After trying chemotherapy to fight acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer, Donnie Lewis, a 56-year-old husband and father of two from Canton, Mass., learned that his best chance to return to health would be through a stem cell transplant. Because Donnie didn’t have any siblings who were a match for this procedure, his care … Read more
Stem cell transplantation can be a life-saving treatment option for patients with blood cancers or disorders. The procedure, sometimes called bone marrow transplantation, replaces bone marrow that doesn’t work correctly or has been damaged by disease. We spoke with Joseph Antin, MD, chief of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, … Read more
by Martha Laperle When my son Ryan ran the Boston Marathon this year, I watched him with a special level of pride. Not only had he completed his first-ever marathon in four hours, but he was running, in large part, because of me. Just over a year earlier, at the age of 57, I had … Read more
Medically reviewed by Paul Richardson, MD By Maria Pearson As a technology teacher who had a long career with IBM before going into education, I have encountered all sorts of opportunities to teach — and to learn. The biggest such opportunity of my life occurred at the intersection of cancer, technology, and Dana-Farber. In August … Read more
A stem cell transplant can be referred to as a bone marrow transplant (BMT) or peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) or umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT), depending on the source of the cells that are transplanted. In other words, the only real distinction between a bone marrow transplant and a stem cell transplant in the method … Read more
Their last names are practically identical. They are both fathers, and their oldest sons, now 6’3, were born on the same day – just two hours apart. “Blood brothers” Craig Johnson and Henrik Janssen had much to celebrate recently.
Lauren Marsden joined DKMS/Delete Blood Cancer Registry during freshman orientation at St. Anselm’s College for the same reason she majored in nursing: She wanted to help others. What she couldn’t foresee then was how this decision would intersect with her own family’s experience. Two months after Lauren’s graduation in May 2014, her father was diagnosed … Read more
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, diagnosed in more than 18,000 people in the U.S. every year. It is a fast-growing lymphoma that can arise in the lymph nodes or, more rarely, in organs such as the spleen, liver, and others. As its name indicates, DLBCL involves the … Read more
As a systems operator who works to help maintain the electrical grid for New York state, Brian Houlihan, 46, is used to getting power to the people. But when the multiple myeloma he has lived with since 2011 stopped responding to chemotherapy, it was Houlihan who needed a recharge. He got it, through an innovative … Read more
A recent phase 1 trial of a form of cellular gene therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD) conducted at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Hospital showed promise that led to an ongoing nationwide phase 2 initiative. Among the authors of the paper describing the results were six unsung heroes whose behind-the-scenes efforts made such a trial possible. Those unsung heroes … 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
Michelle Karalekas’ time in the Mont Tremblant Ironman Triathlon in Quebec on Aug. 20 — 14 hours, 5 minutes — was not her fastest in the grueling event, but it may have been her most impressive. It was the first time she’d competed since undergoing a stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) almost … Read more
A novel hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) method utilizing ‘graft sculpting’ is being tested in a phase 1 clinical trial in patients with refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who are at the highest risk of relapse after ‘standard’ transplants. In fact, the patients in the trial don’t qualify for a standard … Read more
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
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 … Read more
When lab tests confirmed that her non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) had recurred after treatment, Ann Bonetti came to Dana-Farber expecting to hear she would need a stem cell transplant. When her oncologist told her about a clinical trial of a treatment that would turn her body’s own T cells into ace cancer fighters, she didn’t need … Read more
Patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who did not respond to initial treatment or relapsed within a year may now receive the CAR T-cell product axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) as a second-line therapy, following approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on results of a recent clinical trial. Until now, the standard of … Read more
Born on Jan. 1, Alan Morris is used to sharing a birthday with the New Year. Now the lymphoma patient also has a special day marking what he considers his rebirth — and a harbinger of hope. On Jan. 24, Morris, 58, became the first Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center patient to receive outpatient CAR T-cell … Read more
Rosemary Iwakura, 17, was experiencing strange symptoms before her acute lymphoblastic leukemia diagnosis (ALL) almost two years ago. She was unable to focus on her schoolwork or activities and fainted on several occasions at school and at home. “I thought; ‘People faint for many reasons,’” she recalls. “We weren’t sure if we were supposed to … Read more
Tom McLaughlin would have rather spent Thanksgiving week at home with his extended family, but under the circumstances the 76-year-old grandfather said he was very happy where he was — and still had much to be thankful for. On November 23, McLaughlin became the 100th patient to receive an outpatient stem cell transplant at Dana-Farber … Read more