When researchers report the survival effect of a cancer drug in a clinical trial, they almost always use a measure called hazard ratio. For all its ubiquity, however, hazard ratio has a hazard of its own: it’s a bit tricky to understand. A 2019 study found that 47% of researchers misinterpreted hazard ratio (HR) when … Read more
Radiation therapy is used to treat a variety of cancers. High-energy waves or particles directed at tumor cells can damage their DNA, slowing their growth or causing them to die. Because normal cells in the radiation field can also be damaged, radiation therapy may produce side effects for some patients. These vary with the type … Read more