At work on the afternoon of December 27, 2018, Chris Barnett felt his eyes lock momentarily onto the wall. Thinking he was just tired, he stood up to go get a sandwich. The next thing he knew, he couldn’t move and fell straight to the floor, and felt frozen in his own body, “like somebody pulled the … Read more
This post was adapted from a Broad Institute post by Allessandra DiCorato. Over the last two decades, researchers have discovered thousands of genetic mutations in cancer. But understanding how they affect the growth and spread of tumors in the body remains challenging because each patient’s tumor can have many different mutations. Now, scientists have used … Read more
When John Ferris was first diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in early 2017, he was told he had six to nine months to live. Later, while undergoing treatment that appeared to be halting his cancer, he received an amended diagnosis. “Cancer is not going to kill you, but your drinking could,” his oncologist told Ferris. “We … 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
Treating advanced prostate cancer typically involves surgery — to reduce levels of testosterone, which fuels the growth of tumors — or giving drugs that blockade the androgen receptor (AR), which responds to testosterone by stimulating cancer-growth genes. While these measures can keep the disease at bay initially, resistance almost always occurs as the androgen receptor … Read more
Patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who did not respond to initial treatment or relapsed within a year may now receive the CAR T-cell product axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) as a second-line therapy, following approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on results of a recent clinical trial. Until now, the standard of … 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 as long as researchers have known about disparities in cancer treatment, they’ve sought to explain them. Do some patients receive different care than others because of race, age, wealth, or gender? Or does the region where they receive treatment matter most? Only by answering questions like these can researchers know where to focus their … Read more
An annual physical or mammogram can help detect lumps or abnormalities in the breast, but these exams cannot tell whether a growth is cancerous or noncancerous. If a breast lump or abnormality is found in your breast, your doctor may advise you to have a breast biopsy. A stereotactic breast biopsy is a kind of … Read more
At 28 years old, Dana-Farber bioinformatics analyst Carino Gurjao is already making a splash in the field of colorectal cancer research. He is coming off the back of a big year: The Paris-born researcher was named to Forbes Healthcare’s 2022 30 Under 30 list for his role in the Giannakis Lab at Dana-Farber, which identified … Read more
The connection between a researcher’s biography and area of study is not always obvious. A young scientist may discover an intellectual fascination with immunology, for example, despite not having known anyone with an immunological disorder. For Dana-Farber’s Narjust Duma, MD, however, research is not just a response to her life experiences. It’s a way to … Read more
A diagnosis of breast cancer can be a shock at any age, but breast cancer in young people presents unique challenges. In addition to managing a serious illness, younger people may also be early in their careers and raising, or planning to start, a family. They may also be concerned about finishing school, furthering a … Read more
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a condition that affects some patients who have received a transplant of blood-forming — or hematopoietic — stem cells from a donor. It arises when some of the transplanted donor immune cells launch an attack on the patient’s body. The effects can be mild, moderate, or, in some cases, extremely severe. … 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
While skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the United States, melanoma is the least common type of skin cancer, accounting for less than 1 percent of skin cancer. Unlike most melanomas appearing on visible areas on the skin, mucosal melanoma occurs on the mucus membranes, or moist surfaces, of … Read more
Because of his adopted family’s cancer history, the director of Dana-Farber’s Lynch Syndrome Center, Matt Yurgelun, MD, is uniquely invested in helping patients with Lynch syndrome — a common and often under-diagnosed inherited condition. Eight of the 13 in his grandfather’s generation ultimately developed some form of cancer, and it wasn’t until later that Matt … Read more
Cancer is a disease that’s often associated with older people; however, a growing number of younger patients are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Since the 1990s, the rate of colorectal cancer diagnoses has more than doubled in adults age 20 to 49. Alexa Morell is one of these patients. She didn’t expect her diagnosis: metastatic … Read more
Tongue cancer is a type of oral cavity cancer that occurs when cells divide out of control and form a growth or tumor on the tongue. Tongue cancer is less common than many other types of cancer. It is more prevalent in older adults and rare in children. There are two parts of the tongue: … Read more
Like many people, Caroline McGuirk knew that lumps can be a symptom of breast cancer, even if most of them end up being noncancerous. What she wasn’t aware of is that the redness and swelling she had noticed in her right breast months before finding two lumps there can be indicators of inflammatory breast cancer … 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