Treatment - Cancer Currents Blog
Cancer treatment related news, with context from leading experts. Includes articles on new therapies, treatment side effects, and important trends in treatment-related research.
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Blinatumomab Extends Survival for Patients with Advanced ALLPatients with previously treated acute lymphoblastic leukemia who received blinatumomab, which encourages the immune system to kill cancer cells, lived longer and experienced fewer side effects than patients given standard chemotherapy.
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Stem-Cell Based Tool May Help Measure Heart Toxicity of Cancer DrugsResearchers have used adult stem cells to create a tool for ranking how toxic a group of cancer drugs, called tyrosine kinase inhibitors, are to human heart cells. Such a test could potentially identify toxic side effects earlier in the drug development process.
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Putting the Cancer Patient Front and Center: An Interview with NCI’s Dr. Paul JacobsenNCI’s Dr. Paul Jacobsen discusses NCI’s Healthcare Delivery Research Program and its role in advancing innovative research to improve the delivery of cancer care.
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Study Shows Platelets Can Deliver Immunotherapy, Reduce Tumor RegrowthIn experiments in mice, researchers show platelets linked to an immunotherapy drug can help eliminate residual cancer cells that remain after surgery. The engineered platelets may also prevent leftover cancer cells from spreading.
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Potential New Cancer Therapy Could Target Tumors Two WaysA team of researchers has developed a potential new therapy that may work in two distinct ways to attack tumors, by directly killing cancer cells and immune cells that can suppress the anti-cancer immune response.
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Combination Therapy Improves Survival for Some Men with Recurrent Prostate CancerLong-term results from an NCI-sponsored clinical trial suggest that adding androgen deprivation therapy to radiation therapy can improve survival for some men with recurrent prostate cancer.
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Three-Drug Combination Extends Survival for Patients with Multiple MyelomaA phase III clinical trial demonstrates that adding the drug bortezomib to a commonly used two-drug regimen extends survival in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.
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New Therapy Benefits Patients with Neuroendocrine TumorsResults from a clinical trial suggest that 177 Lu-Dotatate may soon be a new treatment option for some patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors.
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New Targeted Therapies Show Promise for Treating Advanced GISTTwo new targeted therapies have shown promise in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) that have developed resistance to standard therapies.
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Prescription Subsidies Reduce Breast Cancer Treatment DisparitiesA new study has found that subsidies for prescription drugs can improve the use of adjuvant therapy in women with early-stage breast cancer and help reduce disparities in the use of these proven treatments among black and Hispanic women.
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Device Uses Cancer Cells' Mass to Predict Response to TreatmentScientists have designed a device that measures the mass of single cancer cells to predict how cells respond to drug treatment. The technology could potentially help clinicians determine whether a drug effectively kills cancer cells.
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Scientists Identify Potential Marker of Resistance to PARP InhibitorsFindings from a new study from NCI researchers could help predict whether a tumor will respond to a new class of promising cancer drugs, and identifies a potential way to overcome that resistance.
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‘Unexpected’ Vulnerability Creates Treatment Opportunity in Aggressive Type of Lung CancerA new study has identified a potentially critical vulnerability in lung cancers that have mutations in the KRAS gene, and showed that a drug already under study may be able to exploit it.
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Modified Immunotherapy Approach Shows Promise for LeukemiaResearchers have developed an immunotherapy approach that uses immune cells whose natural cancer killing abilities have been enhanced in the lab. In a small clinical trial, the treatment led to remissions in about half of patients with acute myeloid leukemia.
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Avelumab Induces Sustained Tumor Responses in Some Patients with Rare Skin CancerIn a phase II clinical trial, some patients with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma whose cancer has progressed despite treatment with chemotherapy had durable tumor responses to the immunotherapy drug avelumab.
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Approach May Allow for Stem Cell Transplant without Radiation, ChemotherapyIn a recent study, researchers showed that a new approach may provide a safer way to perform stem cell transplants for treating cancer and other diseases.
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Tumor DNA in Blood May Signal Response to T-Cell Transfer ImmunotherapyA study suggests that doctors could use circulating tumor DNA to quickly identify patients who are responding to T-cell transfer immunotherapy.
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Nanoparticle that Mimics Salmonella Counteracts Chemotherapy ResistanceA nanoparticle that mimics Salmonella may help to counteract chemotherapy resistance, according to a new study.
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Mutations Linked to Immunotherapy ResistanceResearchers identified mutations in relapsed melanoma tumors that block the anticancer effects of the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab.
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Nanoparticle Delivers Cancer Drugs to Tumor Blood VesselsIn cancer mouse models, nanoparticles that bind to a protein called P-selectin on tumor blood vessels shrank tumors and extended survival.