To help reduce the risk of cancer, the American Cancer Society recommends at least 150 minutes a week of exercise or activity — a 30 minute walk each weekday, for instance — plus some strength training twice a week for good physical health. But researchers at Dana-Farber and other cancer centers are exploring the possibility … Read more
Protein degradation is a natural process by which cells break down proteins that are damaged or no longer needed so they can be recycled or disposed of. Scientists at Dana-Farber and elsewhere are harnessing this process to destroy specific proteins involved in cancer, an approach known as targeted protein degradation. In contrast to traditional targeted … Read more
With the season of sniffles and sneezes upon us, it’s integral to ensure your immune system is shored up. The immune system is a complicated mechanism that defends you from bacteria and viruses, and it’s especially important for many people undergoing treatment for cancer. Many chemotherapies damage the immune system as they attack all fast-growing … Read more
Waldenström macroglobulinemia, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, has its share of eccentricities. One of the hallmarks of the disease, for example, is an overabundance of a particular protein, yet other conditions may also have that feature. It’s also not unusual for patients to have very high protein levels but have no symptoms or mild … Read more
As a longtime volunteer for the Red Cross, Jeanne Dodge knows the value of gaining as much information as possible about a situation or injured individual before administering aid. Making assumptions without all the facts can result in more harm than good in an emergency. Accordingly, when Dodge comes to Dana-Farber for her multiple myeloma … Read more
Stem cell transplants are used to treat patients with a variety of blood-related cancers. The goal of a transplant is always the same: to cure the disease or significantly extend a patient’s life. Stem cell transplants can be used in the treatment of the following cancers: Why might a patient need a stem cell transplant? … Read more
Bone marrow is the soft, spongy material inside our bones. Occupying one of the most protected places in the body, it produces nearly all the components of blood. These include red blood cells, which deliver oxygen throughout the body, white blood cells, which help fight disease, and platelets needed for clotting. The marrow generates approximately … Read more
Stem cell transplantation refers to transplants of blood-forming stem cells taken from the bone marrow or collected from the bloodstream. Autologous transplants use the patient’s own stem cells, while allogeneic transplants use stem cells provided by a donor. Stem cell transplants offer some patients with blood-related cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma the … Read more
Tom Lomaglio, Jr., learned he had a rare blood cancer called Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia (WM) in 2000. His father, Tom, Sr., had been diagnosed in 2004, and then his sister, Diane, in 2007. They were all referred to Dana-Farber for care. When Lomaglio visited the first time, he met Steven Treon, MD, PhD, director of the … Read more
Both allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplants involve treating a patient with chemotherapy followed by an infusion of blood-forming stem cells, with a goal of curing the cancer or extending the time before the disease relapses. In adults, transplants are used to treat a range of blood-related cancers, myelodysplastic syndromes, and non-malignant blood disorders. Autologous … Read more
Most commonly occurring cancers are diagnosed in people over age 50. Over the past several decades, however, rates of many types of cancer have been rising in adults under 50. Reports suggest that these include breast, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, bile duct, gallbladder, head and neck, kidney, liver, pancreatic, prostate, stomach, and thyroid cancers as well … Read more
Natural killer (NK) cells are white blood cells that serve as a part of the body’s first line of defense against infections and cancers. Along with T cells and B cells, NK cells have specialized roles as part of the immune system and have shown potential for being used in cancer immunotherapy. Their effectiveness is still being … 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
CAR T cells’ superpower is to identify cancer-related targets on the surface of tumor cells and order an attack on those cells. But they lack anything resembling X-ray vision to detect nefarious protein targets within tumor cells. That shortfall has limited their effectiveness in diseases like acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), in which tumor cells display few surface … Read more
Hemoglobin is an essential protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen to your body’s organs and tissues and transports carbon dioxide from your organs and tissues back to your lungs. What type of cancer causes low hemoglobin? Anemia is essentially a blood condition marked by a low level of hemoglobin and red blood cells, and in some cases … Read more
Every cancer starts with a mistake deep inside the nucleus of a single cell, where DNA is stored. Abnormalities in DNA can be inherited from one’s parents or can occur because of exposure to harmful substances in the environment such as chemicals in tobacco, ultraviolet radiation from the sun, and perhaps, chemicals in our diet. … Read more
Dana-Farber lymphoma patient John Babchak has a unique perspective on his treatment journey. More than two decades ago, in 2004, his late husband Richard Walsh was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. For the next five years, Babchak stepped into the role of caregiver, spending as much time with Richard as he could. “The most valuable thing … Read more
Cancers originating in the bone, called primary bone cancers, are rare and account for less than 1% of all cancers. There are numerous types of primary bone cancers, and in most cases, the cause isn’t known. Primary bone tumors can have changes in the DNA of the cancer cells, but those DNA changes are acquired … Read more
If you have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends different numbers of vaccines depending on if you are immunocompromised. Immunocompromised people can include people who have: As of December 2022, the COVID-19 vaccination recommendation for immunocompromised people, including active cancer patients, includes: A booster dose is another dose given … Read more
A cytokine storm is a severe immune system reaction to infection, autoimmune condition, or other disease, including some cancers. It occurs when the body produces extremely high levels of certain cytokines, which are proteins that raise or lower immune activity. The deluge of cytokines into the bloodstream can result in severe inflammation across multiple bodily … Read more