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
The same way you can predict whether a family is away, getting ready for work, or cooking dinner by observing which lights are on in the house, scientists can gaze into a cell and predict its state based on which genes are on or off. Normal liver cells, for instance, have a predictable and recognizable … Read more
A growing body of research points to a connection between alcohol consumption and elevated cancer risk. Studies from the American Institute for Cancer Research have found that having even less than one drink a day, of any kind of alcohol, increases the risk of several types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, stomach, mouth, … Read more
The trip from Nantucket to Boston, involving a long drive and ferry ride, is an arduous four-hour journey (not counting summer traffic). But when Nantucket resident and retired educator, Claudia Kilvert, was diagnosed with breast cancer, she committed to regularly getting in the car with her husband and 80-pound golden retriever Luna to get treatment … Read more
Black men, particularly men of West African descent, are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than Caucasian men, and three times more likely than Asian men. They are also twice as likely as Caucasian men to die from the disease. These disparities are among the largest in cancer. What is driving … Read more
For years, patients with advanced forms of gastric and esophageal cancer have had relatively few treatment options. Most patients with inoperable tumors would receive chemotherapy, usually a combination of fluorouracil, oxaliplatin and leucovorin (known as FOLFOX). While this regimen is often effective, patients eventually develop resistance to the treatment and their tumors progress. Now, the … 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
In general, standard of care is treatment accepted by medical experts for a certain type of disease and that is widely used by healthcare professionals. It is also called best practice, standard medical care, and standard therapy. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology lay out the recognized standards for cancer … Read more
Just over a year after giving birth to her son, Emmett, Abigail Myers faced a devastating diagnosis of breast cancer in March 2014. It started when Myers woke up one morning feeling sore. When she found a lump, she rushed to her doctor, all the while in disbelief that she might have cancer. A resident … Read more
Millions of people regularly take or use contraceptives, such as birth control pills, to avoid unwanted pregnancy or relieve menstruation-related side effects such as cramps or heavy bleeding. There is some evidence that contraceptives may affect cancer risk — specifically, that oral contraceptives may increase the likelihood of developing breast and cervical cancers but reduce … Read more
At first, Joy Mills and Arthur “Buck” Benedict look like any other happy, older couple traveling by ferry from their home on Peaks Island, Maine, to Portland. Admiring the beautiful views, they sit outside when weather permits. They laugh, chat with friends, and occasionally needle each other during the 18-minute trip. Once a month, the … Read more
When Jennifer Fullerton was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 29, her mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario. “I thought I was going to die. That first day all I could think was ‘why me,’” Fullerton says. “My mom very poignantly told me, ‘Today you can say ‘why me,’ but tomorrow, ‘why not me’. And you … 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
A recent study found that women who frequently use chemical hair straighteners and relaxers could have a higher risk of developing uterine cancer than those who have not used the products. The study, which tracked 34,000 women nationwide for more than a decade, comes at a time when uterine cancer rates in women are increasing, … Read more
Nancy Arsenault was taking a lunch break from driving her elementary school bus route in her hometown of Stow, Massachusetts, when she began to experience double vision. She had been first diagnosed with pre-invasive breast cancer in 2006, which recurred in 2011. In 2019, she developed an invasive breast cancer in her chest wall and … Read more
Plant-based diets have many known health benefits, but can they reduce the risk of breast cancer? In fact, some evidence suggests that people who eat rich in non-starchy vegetables may be at lower risk of some kinds of breast cancer. However, Dana-Farber physician and researcher Jennifer Ligibel, MD, cautions that the evidence that consuming a … Read more
Logic said that drugs known as PARP inhibitors would work as well — and perhaps even better — in breast cancer marked by BRCA gene mutations than in ovarian cancer carrying the same abnormalities. Clinical results said otherwise. Patients with relapsed, BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer survive longer, overall, with PARP inhibitor treatment than any other therapy. … Read more
Over the years, a variety of studies have suggested that aspirin use is associated with reduced ovarian cancer rates, but a recent study filled in some important details, showing that frequent aspirin use is linked to a lower risk of the disease in people with multiple risk factors. The study, led by researchers at the … Read more
Lianne Kraemer describes two breast cancer diagnoses before age 40 — including metastatic breast cancer (MBC) that had spread to her brain — as “slamming into one brick wall, getting back on life’s highway, and then slamming into another.” Now, as she continues navigating her way with the disease, Kraemer is helping those traveling a … Read more
As a marathon runner, Kara Niewohner knows a thing or two about perseverance. This same trait that propels her through the 26.2 miles of each marathon course served her well through her quest for a second opinion after being diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer with a BRCA2 mutation — one that led her to Dana-Farber. … Read more