How Clinical Trials Move Cancer Treatment Forward
Dana-Farber’s Geoffrey Shapiro, MD, PhD, answers common questions about clinical trials and how they help improve cancer treatment.
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Tumor vs Cancer: What You Need to Know
A common question, answered.
Using A Bold Strategy to Enhance CAR T-Cell Therapies
Boston-based researchers hope to optimize CAR T-cell therapies to target DIPG, aggressive and difficult-to-treat brain tumors, and other tough-to-treat cancers.
Infections and Cancer: What You Should Know
Common infections, such as those that cause the common cold, do not cause cancer or make cancer more likely to occur. However, infections with specific types of viruses, bacteria, or parasites can increase an individual’s risk for certain kinds of cancer.
CDK4/6 Inhibitors: How Do They Stop Breast Cancer Growth?
So far, CDK4/6 inhibitors have been shown to be most effective in treating advanced estrogen-receptor positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.
Epigenetics: How It Works And What It Means for Cancer Research
As scientists map ever more of the epigenetic disruptions that occur in cancer, the implications for cancer therapy are becoming increasingly evident.
Why Are Children More Likely to Get Blood Cancers Than Solid Tumors?
Cancer is largely a disease that affects older people. The median age of a cancer diagnosis is 66 years, and one-fourth of new cancer cases are diagnosed in people aged 65 to 74. Adults are most likely to develop solid tumors such as breast, lung, colorectal, prostate, and bladder cancers. In children and adolescents 20 years … Read more
What is CRISPR and How Can It Help Cancer Research?
CRISPR, a powerful new tool for editing the DNA instruction manual in animals and humans, is proving a boon to cancer research. Scientists say CRISPR has dramatically accelerated the process of making animal models of cancer and is speeding the search for new molecular targets for cancer drugs. The technique is also being used in … Read more
CAR T-Cell Therapy Gives Cancer Patients New Hope
Judy Wilkins tried four different chemotherapy regiments over 18 grueling months to try to put her lymphoma into remission. Her team never could. But thanks to CAR T-cell therapy, an emerging immunotherapy treatment that is showing great promise in clinical trials nationwide, Wilkins is cancer-free. CAR (Chimeric Antigen Receptor) T-cell therapy is a form of cellular … Read more
What’s New in Treatment of Adult Histiocytic Disorders?
While blood cancers known as adult histiocytic disorders are very rare and many patients do well with today’s treatments, researchers are working to improve outcomes with therapies targeted to newly discovered mutations – and they are about to begin testing immunotherapies, too. Histiocytic disorders involved overproduction of immune white cells, histiocytes, that attack tissues in … Read more
Catch Me if You Can: Finding Cancer Cells that Hide in Plain Sight
In the high-stakes contest of hide-and-seek between cancer cells and the human immune system, the advantage doesn’t always lie with the body’s defenders. A new approach to treatment, known as CAR T-cell therapy, may shift that balance of power. Cancer cells conceal themselves from the immune system not by barricading themselves in an impenetrable shell, … Read more
How Does Radiation Raise the Risk of Other Cancers?
Along with chemotherapy, radiation therapy is a common method for treating cancer; about half of patients receive the therapy, which uses high-energy radiation to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells, during the course of their treatment. While radiation therapy is effective against cancer cells, it also leaves its mark on any normal cells it comes … Read more
Meeting Two Challenges: Tips for Dealing with a Cancer-Related Amputation
Felipe Estrela thought things couldn’t get tougher when he was diagnosed with a rare soft tissue cancer called biphasic synovial sarcoma in 2014. Then, shortly after having a tumor the size of a small football removed from his right leg, the 29-year-old faced a new challenge: an above-the-knee amputation. A husband and father of three … Read more
Experts Forecast Cancer Research and Treatment Advances in 2017
This post originally appeared on Cancer Research Catalyst, the official blog of the American Association for Cancer Research. It was originally published Jan. 10, 2017. By Srivani Ravoori, PhD As we step into 2017, a big question looming in the minds of all stakeholders in the cancer research arena is: What is the future of … Read more
For Cancer Survivors, a New Look at New Year’s Resolutions
Olivia Bowie says she’s never been one to make New Year’s resolutions. Since she couldn’t keep commitments like eating healthier or working out more, she didn’t bother making them, the college student jokes. Then, in 2015, doctors discovered she had rhabdomyosarcoma. “Being diagnosed with cancer, and going through treatment, has changed my whole outlook,” says Bowie, … Read more
Oncology and Palliative Care Team Up to Benefit Patients
A cancer care team often involves quite a few players: oncologists, nurses, radiation oncologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and others. While these experts often improve patient outcomes, such a large multidisciplinary team can sometimes make communication and coordination difficult. Dana-Farber’s Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care department is working to change that. Palliative care clinicians are now … Read more
What Are AIDS-Related Cancers?
Medically reviewed by Charles Thomas, MS, MBA People infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or AIDS are more susceptible to certain types of cancer than people who are not infected. In fact, some types of cancers are so common in people with HIV that they are referred to as AIDS-related or AIDS-defining cancers – including … Read more
Is Cancer Contagious?
While some may wonder, cancer is not contagious; a healthy person cannot catch cancer from a person who has the disease, nor can it be spread by close contact with a cancer patient. Cancer cells are far different from infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses. A cancer cell is essentially a normal cell whose … Read more
What Is Combination Therapy?
Combination therapy, the use of more than one type of therapy in treating a patient, is a hallmark of cancer treatment. The complexity of the disease – its tendency to spread beyond its original site and become resistant to certain drugs, and its genetic diversity – underscores the need for a variety of approaches to … Read more
What Is Neoadjuvant Therapy?
Neoadjuvant therapy is given to shrink a tumor in advance of the main treatment, which is usually surgery. It is sometimes called preoperative or induction therapy. The most common forms of neoadjuvant therapy are chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy. By shrinking tumors prior to removal, these treatments can make surgery easier for both the … Read more