Menin, a protein located in the nucleus of various human cell types, often functions as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting excessive cell growth and division. It facilitates a complex of proteins involved in a cellular process called histone methylation, where chemical units called methyl groups are added to histone proteins that anchor DNA, thereby activating … Read more
Over the last decade, significant strides have been made in understanding the molecular underpinnings of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in adults, which has led to better drugs and better treatment outcomes for patients. This shifting landscape now makes it possible for cancer researchers and providers to ask, “How can we do better?” Dana-Farber medical oncologist … Read more
Naomi Dogan, PhD, still remembers a visit to the hospital earlier this year for blood work, after joining a clinical trial for patients incurring symptoms related to polycythemia vera — one of a group of rare blood disorders known as myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). In a far corner of the large room a machine quietly hummed … Read more
While hematological cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma involve white blood cells, other, rarer hematologic malignancies affect red blood cells and platelets. These include polycythemia vera, in which the bone marrow produces too many red blood cells, and essential thrombocythemia, in which platelets levels are abnormally high. Both are chronic diseases that can usually … Read more
BCL2 inhibitors are drugs that prompt cancer cells to die by altering the interactions among key proteins within the cells. They were clinically developed, in large part, by researchers at Dana-Farber and have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia … Read more
When Youling Sun was diagnosed in Shanghai, China, with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2018, he called his son, Conghao, in Boston, for advice. His son’s message was unequivocal: Come to Boston for your treatment. Today, Sun, a retired office worker from Shanghai, has multiple reasons to be thankful he took that advice — both … Read more
A pair of subversives, the genes BTK and PLCG2 are often mutated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) that is resistant to the drug ibrutinib. But how common are these genetic alterations and to what extent do they contribute to ibrutinib resistance? The answers will help doctors determine which targeted therapies are most likely to help … Read more
Michelle Karalekas’ time in the Mont Tremblant Ironman Triathlon in Quebec on Aug. 20 — 14 hours, 5 minutes — was not her fastest in the grueling event, but it may have been her most impressive. It was the first time she’d competed since undergoing a stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) almost … Read more
A novel hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) method utilizing ‘graft sculpting’ is being tested in a phase 1 clinical trial in patients with refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who are at the highest risk of relapse after ‘standard’ transplants. In fact, the patients in the trial don’t qualify for a standard … Read more
Drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors, or TKIs, have revolutionized the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a type of cancer in which the bone marrow produces too many semi-mature white blood cells. Prior to the introduction of these drugs in the early 2000s, standard first-line treatments for the disease reduced CML levels in only … Read more
While some racial and ethnic groups have been underrepresented in clinical trials of therapies for lung cancer, breast cancer and other malignancies, researchers speculated that the situation might be different for adult leukemia trials. The unique features of the disease — the speed with which it needs to be treated after diagnosis, the delivery of … Read more
CAR T cells’ superpower is to identify cancer-related targets on the surface of tumor cells and order an attack on those cells. But they lack anything resembling X-ray vision to detect nefarious protein targets within tumor cells. That shortfall has limited their effectiveness in diseases like acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), in which tumor cells display few surface … Read more
As an economist specializing in statistical analysis, Dan Rosenbaum has done everything from help the federal government use more evidence in its decision-making to assist several National Basketball Association (NBA) teams in finding and signing the best players. Research and number-crunching are his expertise, so when Rosenbaum learned he needed a life-saving stem cell transplant … Read more
For Duane Witter, the most difficult part of his cancer treatment was recovering from his stem cell transplant and having to step away from teaching and coaching high school basketball in Farmington, CT. “Before all this, I used to say that my superpower was to never miss a day of school,” he says. “Stepping away … Read more
Adding the BCL-2 inhibitor drug venetoclax to a combination chemotherapy regimen significantly improved outcomes in Richter’s syndrome, a rare but deadly complication that develops in some patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to a study led by Dana-Farber investigators. The addition of the targeted drug venetoclax to a chemo regimen called R-EPOCH yielded the … Read more
Dana-Farber scientists have found that a generic anti-microbial drug can block a key molecular driver of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells, and when tested in a small clinical trial of advanced CLL patients who had relapsed, the drug slowed disease progression in half of them. The drug, pyrimethamine, achieved stable disease in eight of the … Read more
As head of marketing for a leading international news agency, Kelly Ives routinely worked with journalists across the globe. When it came to chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), however, it was her own reporting skills that led Ives to a life-changing treatment. Ives was a 37-year-old mom with a career and three young children, including an … Read more
Studies in large populations have shown that people who have a near relative with a form of lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have an increased risk of developing these diseases themselves. Both lymphoma and CLL are relatively uncommon: the average person’s lifetime risk of developing CLL, for example, is 0.57%, according to the American … Read more
Life is like a Mad-Lib, and Jennifer White is taking control of what she can fill in the blank spaces. The Atlanta-based cyber security consultant was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in January 2019. In July of that same year, White, a Boston native, came to Dana-Farber. She currently comes to Boston four times … Read more
Cancer cells have a bias toward survival, often becoming heavily reliant on certain protein pathways to sustain themselves. Scientists are finding ways to turn that survival instinct into a liability — by making the cells even more dependent on those pathways, then choking the pathways off. It’s an approach that has now yielded a promising … Read more