Immunotherapy

Mother, Community Leader with Breast Cancer Has Remarkable Response to Immunotherapy

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Nancy Arsenault was taking a lunch break from driving her elementary school bus route in her hometown of Stow, Massachusetts, when she began to experience double vision. She had been first diagnosed with pre-invasive breast cancer in 2006, which recurred in 2011. In 2019, she developed an invasive breast cancer in her chest wall and … Read more

Donor Transplants Paved the Way for Today’s Immune and Cellular Therapies

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To understand the genesis of the bone marrow transplant field, go back to the detonation, in 1945, of the first nuclear weapons and the shadow of the Atomic Age. The search for ways to rescue the blood-forming and immune systems of individuals exposed to high doses of radiation provided the impetus for donor bone marrow … Read more

Multitude of Mutations Spells Susceptibility to Immunotherapy

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Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) that are most loaded with genetic mutations are most susceptible to immunotherapy drugs known as PD-L1 inhibitors, a new study by Dana-Farber researchers shows. The study, published recently in JAMA Oncology, can help doctors identify patients with the disease who are likely to benefit from the drugs, which foil tumors’ … Read more

Immunotherapy Helps Thyroid Cancer Patient Overcome the Odds

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Mark Signer uses his voice to raise awareness about anaplastic thyroid cancer — something he thought impossible two years ago. When he was diagnosed with this highly aggressive cancer in July 2020, he was told to get his affairs in order. And when he awoke from the surgery that removed his tumor, he couldn’t speak; … Read more

Study Identifies T Cells That Respond Rapidly to Pre-Surgical Immunotherapy

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The results of the phase 2 clinical trial would have been impressive even if they didn’t involve a particularly stubborn form of cancer. In the trial, led by Dana-Farber’s Jonathan Schoenfeld, MD, MPH, 29 patients with locally advanced squamous cell cancer of the oral cavity were treated with one or two immune checkpoint inhibitors — … Read more

Advances in Myeloma, Breast Cancer, and Clinical Trials Equity: A Dana-Farber Research Update

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Results of several phase 3 trials and dozens of other studies led by Dana-Farber researchers were presented online and in person June 3-7 at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s largest clinical cancer research meeting. Some of the research reports presented by Dana-Farber investigators include: Improved progression-free … Read more

CNS Lymphoma Survivor Stays on Call with Immunotherapy

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Stephan Bunker has learned to be prepared for anything during a half-century protecting others as a soldier, volunteer firefighter, law enforcement official, and director of 911 dispatchers for the state of Maine. So when Bunker was the one facing an emergency — a diagnosis of a brain cancer known as primary central nervous system (CNS) … Read more

Study Reveals Factors Influencing Success of An Immunotherapy Treatment

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Understanding why immunotherapies are highly effective in some patients but fail in many others is one of the top priorities in cancer research — and one of the most challenging puzzles. A research team led by Catherine J. Wu, MD, has uncovered some previously unknown molecular factors affecting donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI), a form of … Read more

Mother of Three in Remission from Stage IV Lung Cancer after Immunotherapy

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In December 2013, Michelle Leonard wasn’t too concerned when she felt a pain in her right chest. “I kind of thought, ‘Well at least it’s the right side, not a big deal,’” she says. But then she developed a fever and decided to go to her primary care physician. Her nurse practitioner sent her for … Read more

Immunotherapy is Lifesaver for Firefighter with Rare Bile Duct Cancer

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As a former volunteer firefighter, Paul Calnan prided himself on being ready for any emergency. He thought nothing could rattle him — until, at age 47, doctors discovered a large, malignant tumor in his liver. The diagnosis was stage IV intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of bile duct cancer that had presented in Calnan’s liver. … Read more

What are Cancer Vaccines?

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Cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy aimed at enhancing the immune system’s ability to recognize and attack cancer cells, or to protect against certain forms of cancer caused by viruses. Vaccine can help prevent some cancers There are two approved preventive vaccines directed against cancer-causing viruses.  Vaccines against cancer-causing or other infectious microbes typically … Read more

Researchers Focus on How to Invigorate ‘Exhausted’ T Cells in Immunotherapy

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Despite the sometimes-dramatic success of new cancer immunotherapies like checkpoint inhibitor drugs and CAR T cells, thus far only a minority of patients have responded or gained long-lasting benefits. A major reason for the inconsistent results of immunotherapy is a phenomenon known as “T-cell exhaustion” — a weakening or loss of tumor-killing function by T … Read more

Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment Has Been Transformed by Immunotherapy. New Study Helps Explain Why

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The go-to metaphor for cancer drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors is a brake-release lever — a means of setting loose an immune system attack on tumor cells. Helpful as it is, the analogy glosses over a highly complex mechanism involving multiple types of immune cells, cell receptors, signals, and responses — so intricate that … Read more

Unusual Case Reveals How Some Tumors Resist Immunotherapy

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The intriguing case of a man with melanoma tumors that responded in different ways to the same checkpoint-blocking drug has yielded an important clue to the causes of resistance to immunotherapy treatments, according to Dana-Farber researchers. The findings could help guide the use of immunotherapy in individual patients. The 74-year-old patient, described in a report … Read more

For Patient with Endometrial Cancer, Immunotherapy Proves the Perfect Move

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As a designer of fantasy-style board games, Kate Beckett knows that timing and chance can play important roles in a player’s survival. Living with metastatic endometrial cancer, she has proof both can also be helpful in the real world. Beckett had already endured a hysterectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, and a serious kidney infection during six years … Read more

Which Cancers Can Be Treated With Immunotherapy?

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Immunotherapy for cancer is a form of treatment that uses the body’s immune system to combat the disease. Today, immunotherapy is being applied to a wide range of cancers, often in combination with other agents, and clinical trials are exploring ways of improving and expanding its effectiveness. A particularly promising form of immunotherapy, known as … Read more

Immunotherapy for Pediatric Solid Tumors: What’s New?

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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