This blog post originally appeared on Vector, Boston Children’s Hospital’s science and clinical innovation blog. By Tom Ulrich For some pediatric cancers, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia, older forms of therapy — and older ways of defining who receives which therapy — have served well over the last few decades. But that approach is no longer … Read more
Updated April 13, 2015 Venetoclax, a new type of cancer drug known as a Bcl-2 inhibitor, is showing great promise against a poor-prognosis form of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and could work in other cancers as well. Venetoclax, formerly known as ABT-199, attacks the protein molecule, Bcl-2, that allows cancer cells to survive despite signals … Read more
All breast cancers initially form inside the milk duct near the area where the duct meets the milk gland, or lobule — a structure called the terminal duct lobular unit. As long as the abnormal cells remain inside the milk duct they are known as carcinoma in situ. When they break out of the milk duct and … Read more
The FDA announced today it has approved a new pill to treat certain patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The oral medication, Tagrisso (osimertinib), has been approved for NSCLC patients whose tumors have a specific epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation (T790M) and whose disease has worsened after treatment with other EGFR-blocking therapy. … Read more
This blog post originally appeared on Cancer Research Catalyst, the official blog of the American Association for Cancer Research. By Karen Honey, PhD Last week, new ground was broken in the field of cancer immunotherapy when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first cancer treatment to combine two of these cutting-edge agents: … Read more
CA-125, the abbreviated name for cancer antigen 125, is a protein that’s often elevated in ovarian cancer as well as other types of cancers, such as those of the lung and breast. It’s also elevated when disease or inflammation arises in the pleura – the tissue that enfolds the lungs – or the inner lining … Read more
When Donna Gregory’s ovarian cancer came back for the third time, she began looking for alternatives to chemotherapy. She’d been diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer in 2003, at age 58. After having surgery to remove her tumors, she tried platinum-based chemotherapy, but her cancer did not respond. Several more chemotherapy drugs worked, but only … Read more
By Eric Bender Multiple myeloma is a poster child for recent advances in treatment: In the past decade, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved no fewer than nine treatments for the blood cancer, and several more drug approvals appear to be near. Not coincidentally, multiple myeloma is also a popular target that researchers … Read more
For many women with localized breast cancer, a lumpectomy followed by breast radiation therapy may be the most effective treatment, with survival rates equal to a mastectomy. But if the cancer comes back, can women have additional lumpectomies? Women should not have a second lumpectomy in the same breast if they were previously treated with … Read more
Eagerly awaited new data from trials of immunotherapy drugs, vaccines to treat brain tumors, and improved treatments for blood cancers sparked waves of optimism at the year’s biggest cancer meeting. The 2015 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) drew about 30,000 cancer specialists to Chicago May 29 – June 2. Immunotherapy, … Read more
Duncan Finigan isn’t fond of the phrase “stage IV.” “I choose to call it treatable, non-curable cancer, or a chronic disease,” the mom of four says. Following a physical exam by a new gynecologist last October, Finigan expedited her December mammogram, which ultimately led to an MRI, ultrasound, and a diagnosis of stage IV breast … Read more
To mark its 50th anniversary, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) invited physicians, patients, and the public to name the most important advances in clinical cancer research in the past half century. From more than 2,000 responses, the top choice was a cure for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma developed by scientists at the National Cancer … Read more
By Mae Reilly, MS, RD, LDN, senior clinical nutritionist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute “Does sugar feed cancer?” is one of the most frequently asked questions we receive as oncology dietitians. Researchers continue to investigate the relationship between sugar intake and cancer; meanwhile, there are steps you can take to avoid any potential harm that sugar … Read more
The growing excitement about the potential of immunotherapy treatments for cancer continued at the 2015 meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), one of the largest cancer research meetings of the year. Several Dana-Farber investigators presented encouraging results of immunotherapy for melanoma, lung cancer, and breast cancer. F. Stephen Hodi, MD, and Leena … Read more
After a breast cancer diagnosis, it can sometimes be hard to wrap one’s mind around all of the terminology used by doctors and nurses. In fact, a recent study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found a significant lack of knowledge among breast cancer patients about the basic characteristics of their disease, including how advanced it is … Read more
Researchers in Dana-Farber’s Center for Neuro-Oncology are now launching attacks on glioblastomas from a new angle – by turning the patient’s immune system against the cancer cells. Where targeted chemotherapy uses drugs to disable proteins that cancer cells need to grow, immunotherapy drugs stimulate the patient’s immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells. Traditional drugs … Read more
Gabriel Solis is a typical 3-year-old. He likes puzzles and swimming and singing. He shakes off colds like other children. Gabriel, however, is not like other children. He has a functioning immune system thanks to an international gene therapy trial for “bubble boy” disease whose early success was reported recently in the New England Journal … Read more
Cancer treatment is never fun, but Cheryl St. Onge figures if she has to go through it, she’s doing it with style — and smiles. Each time the breast cancer patient arrives at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center at Milford Regional Medical Center for her infusion visit, she wears a different themed outfit. One time … Read more
Though quite curable when diagnosed early, kidney cancer in advanced stages can become a stubborn disease. However, the outlook for patients with metastatic kidney cancer has brightened in the past several years. Oncologists have added to their arsenal a number of designer drugs that attack molecular targets – genetic abnormalities that drive tumors – with … Read more
By Maggie Loucks, NP-C When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28, during my last semester of graduate school, I remember thinking that this had to mean something. I needed to turn an unfortunate situation into something positive, so I decided to pursue oncology nursing where I felt I could make a difference.