Clinical trials are scientific studies in which new treatments — drugs, diagnostic procedures, and other therapies — are tested in people to find out if they are safe and effective. Nearly all cancer drugs in use today were tested in clinical trials. If you have been diagnosed with cancer, the benefits of participating in a clinical … Read more
Inflammation is normal. It’s an essential process our bodies use to fight infections and heal wounds. But inflammation that persists can be harmful, and in some cases can increase the risk of cancer.
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
A rare leukemia called BPDCN (blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm) is three to four times more common in people with one X chromosome, for reasons that hadn’t been clear. Now, however, research led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists has identified a genetic factor that appears to explain a large part of the discrepancy, and also … Read more
At Carolyn Kershaw and Darlene Musso’s first visit to Dana-Farber in July, Irene Ghobrial, MD, greeted them with some unexpected news. “We walked in and she said, ‘Did you know you two are famous in our lab?’” Kershaw recounts. Their local renown stems from their participation in the PROMISE study at Dana-Farber’s Center for the Prevention of Progression (CPOP), which … Read more
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the second most common leukemia diagnosed in children. It is hard to treat and can be fatal in some cases. While there have been some recent successes with genetically targeted therapies for adults, AML has different genetic features in children, and care has been slow to advance. “The state of care … Read more
Leukemias involving reshuffling or rearrangement of the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene, known as MLL-rearranged or MLL-r leukemias, account for 70 to 80 percent of acute leukemias in infants under one year old. In these blood cancers, a subset of acute myeloid and acute lymphoid leukemias (AML and ALL), the MLL gene breaks and reattaches to the wrong section … Read more
Rizwan Romee, MD, is a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber and treats patients with advanced blood cancers such as leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. He is also the director of the Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Dana-Farber and principal investigator of the Romee Lab for NK Cell Gene Manipulation and Therapy. Why did you decide to … Read more
By Dana-Farber oncology nurse Melissa Houston, RN, BSN When the first shipments of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Boston-area hospitals last week, including Dana-Farber, I was quick to sign up. I understand both how vital getting the vaccine will be in preventing COVID-19, and the many reasons why it is important and safe for everybody … Read more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a novel targeted drug to treat acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in older patients, a segment of the blood cancer population in dire need of improved therapies. In a phase 3 clinical trial, researchers showed that the oral drug, venetoclax (or Venclexta), when given along with azacitidine, could … Read more
Excited to be the first patient in a novel clinical trial, Jon Woods is hoping that an infusion of immune natural killer cells donated by his son will beat back the metastatic cancer he has battled for four years. “I’m upbeat [and] I’m happy to be a pioneer,” says Woods, 65, a retired postal worker … 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
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
On the morning of Sept. 12, 2019, Alexa Morell watched her son, Maddox, walk for the first time. Later that day, she learned she had colon cancer. The second milestone confounded Morell as much as the first delighted her. She was just 29 years old, with a clean bill of health from her annual physical … 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
Got an itch that just won’t go away? Also known as pruritus (proo-rai-tuhs), itchy skin can have a wide variety of causes, including seasonal allergies and dry skin; various skin conditions, such as eczema; and even certain detergents and lotions. The good news is that itchy skin is typically not a sign of cancer. This … Read more
Since it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the fall of 2017, a form of the powerful and promising therapy known as CAR T-cell therapy has been used to treat certain young patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have relapsed or didn’t respond to standard regimens. Today, researchers … Read more
Medically reviewed by Natalie Collins, MD, PhD New treatments that spur the immune system against cancer have entered the clinic to combat some forms of pediatric blood cancers, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). One form of immunotherapy, CAR T cells, has been approved for children and young adults with ALL. In treating solid tumors … 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