Even the best cancer drug is only as good as its ability to reach cancer cells and kill them. Antibody-drug conjugates are targeted agents that package cancer drugs for special delivery to tumor cells to eliminate them. Conjugates are designed to expose tumor cells to the full force of cancer drugs while sparing normal cells … Read more
Scientists in the lab of Loren Walensky, MD, PhD, have come up with a new twist on the emerging strategy of killing cancer cells by jamming their “garbage disposal” mechanism for getting rid of abnormal or unwanted proteins. Dana-Farber researchers created a novel peptide molecule that binds to a key control point in what’s known … Read more
Despite enormous advances in cancer treatment, some racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups still bear an especially large burden from the disease, with higher incidence rates for many cancers and poorer outcomes. Decades of research has documented these disparities. Among adult patients, for example, African Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial or ethnic … Read more
Insights from decades of cancer research are surprisingly transferable to the battle against COVID-19. The desire to save life and ease suffering that motivates cancer researchers has been directed to the new disease as well. Drawing on their knowledge of cancer drug mechanisms, and of the adverse side effects of some of those drugs, Dana-Farber … Read more
The approval of the drug tazemetostat to treat epithelioid sarcomas is a victory for patients and a vindication of the idea that success may take different forms in different cancers. It’s also an affirmation of the value of research at Dana-Farber that began in the early 2000s with basic science discoveries and progressed into clinical … Read more
The most commonly diagnosed blood cancers are non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and multiple myeloma. Here’s what you need to know about each type of cancer. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a type of cancer that forms in the lymph system, part of the body’s immune system. There … Read more
Precursor conditions are early phases of diseases that may develop into cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, and multiple myeloma. Most people with precursor conditions do not experience symptoms, and since doctors rarely screen for these conditions, they are sometimes found through routine blood tests but often remain undiagnosed. “Many diagnoses are purely incidental,” says Irene Ghobrial, MD, director … Read more
A cancer diagnosis can be unsettling, but when Nancy Stamper learned she had multiple myeloma at age 78 in November 2016, it was particularly daunting. Older adults facing cancer and blood disorders have specialized needs due to health and wellness issues inherent to aging, but Stamper — now 81 — has found an ally to … Read more
Medically reviewed by Sarah Nikiforow, MD, PhD; George Demetri, MD; and Caron Jacobson, MD Among the most powerful new cancer treatments being developed today are “living drugs,” which are made by genetically modifying a patient or normal donor’s immune cell. The genetic modification is designed to alter the cells so that, when returned to the … Read more
Immunotherapy refers to treatments that use the body’s immune system to combat diseases. Immuno-oncology focuses on efforts to use the immune system as a weapon against cancer. The immune system is a collection of organs, tissues, specialized cells, and substances that protect the body against infection and disease. While the immune system can often handle very small … Read more
A person who is immunocompromised (otherwise referred to as immunosuppressed) has a weakened immune system and a reduced ability to fight other diseases and infections, such as the common cold influenza, or COVID-19. This can be caused by various diseases and conditions, including cancer as well as various treatments for cancer, such as chemotherapy or … Read more
Many of the drugs that have become mainstays of cancer treatment are based on antibodies — artificial proteins that latch onto a molecular target called an antigen. When an antibody binds to an antigen on a cancer cell, it attacks the cell or triggers its destruction by immune system process. A relatively new twist on … Read more
Ingersoll “Sandy” Cunningham has the dignified, silver-haired appearance of a man you’d expect to find sipping tea with friends. So what is this Harvard-educated great-grandfather doing pushing food carts through the hallways of Dana-Farber, handing out sandwiches to patients? “You’ve got to have some objective when you get up in the morning, a purpose and … Read more
When cancer spreads in the body, it is first and foremost due to changes, or mutations, in the DNA of cells. Because of a mutation or other abnormality in a cancer cell’s genome (the DNA stored in its nucleus), the cell may become separated from its neighbors and invade surrounding tissue. Other genomic breakdowns allow … Read more
A condition is considered precancerous if it consists of abnormal cells that have an increased risk of turning cancerous. In many cases, people with such conditions can take steps to reduce the chance that cancer will develop. Physicians may prescribe treatments to prevent the cancer or recommend monitoring the condition for signs that it is … Read more
As father and daughter, there are many things Dennis Gorden and Becky Nutley share: a contagious smile, the instinct to help others, and a commitment to family, to name a few. But one thing they never imagined they would have in common was a cancer diagnosis. In 2014, routine blood work revealed that Becky Nutley, … Read more
Dana-Farber scientists presented an abundance of new research at the 60th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, held December 1-4 in San Diego. Their research spanned the gamut of hematological diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and myelodysplastic syndrome—as well as treatment modalities, such as stem cell transplantation and CAR T-cell therapy. A … Read more
Thalidomide, a morning-sickness drug recalled in the 1960s because it caused devastating birth defects, is now commonly used to treat multiple myeloma and other blood cancers. It and its chemical relatives work by causing cells to destroy two proteins — members of a larger family of conventionally “undruggable” proteins called transcription factors — that feature … Read more
Stem cell transplants are performed in order to give a patient new blood cells, as well as a new immune system. It is this new immune system that plays a key role in making certain blood cancers go away and stay away.
CAR T-cell therapy—a form of immunotherapy that uses genetically engineered T cells to intensify the immune system’s response to cancer—represents one of the biggest advances against cancer in recent years.