Research

Dana-Farber Research Opens the Door to Finding More Effective Treatments for Ewing Sarcoma 

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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

Creating a Journey with the Unknown: A Dana-Farber Physician-Scientist Story   

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What makes us humans lies in our genes. But even with all their power, they are remarkably vulnerable to errors.   But these potentially harmful errors are an opportunity for humankind to study and treat, as it has been for Dana-Farber’s physician-scientist Srinivas Viswanathan, MD, PhD.   “We have the ability to make an impact,” Viswanathan said. “There are so many unanswered questions in cancer biology still, especially in our understanding of rarer subtypes of kidney cancer.”   One of these subtypes — called translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC) — occurs when a gene quietly moves, fuses with another gene, and … Read more

Three Recent Dana-Farber Research Studies to Know About  

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Every year, physician researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reveal new treatments, protocols, and outcomes that advance cancer research. At one of this year’s biggest cancer research conferences, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Berlin, Germany, Dana-Farber researchers presented 22 studies in breast, lung, and bladder cancer.  Here are three of the most exciting advancements — several nearing U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval — shared by our experts nearly 4,000 miles across the world.  An oral therapy for advanced breast cancer   Erica Mayer, MD, MPH, director … Read more

Forcing Cancer to Grow Up: Dana-Farber Scientists Reprogram Tumors to Behave Normally  

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Cancer can make its way through the body by shapeshifting through even the narrowest places, like a skilled driver navigating traffic. It has a sly way of adapting to its environment by finding detours around every blockade clinicians place in its path.   A study from the lab of Nilay Sethi, MD, PhD, in Dana-Farber’s Center … Read more

Three Ways Research Could Improve Pancreatic Cancer Treatment 

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Pancreatic cancer has long been difficult to detect and treat. Dana-Farber experts in the  Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, however, are working to change that with research efforts in three key areas that are poised to advance early detection, early intervention, and treatment of the disease.   They presented these topics for discussion with … Read more

Dana-Farber Research Uncovers Potential Targeted Therapy for Endometrial Cancer 

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Jessica St. Laurent, MD, was sure something had gone wrong. The results of an experiment she’d run showed that the cancer cells she was studying had abnormally high levels of a specific collection of proteins of interest to her team.  “I remember seeing the gradient and thinking, This can’t be right,” says St. Laurent, who … Read more

What is the Difference Between Gene Therapy and Immunotherapy?

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Gene therapy and immunotherapy are both types of treatment for cancer and other diseases. They represent different approaches to disease therapy, though there is some overlap.  What is gene therapy?  Gene therapy is a way of treating or preventing disease by altering the genetic instructions within an individual’s cells. Most diseases aren’t caused by a … Read more

CAR T-Cell Therapy Delivers a Revelatory Experience for Myeloma Patient 

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Linda Lane was still fatigued months after having COVID-19 in January of 2021.   “I told my doctor that I had not been this tired since I had a newborn in the house,” says Lane, now 57 and living on Cape Cod. “That got her attention.”  Her bloodwork came back with abnormal results. By May, the … Read more

Dana-Farber Treats First Patient with Approved Gene Therapy for Beta Thalassemia 

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A few years ago, Oscar Diep, a 33-year-old software engineer living in Weymouth, Mass., started needing blood transfusions more often to manage a blood disorder called beta thalassemia. He also noticed that it was becoming harder for the nurses to find a vein for his infusions.  On top of this, Diep and his then girlfriend, … Read more

Dana-Farber Researchers Find Less Treatment May be More in Mantle Cell Lymphoma 

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For a long time, the standard treatment for younger patients with newly diagnosed mantle cell lymphoma involved intensive chemotherapy, called induction therapy, followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT, where the patient’s own stem cells are used), followed by maintenance therapy to help keep the cancer from coming back.   Based on recent clinical research involving … Read more

TILs: What Are They and How Are They Used in Cancer Treatment?

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What is TIL (tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte) therapy? Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte, or TIL, therapy uses a patient’s own immune system T cells to fight cancer. The therapy involves removing T cells from a piece of the patient’s tumor – where the T cells have congregated after being alerted to the cancer – growing them outside the body, then … Read more

Teen with Rare Sarcoma Enjoys Stellar Response on Clinical Trial 

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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

Can Immunotherapy be Combined with Chemotherapy to Fight Cancer?

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Immunotherapy drugs can be more effective against cancer when combined with other therapies, such as radiation therapy, targeted drugs, immunotherapy agents, and with chemotherapy.  What is chemotherapy?  Chemotherapy drugs have been used for decades to treat cancer, either alone or in combination therapies. These drugs kill rapidly dividing cells, including tumor cells, using a variety of mechanisms.  … Read more

New Insights into Immunotherapy Targets for Pancreatic Cancer 

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Cancer research often focuses on gene mutations in the parts of the human genome that produce cellular machinery called proteins. But the rest of the genome — sometimes called the “dark genome” — can also play a role.   Dana-Farber researcher William Freed-Pastor, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist in the Dana-Farber Center for Gastrointestinal Oncology and Hale … Read more

What is Immunopeptidomics? 

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A burgeoning type of “omics” called immunopeptidomics is providing researchers with a powerful approach to discovering new ways to train a person’s immune system to fight cancer.  In cancer research, the approach is being used to take an inventory of every flag on the surface of a cancer cell and determine what it is, if … Read more