This post originally appeared on WBUR’s CommonHealth blog. By Barrett Rollins, MD, PhD President Obama’s call for a new national effort against cancer – a “moon shot” – comes at a most opportune time. Cancer research has advanced significantly and now genomic analysis of individuals’ tumors can reveal the specific DNA changes that drive cancer … Read more
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
Twenty-year-old Amanda Lee has always wanted to be a nurse. But after a life-changing diagnosis in 2012, Lee suddenly had a more personal motivation to pursue her career goals. After seeing her primary care doctor for pain in her lower back, doctors determined Lee had a tumor that was causing internal bleeding. Lee, then 17, … Read more
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the United States, after skin cancer. Yet, “most men die with prostate cancer, not of prostate cancer,” says Mark Pomerantz, MD, a medical oncologist in Dana-Farber’s Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, who recently shared the latest in prostate cancer research and treatment during a live … Read more
Over the last decade, treatment options for lung cancer patients have evolved drastically. Even in just the last few months, promising research has led to new, approved therapies, and researchers anticipate more advances are on the way. “Drugs are emerging at a rapid pace now,” says Geoffrey Oxnard, MD, of Dana-Farber’s Lowe Center for Thoracic … Read more
This post is adapted from an article that originally appeared on the Huffington Post. Over the past decade, researchers have made great strides in targeted therapy and immunotherapy for lung cancer, offering hope to patients with the deadliest form of cancer in the United States. In addition to seeking innovative medical care, patients can also … Read more
Just over a month after approving a first-of-its-kind combination therapy for advanced melanoma, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has signed off on another drug combination to treat the disease. The FDA has approved a targeted therapy combination, Cotellic (cobimetinib) and vemurafenib, to treat advanced melanoma that has spread to other parts of the … Read more
The past two years have seen a surge of new treatments for blood cancers, such as lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma. Research on the genetic flaws underlying specific cancer types has led to new precision drugs such as ibrutinib and idelalisib and new immunotherapy agents that are improving outcomes in many patients with difficult-to-treat forms … Read more
An immune checkpoint inhibitor is a drug that unleashes an immune system attack on cancer cells. Often made of antibodies, checkpoint inhibitors act on the immune system, therefore such drugs are known as immunotherapies. How do checkpoint inhibitors work? Checkpoint inhibitors seek to overcome one of cancer’s main defenses against an immune system attack. Immune … Read more
At its most basic level, gene therapy is a powerful technique for correcting mistakes (called mutations) in DNA of human cells. Lately, the therapy has been gaining traction as a potentially life-saving treatment for children with an array of inherited rare blood and immune disorders, as well as certain cancers. Gene therapies are being carefully … Read more
Growing up in the San Francisco area, Cigall Kadoch, PhD, had a passion for puzzles. The daughter of a Moroccan-born, Israeli-raised father and a mother from Michigan who together developed an interior design business, Kadoch excelled in school and pretty much everything else. Above all, she loved to solve brain-teasers. In high school, however, Kadoch … Read more
Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma are the two main types of lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system produces and transports white blood cells to fight infection. While they have many characteristics in common, there are some significant differences between Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including the age groups they affect, how they … Read more
Penile cancer is a rare disease, affecting just 1 in 100,000 men in North American and Europe, in which malignant cells form in the tissues of the penis. While not common in the United States, it can account for up to 10 percent of male cancers in parts of Asia, South America, and Africa. Here are … Read more
As one of the most difficult cancers to treat, childhood brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under age 10. However, researchers are making more progress than ever before. “Over the last 10 years there has been a lot of excitement about new treatments for pediatric brain tumors,” says Peter Manley, … 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
Avery McAvoy’s last day in the hospital was a long-awaited milestone, but all the 2-year-old cared about was how it ended: with bubbles. After 12 months of treatment for neuroblastoma at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, much of which was spent on the inpatient oncology and hematology unit at Boston Children’s Hospital, Avery … Read more
Sun safety applies to everyone, regardless of skin color, gender, or age. That was the message emphasized in a recent live video webchat with Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) dermatologist Jennifer Lin, MD. During the chat, Lin answered questions about the latest in melanoma treatment and prevention. “The bottom line is that UV radiation … Read more
By Christine Hensel Triantos On a cold winter day in 2002, Sharon Goyette stepped into Dana-Farber’s Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention. She was a 21-year-old college student, and this was the last place she wanted to be. But her mother had insisted. After developing colon cancer, Goyette’s mother had been diagnosed with Lynch syndrome … Read more
Medically reviewed by Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, MD Although melanoma is more commonly found in adults, childhood and adolescent melanoma affects approximately 300 children in the U.S. each year. Thankfully, the incidence rate has started to decrease in recent years. While melanoma is the least common type of skin cancer in adults, skin cancer in children is almost … Read more
Brain cancer takes a variety of forms – and research to better understand and treat it is progressing on a variety of fronts. One area of focus is the tumor microenvironment the skein of tissues and blood vessels that feed and support a tumor. Researchers are exploring how newly formed brain tumors interact with surrounding … Read more