In honor of Brain Tumor Awareness Month, David Reardon, MD, and Patrick Wen, MD, of Dana-Farber’s Center for Neuro-Oncology, went live on Facebook to answer questions about brain cancer. The doctors discussed advice for brain tumor patients, answered audience questions, and described the difference between the two major categories of brain cancers—primary cancer, developed in … Read more
For nearly 50 years, Jay Schwab wondered whether the melanoma he survived as a young man would return in a more serious form. When it did, in 2016, Dana-Farber was ready with a revolutionary response. A retired pediatric dentist, Schwab is one of a growing number of Dana-Farber patients thriving in treatment due to breakthroughs … Read more
Mark W. Kieran, MD, PhD, director of Pediatric Medical Neuro-Oncology at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, spoke to pediatric patient families in a recent Facebook Live Webchat addressing pediatric brain tumor care. Kieran answered questions from audience members about the most common of the 300 brain tumor types that occur in children, including … Read more
Bladder cancer accounts for only five percent of new cancer cases in America — a small piece of the pie — but considering it is the fourth most common cancer in men, it is important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of this disease. Symptoms of bladder cancer The most common sign of … Read more
A PD-L1 test helps doctors determine whether a patient is likely to benefit from cancer drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. It involves sending a piece of tumor tissue to a lab for analysis. What is PD-L1? PD-L1 is a protein that allows some cells to escape an attack by the immune system. Extending from the … Read more
If the human immune system was a powerful racing car, you could say that scientists in the past few years have gained unprecedented control over how to make it accelerate, and what causes it to slow or stop. This knowledge has spawned new immunotherapy drugs that are delivering dramatic benefits to some patients with advanced … Read more
In the fall of 2015, at the age of 44 – young for a person to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer – Doron Broman was stunned to learn he had a large tumor on his pancreas that had metastasized to the liver. Facing only months to live, Broman would find himself in the right place … Read more
Treatment of blood-related, or hematologic, cancers is seizing on insights into the basic genetic wiring of cancer cells and the body’s system for finding and attacking those cells. Research presentations at the annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in December gave evidence of how broad, and rapid, the progress is. Targeted therapies, new combinations … Read more
For patients with advanced head and neck cancers, immune-based therapies have started to show results against these hard-to-treat tumors. Two immunotherapy drugs were approved in 2016 for use when standard treatments failed, and many other agents are being tested in clinical trials. Immunotherapies work by enhancing the body’s natural defenses against malignancies, and have made … Read more
Precision cancer medicine is an evolving approach to cancer care that personalizes treatment based on each patient’s unique genetic mutations. Since 2011, Dana-Farber has used its Profile research project, in partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, to gather adult and pediatric patients’ tumor tissues and detect genetic alterations that may hold … Read more
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new kind of immunotherapy drug for adults and children with classical Hodgkin lymphoma who have relapsed after three or more prior lines of therapy. The approved drug, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), is part of a class of immunotherapy drugs called checkpoint inhibitors that block the PD-1 protein, which is … Read more
Kidney cancer is one of several cancers that has responded well to immunotherapy drugs, which can free the immune system from restraints that cancer cells can impose on it. The drug nivolumab (Opdivo), for example, which was recently approved, can extend survival in patients with metastatic kidney cancer after other drugs have failed. But can … Read more
Not only are more effective drugs for breast cancer coming to the clinic, but oncologists are making important progress in matching breast cancer treatment to specific patients and the molecular characteristics of their tumors. It’s also becoming more feasible to rachet the intensity of treatment up or down depending on the patient’s risk status, and … Read more
At Dana-Farber, radiation oncologists like Dr. David Kozono, MD, PHD work to improve outcomes in cancer through research and deliver quality care to patients through radiation therapy. About two-thirds of cancer patients undergo radiation therapy as part of their treatment. What new developments are occurring in the world of radiation? According to Kozono, technological advances … Read more
Because of their increased susceptibility to the toxicities of chemotherapy, should ALL patients with Down syndrome receive modified treatment to minimize this risk? Or should they be given the same treatment as other children with ALL, to minimize the chance for relapse?
Cancer occurs worldwide, and commonly – in 2012, there were an estimated 14.1 million new cancer cases globally, according to the World Cancer Research Fund. But not all cancers are created equally. Certain countries have higher rates of some cancers and lower of others, depending on a number of factors, including health care access, environment, … Read more
Following surgery and/or radiation for early stage breast cancer, chemotherapy is sometimes given to eliminate remaining cancer cells that could cause trouble later. Traditionally, women have been more likely to undergo follow-up chemotherapy if clinical and pathological factors suggested a significant risk of recurrence, such as a larger tumor, higher stage and pathological grade of … Read more
A diagnosis of cancer always comes as a shock, and the patient naturally asks the physician, why did this happen? Is it something I did or didn’t do, or did I inherit it, or were chemicals in the environment to blame? “Why patients develop cancers is not well known,” explains Irene Ghobrial, MD, of Dana-Farber. … Read more
By Christopher Fletcher, MD, FRCPath Chief of Onco-Pathology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Vice Chair for Anatomic Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital In order to determine whether a growth represents relapse of a previously diagnosed cancer or is a newly developed, separate tumor, doctors obtain a tissue sample from the patient and have it examined by a … Read more
This post originally appeared on Cancer Research Catalyst, the official blog of the American Association for Cancer Research. It was originally published Jan. 10, 2017. By Srivani Ravoori, PhD As we step into 2017, a big question looming in the minds of all stakeholders in the cancer research arena is: What is the future of … Read more