Treatments used for many forms of cancer, as well as certain rare types of cancer that directly affect the ear(s), can affect your hearing. It’s important to understand the possibilities and know what to look for because, in some cases, early action can help. If you are affected by hearing loss, there are also resources … Read more
Certain forms of cancer and cancer treatment can affect your vision and, in rare cases, cause vision loss. At Dana-Farber, our care teams will work with you to help you understand the possibilities, know what to look for, and take action to manage any vision changes that might occur. What types of cancer can cause … Read more
Pancreatic cancer often eludes early detection because symptoms typically don’t surface until the disease is well established. This makes it important to respond appropriately to warning signs, even though some may be vague or caused by another health condition. What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer? Most symptoms of pancreatic cancer are caused when tumors … Read more
The cell cycle is the series of steps by which living cells grow, duplicate their DNA, and divide into two identical daughter cells, each receiving one copy of the doubled material. The cycle is complete when each daughter cell is sealed in its own membrane, ready to start the cycle again. The cycle occurs in … Read more
Overall, cancer death rates have declined by 33% since 1991, according to a Jan. 2023 American Cancer Society report. Multiple cancers like leukemia, melanoma, and kidney cancer have seen significant declines in mortality due to great advances in treatments. Prostate cancer rates had been on the decline for two decades, but the ACS report remarks that … Read more
Of all the mutated, blundering, havoc-wreaking genes in cancer cells, few are more ubiquitous than TP53. The gene, which in its normal, capable form is nicknamed the “guardian of the genome,” is found in a flawed form in almost every type of cancer, including up to half of all lung, ovarian, and colorectal cancers and … Read more
Technically speaking, a tyrosine kinase is an enzyme that transfers a compound called a phosphate group from ATP — a molecule that stores energy — to a specific area on cell proteins. It helps transmit the signals that cause cells to grow and divide and to perform specific functions in the body such as burning … Read more
In an era when targeted therapies are often effective against multiple types of cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval of a two-drug therapy for solid tumors carrying a specific mutation in the BRAF gene is a prime example of this trend. For patients with glioma brain cancer that harbors the mutation, the … Read more
Researchers at Dana-Farber and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have created a novel Molecular Oncology Almanac that combines an algorithm, or computational method, for interpreting genomic alterations in a patient’s tumor, along with a knowledge base of molecular changes reported to be associated with tumor behavior. They say that the components of this … Read more
The majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer have early-stage disease that is confined to the breast or nearby lymph nodes and is effectively treated by lumpectomy or mastectomy. Nevertheless, small clusters of cancer cells remaining after surgery — called micrometastases — have the potential to spread at some point and cause a cancer recurrence, … Read more
Atypical moles are irregular moles that can appear anywhere on the body. They are more commonly found on people with fair skin, as well as those with many freckles and moles on the body (more than 50). What do atypical moles look like? In order to spot atypical moles or something more serious, dermatologists recommend … Read more
Tumors are scrupulous recorders of their own life stories. The wreckage they acquire as a result of therapy, the stratagems they use to survive and dodge an immune attack are all inscribed in their DNA and the set of immune system cells within them. Unfortunately for science, the autobiography of a tumor rarely consists of … Read more
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
Communities of color, particularly Black Americans, have long faced health disparities and a disproportionate burden of cancer. Colorectal cancer is no exception. Colorectal cancer occurs at a higher rate in Black Americans than any other racial or ethnic group in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society. African Americans are more than 20% more … Read more
What is TIL (tumor infiltrating lymphocyte) therapy? A form of immune cell therapy for cancer known as tumor infiltrating lymphocyte, or TIL, therapy, involves removing immune T cells from a piece of the patient’s tumor — where the T cells have succeeded in recognizing the cancer — expanding them outside the body, and re-infusing them … Read more
A new “deep learning” form of artificial intelligence outperformed standard methods in identifying cancer patients with inherited DNA alterations that could increase their risk of developing cancer or improve their response to certain targeted cancer drugs. Dana-Farber researchers led by Saud H. AlDubayan, MD, and Eliezer Van Allen, MD, report in JAMA that the analytical … Read more
Tumors with high mutational burden have a large number of genetic mutations, or misspellings of the genetic code within their cells. Such cancers tend to acquire mutations as a result of exposure to harmful agents such as ultraviolet light or certain chemicals in tobacco. Malignancies that often have a high number of mutations include: Non-small … Read more
In their quest for effective targeted therapies to treat triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) — an aggressive disease that often doesn’t respond to standard chemotherapy — researchers at Dana-Farber and elsewhere have recently focused on the potential of drugs known as BET bromodomain inhibitors. BET inhibitors target a family of proteins including BRD2, BRD3, BRD4, and … Read more
Ependymomas are some of the most difficult-to-treat brain tumors. Mariella Filbin, MD, PhD, a neuro-oncologist at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, is driven by a desire to find new therapies for these pediatric brain tumors. At the core of her work is an effort to uncover the events that shape tumor development. Defining how … Read more
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are cancer-susceptibility genes, meaning that people who inherit pathogenic* mutations in either one have an increased risk of developing certain cancers. Hereditary (or “germline”) mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 cause Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome. Having a pathogenic mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 doesn’t mean you will definitely develop cancer, but … Read more