Research

Researcher Gains Insight into Rare Genetic Diseases 

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Rare genetic cancers may affect few people, but their complexity makes them powerful windows into how even the most common cancers develop and behave.  Delving into understanding how DNA is damaged and repaired in rare genetic conditions is how physician-scientist Alan D’Andrea, MD, built a foundation of knowledge about Fanconi anemia (FA) – a rare genetic disease of the bone marrow that significantly increases the risk of certain cancers.  In people with … Read more

5 Things to Know About Radioligand Therapy

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Radioligand therapy is an innovative medicine that specifically targets cancer cells. Instead of using chemicals to kill the cancer, it uses radioactivity, a sub-atomic physical phenomenon that can damage cells. Several radioligand therapies, which also may be called radiopharmaceutical therapy or theranostics, are approved for the treatment of a range of cancers, including prostate cancer … Read more

Aggressive Prostate Cancer: What’s the Latest in Treatment Advances? 

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New approaches to treatment are improving outcomes for patients with aggressive prostate cancer, which is prostate cancer that has spread or is at higher risk of spreading. In addition, new tests are helping guide treatment choices as more treatment options become available.  Therapies used to treat aggressive prostate cancer include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and newer … Read more

Researchers Uncover Key Actor in Spread of Breast Cancer to the Brain 

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When breast cancer metastasizes, it often heads for the brain, where it can be exceptionally difficult to root out. The key to preventing the spread of the cancer, or thwarting it if it does reach the brain, is to understand the mechanism that turns stationary tumor cells into nomadic intruders.  In a recent study, a … Read more

Access to Stem Cell Transplant Expands with Novel Methods 

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A white patient looking for a stem cell donor has about a 75% chance of finding a fully-matched unrelated donor in the U.S. NMDP Registry. A fully matched donor has the same human leukocyte antigen (HLA) type, a set of eight genetic variables that dictate how the immune system communicates.   Finding a fully matched donor … Read more

Living with Multiple Myeloma, Doctor Becomes Powerful Resource and Patient Advocate 

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Jim Omel, MD, helped many cancer patients during his long career as a family physician, and that has not changed since his own 1997 diagnosis with multiple myeloma. What has changed is the reach of his support.  While Omel, 77, cared for primarily farming families near his Nebraska clinic during 25-plus years in practice, his … Read more

Science Behind Targeted Drug for Pediatric Brain Cancer Has Dana-Farber Roots 

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Dana-Farber researcher Charles Stiles, PhD, remembers the call. It was 2008 and a colleague phoned from a conference to deliver the news. Two separate research teams had discovered a genetic driver for the most common of childhood brain tumors called pediatric low-grade glioma. The problem of finding a genetic target to improve treatment for this … Read more

Exercise Hormone Reduces Parkinson’s Disease-Associated Brain Degeneration and Symptoms in Animal Model

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An exercise-related hormone, irisin, administered to animals with a model of Parkinson’s disease reduced nerve degeneration and symptoms associated with the progressive movement disorder, say scientists from Dana-Farber and Johns Hopkins Medicine. About one million people in the United States, and 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s, which is characterized by tremors, slowed … Read more