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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Checking In on Cancer Checkpoint InhibitorsNCI’s Dr. James Gulley discusses cancer checkpoint inhibitors, their impact on patient care, and future directions for these therapies.
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New Drug for Pediatric Neuroblastoma Shows Promise in Preclinical StudiesAn international research team has identified a possible new treatment target for pediatric neuroblastoma and is planning an early-stage clinical trial of a drug that inhibits this target.
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Patient with Brain Tumor Responds Dramatically to Targeted TherapyA patient with a papillary craniopharyngioma saw his tumor shrink more than 80 percent after treatment with a targeted drug that inhibits a mutant form of the BRAF protein.
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Lung Cancer Precision Medicine Trials: Adapting to ProgressPatients with lung cancer are benefiting from the boom in targeted and immune-based therapies. With a series of precision medicine trials, NCI is keeping pace with the rapidly changing treatment landscape for lung cancer.
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In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Targeting an AddictionA new approach to disrupting genes that promote the development and spread of tumors may hold promise for treating an aggressive and difficult-to-treat type of breast cancer.
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Persistence of Genetic Mutations after Chemotherapy Linked to Poor Outcomes in Some Patients with AMLThe persistence of genetic mutations in some patients with acute myeloid leukemia may allow physicians to better classify their risk of recurrence.
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"Fine Tuning" Engineered T Cells May Extend Immunotherapy Approach to More Cancer TypesEngineering immune cells to have a decreased affinity for their targets on cancer cells may not weaken their efficacy but may reduce the risk of side effects.
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Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer Improves Survival, But Is UnderusedUse of intraperitoneal chemotherapy, along with intravenous chemotherapy, improves survival in some women with advanced ovarian cancer, but its use in clinical practice has been limited, according to a new study.
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Gene Therapy Approach for Ovarian Cancer Shows Encouraging Signs in Animal ModelA single injection of a gene therapy viral vector inhibited tumor growth of some mouse tumors derived from patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.
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Oncolytic Virus Therapy Shows Benefit in Patients with MelanomaIn a large clinical trial, the oncolytic virus therapy T-VEC improved the durable response rate and median survival in patients with advanced melanoma.
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In Mice, New Drug Conjugate Suggests Promise for Hard-to-Treat Pediatric CancersFindings from a study in mice suggests that a new type of drug conjugate may have potential as a treatment for two cancers that are often diagnosed in children.
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Better Care for Children with Cancer Linked to Longer LifespansNew data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study suggest that refinements in pediatric cancer treatment over the last few decades have helped to extend the lifespans of many survivors of childhood cancer.
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Adjuvant Chemotherapy Modestly Improves Survival in Some Men with Prostate CancerGiving some men with prostate cancer chemotherapy after standard treatment with radiation and hormone therapy modestly improves how long they live, according to results from a new NCI-funded clinical trial.
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The Playing Field for Cancer Checkpoint Inhibitors Is ExpandingThe list of cancers that may be susceptible to checkpoint inhibitors is quickly expanding, according to findings from clinical trials presented at the ASCO annual meeting.
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Whole Brain Radiation for Some Patients with Brain Metastases Worsens Cognitive DeclineIn some patients with cancer that has spread to the brain, whole brain radiation following radiosurgery causes more severe cognitive decline and does not improve survival compared with radiosurgery alone, a new study has found.
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Collateral Damage: Missing Tumor Suppressor Gene Creates Opening for Cancer TreatmentTumor cells that are missing one copy of the tumor suppressor gene TP53 often harbor another genetic alteration that may make them susceptible to a targeted attack, according to a new study.
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Trial Yields Positive Data on Pembrolizumab for Lung Cancer, Potential Response BiomarkerFindings from an early phase clinical trial may point to a biomarker that identifies patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer most likely to respond to the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda®).
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Immune-Based Treatment Shows Promise against Metastatic Cervical CancerIn an early phase NCI clinical trial, two patients with metastatic cervical cancer had a complete disappearance of their tumors after receiving treatment with a form of immunotherapy called adoptive cell transfer.
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Who Will Respond to PD-1 Inhibition? Study Provides CluesA new study shows that specific DNA changes in a tumor may help determine which patients are most likely to respond to treatment with PD-1 inhibitors
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Treatment Helps Preserve Fertility for Some Women with Breast CancerIn a large clinical trial, giving a hormone-suppressing drug helped some younger women with breast cancer get pregnant after completing cancer treatment.