Immunotherapy, which boosts the patient’s immune system response against cancer, is an emerging area of treatment and research. The immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is approved to treat women whose endometrial cancer cells have certain characteristics. What type of endometrial cancer does immunotherapy work for? Pembrolizumab is effective in shrinking or slowing the growth of a … Read more
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are cancer-susceptibility genes, meaning that people who inherit pathogenic* mutations in either one have an increased risk of developing certain cancers. Hereditary (or “germline”) mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 cause Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome. Having a pathogenic mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 doesn’t mean you will definitely develop cancer, but … Read more
Caregivers play a vital role in helping cancer patients face the daily challenges of their diagnosis. While everyone’s needs may vary, caregivers are often asked to assist a patient with their meals. This help comes in many forms, from preparing a single dish to grocery shopping. No matter what you’re asked to do, it’s important … Read more
Medically reviewed by Natalie Collins, MD, PhD New treatments that spur the immune system against cancer have entered the clinic to combat some forms of pediatric blood cancers, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). One form of immunotherapy, CAR T cells, has been approved for children and young adults with ALL. In treating solid tumors … Read more
Medically reviewed by Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD/LDN, CSO While there is limited scientific evidence demonstrating that eating organic food can decrease cancer risk, what is the evidence regarding its counterpart, GMOs? For now, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that consuming GMOs can increase your cancer risk. What are GMOs? GMO stands for genetically modified organism; … Read more
Medically reviewed by Sarah Nikiforow, MD, PhD; George Demetri, MD; and Caron Jacobson, MD Among the most powerful new cancer treatments being developed today are “living drugs,” which are made by genetically modifying a patient or normal donor’s immune cell. The genetic modification is designed to alter the cells so that, when returned to the … Read more
Medically reviewed by Huma Rana, MD About 5-8% of all cancers worldwide are caused by exposures to carcinogens in the workplace, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Although the rate of workplace-related cancers has decreased due to safety regulations, exposure to some dusts, gases, and chemicals can increase cancer risk in … Read more
Anesthesia is a medical treatment used to block a patient’s awareness of pain during a surgical procedure. What are the side effects of anesthesia? Side effects of anesthesia can occur during and after the procedure. Most are minor, temporary, and result from general anesthesia. These can include: Nausea and vomiting Sore throat Postoperative delirium (confusion … Read more
This post originally appeared on Discoveries, the blog of Boston Children’s Hospital. The Downey family was enjoying the holidays with family in Guatemala in 2017 when their 13-month-old daughter Stella started having unusual symptoms. “She was very clingy towards me and not acting like herself,” says Stella’s mom, Fiorella, a child life specialist at Boston … Read more
Aplastic anemia is a rare but serious blood disorder that occurs when the body’s bone marrow cannot produce enough healthy blood cells to function properly. Aplastic anemia can occur in both children and adults. Most cases of aplastic anemia are idiopathic, meaning the underlying cause is unknown. The blood disorder can have inherited (genetic) causes … Read more
As a fruit and vegetable farmer, Douglas Young measures his life’s work by the seasons. Since receiving a stem cell transplant for his rare blood cancer, he has been able to enjoy more harvests than he once thought possible — inspiring him to seek out the stranger responsible for saving his life. In spring 2019, … Read more
As people age, it’s normal for their blood-forming cells, known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), to acquire genetic mutations, or misspellings, in their DNA. Most of these mutations don’t affect how HSCs function or cause disease. In some cases, however, the mutations give certain HSCs an edge in survival, granting them an outsized role in … Read more
This post originally appeared on Vector, Boston Children’s Hospital’s blog. While the genetic mutations driving adult cancers can sometimes be targeted with drugs, most pediatric cancers lack good targets. That’s because their driving genetic alterations often create fusion proteins that aren’t easy for drugs to attack. “This is one reason why it is notoriously hard … Read more
One of the biggest challenges in treating cancer is that the cells making up a tumor – say a breast or lung tumor – are enormously diverse, or heterogeneous. This tumor heterogeneity can be both genetic, meaning the DNA in the tumor cells differs from one cell to the next, and epigenetic, meaning that the … Read more
After seeing few updates for more than two decades, treatment options for ovarian cancer are beginning to expand rapidly. As doctors and scientists have learned more about the molecular forces at work in ovarian cancer, and about the immune system’s role in fighting the disease, several new therapies are being used, either as FDA-approved drugs … Read more
It’s not uncommon for cancer patients to take to a pen after a diagnosis. Peter Rooney’s taken that to another level. Rooney, a former journalist and author of the book Die Free, captured his cancer journey in the new book Immunopatient: The New Frontier of Curing Cancer. The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from Immunopatient by … Read more
With more people living longer than ever with chronic or serious illnesses, grandparents with cancer are a rapidly growing group. Here are some tips for how children of almost any age can support a grandmother or grandfather facing cancer. If it has been sometime since you saw your grandparent or the treatment has changed their … Read more
This originally appeared on Vector, Boston Children’s Hospital’s blog. A novel screening method using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology has revealed new drug targets that could potentially enhance the effectiveness of PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors, a promising new class of cancer immunotherapy. The method, developed by a team at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, uses CRISPR-Cas9 … Read more
Sarah Murray was planning her wedding when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 29 and became a patient in the Young Women with Breast Cancer program at Dana-Farber’s Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers. “Cancer was the furthest thing from our minds,” she recalls. Like many other young women in her shoes, … Read more
By Ursula Matulonis, MD, Director, Gynecologic Oncology, Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber Immunotherapy, which has revolutionized the treatment of many types of cancer, is undergoing extensive study in patients with ovarian cancer. Although much of this research is in the early stages, it has produced some intriguing findings about the promise … Read more