Research Advances
Advanced pancreatic tumors depend on continued oncogene activity (April 30, 2012)
Dana-Farber researchers report that advanced pancreatic cancers are dependent on the continued expression of a mutant oncogene that "rewires" key metabolic pathways, which suggests that these altered pathways might be potential targets for future drugs.
Adding drug to standard chemotherapy provides no survival benefit for older lung cancer patients (April 17, 2012)
Adding Avastin to standard chemotherapy treatment may not improve survival rates for people with non-small cell lung cancer aged 65 plus, according to Dana-Farber researchers, who further suggest that clinicians exercise caution in including the drug in treatment recommendations.
First targeted nanomedicine to enter cancer clinical studies (April 06, 2012)
A multi-institutional team of researchers has published a study that demonstrates a novel therapy works against solid tumors. It is the first targeted and programmed nanomedicine to enter human clinical studies.
Writing the book of cancer knowledge (March 30, 2012)
Dana-Farber scientists and colleagues have published results from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia, a resource that marries cancer genome data with predictors of drug responses. This information could refine cancer clinical trials and future treatments.
'Co-clinical trials' help focus lung cancer research (March 28, 2012)
By conducting simultaneous clinical trials in patients and labs, Dana-Farber researchers and colleagues have been able to predict how patients with non-small cell lung cancer respond to combination therapy.
DNA marker predicts platinum drug response in breast, ovarian cancer (March 23, 2012)
Scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and their colleagues have found a genetic marker that predicts which aggressive "triple negative" breast cancers and certain ovarian cancers will likely respond to platinum-based chemotherapies.
Researchers identify new subtype of ovarian cancer may be vulnerable to anti-angiogenic drugs (February 15, 2012)
The discovery of a subtype of ovarian cancer that could account for up to one-third of all serous ovarian cancers may lead to clinical trials using anti-angiogenic drugs that are already being tested in other cancers.
Newly identified fusion genes in lung and colorectal cancer may guide treatment with 'targeted' drugs (February 13, 2012)
Newly discovered gene mutations in certain non-small cell and colorectal cancers share similarities with other genetic abnormalities that are known to respond to targeted cancer treatments. This suggests that existing therapies, already approved, could be used to treat patients with these tumors.
Three 'targeted' cancer drugs raise risk of fatal side effects (February 6, 2012)
Treatment with three "targeted" cancer drugs has been linked to a slightly elevated chance of fatal side effects, according to a new analysis led by scientists at Dana-Farber. These risks remain low, but they should be factored in when developing patients’ treatment plans.
'Pulverized' chromosomes linked to cancer? (January 19, 2012)
In a paper published online yesterday by the journal Nature, Dana-Farber researchers map out a mechanism by which micronuclei could potentially disrupt the chromosomes within them and produce cancer-causing gene mutations. The findings may point to a vulnerability in cancer cells that could be attacked by new therapies.
Researchers isolate messenger protein linking exercise to health benefits (January 11, 2012)
Researchers have isolated a natural hormone from muscle cells that triggers some of the key health benefits of exercise. Irisin, which switches on genes that convert white fat into "good" brown fat, may hold promise as a novel treatment for diabetes, obesity and perhaps other disorders, including cancer.
Targeting EETs to treat cardiovascular disease may prove a double-edged sword (December 19, 2011)
A study documents the connection between increased levels of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EET) lipids and cancer growth and metastasis opening the door to a new avenue for cancer treatment.
Experimental drug combination 'encouraging' in relapsed multiple myeloma (December 12, 2011)
A phase 2 clinical trial has shown that pairing bortezomib with an experimental drug, panobinostat, may be a promising treatment for patients with advanced multiple myeloma when the targeted drug bortezomib stops working alone.
Researchers identify genetic mutation responsible for most cases of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (December 12, 2011)
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a gene mutation that underlies the vast majority of cases of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, a rare form of lymphoma that has eluded all previous efforts to find a genetic cause.
Massive DNA search uncovers new mutations driving blood cancer (December 12, 2011)
Researchers have found several new altered genes that drive chronic lymphocitic leukemia through powerful DNA sequencing, a finding that could potentially help doctors predict whether a patient’s disease will progress rapidly or remain indolent for years.
Peptide 'cocktail' elicits immune response to multiple myeloma (December 12, 2011)
Scientists have created a "cocktail" combination of four antigenic peptides derived from myeloma cells they believe could provoke the body's defenses to attack multiple myeloma in its early "smoldering" phase and slow or prevent the blood cancer.
Therapy improves stem cell engraftment in umbilical cord blood transplant recipients (December 12, 2011)
A therapy involving a natural compound may improve the ability of stem cells from umbilical cord blood to engraft in patients receiving a stem cell transplant for cancer or other diseases.
Researchers identify a novel therapeutic approach for liver cancer (December 9, 2011)
Researchers have identified a mechanism that triggers inflammation in the liver and transforms normal cells into cancerous ones, a finding that could lead to the treatment or prevention of liver cancer.
New study reassures on heart risks of prostate cancer treatment (December 6, 2011)
Hormone-blocking therapy for prostate cancer doesn't raise the risk of fatal heart attacks - as some recent studies had suggested - according to a new report from Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center.
New approach to graft-versus-host disease treatment results in sustained improvement for some patients (November 30, 2011)
In a study that seems to pivot on a paradox, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have used an immune system stimulant as an immune system suppressor to treat a common, often debilitating side effect of donor stem cell transplantation in cancer patients.
Study identifies possible therapy for radiation sickness (November 23, 2011)
A combination of two drugs may alleviate radiation sickness in people who have been exposed to high levels of radiation, even when the therapy is given a day after the exposure occurred, according to a study led by scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston.
Profile: Accelerating the development of personalized cancer care (October 24, 2011)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have launched Profile, one of the most comprehensive cancer research studies to help accelerate the development of personalized treatments for every person with cancer.
Combination antibody therapy shows promise (June 6, 2011)
A duo of drugs can be safely administered and are potentially more effective than either drug alone for advanced, inoperable melanomas, according to a phase I clinical trial led by Dana-Farber investigators.
Scientists identify overactive genes in aggressive breast cancers (June 2, 2011)
Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD, and colleagues identified a network of growth-spurring genes that drive stem-like breast cancer cells enriched in triple-negative breast tumors.
Biomarker activation appears associated with improved survival (April 27, 2011)
A protein biomarker may predict better chances of survival for obese patients with colorectal cancer, but it provided no prognostic value for non-obese patients, Dana-Farber researchers report.
Technique extends cancer-fighting cells’ potency in melanoma patients (April 27, 2011)
Dana-Farber scientists have developed a technique that can cause white blood cells trained to attack tumors to survive in patients’ bloodstreams for well over a year, and, in some cases, without the need of other, highly toxic treatments.
Study identifies a promising target for AIDS vaccine (April 1, 2011)
A section of the AIDS virus's protein envelope known as the V3 loop and once considered an improbable target for a vaccine now appears to be one of the most promising, according to research authored by Dana-Farber's Ruth Ruprecht, MD, PhD.
Scientists find 'core pathway' causing declining health in old age (February 9, 2011)
Dana-Farber researchers have found that the basic cause of age-related health decline is malfunctioning telomeres — the end-caps on cells' chromosomes that protect them against DNA damage.
Researchers offer sweeping view of prostate cancer genome (February 9, 2011)
Researchers from the Broad Institute, Dana-Farber and Weill Cornell Medical College have laid bare the full genetic blueprint of multiple prostate tumors, uncovering alterations that have never before been detected and offering a deep view of the genetic missteps that underlie the disease.
Molecular predictor of metastatic prostate cancer identified (February 2, 2011)
Prostate tumors that carry a "signature" of four molecular markers have the potential to become dangerously metastatic if not treated aggressively, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers report in an online study published by the journal Nature.
Study identifies potential mechanism of drug resistance of CLL (December 6, 2010)
Dana-Farber investigators found that when CLL cells from patients were grown with non-cancerous support cells from the bone marrow and lymph nodes, the CLL cells were more resistant to apoptosis — and hence harder to kill with treatment — than were CLL cells from the bloodstream.
Trio of drugs makes major mark against multiple myeloma (May 18, 2010)
Initial results of a novel three-drug combination therapy in patients with multiple myeloma have been so encouraging that Dana-Farber researchers believe the treatment may delay the need for a stem cell transplant in some cases.
OncoMap guides search for patterns in tumors (January 26, 2010)
Conceiving a new use for existing technology can have as big an impact as inventing a novel technology itself. Witness the OncoMap program in Dana-Farber's Center for Cancer Genome Discovery, which helps scientists tap information in tumor samples to advance understanding of adult and childhood cancers.
Radiation research has dual role (September 28, 2009)
Researchers have not only helped develop the first-ever test for radiation exposure, but also found leads toward drugs that could reduce the harmful effects of radiation.
Found: Protein that stops spread of cancer (September 28, 2009)
Dana-Farber researcher Jean Zhao, PhD, and a team of fellow Dana-Farber scientists have added a new piece to the puzzle of explaining how a series of molecular changes enables free-floating cancer cells to survive and spread.
Researchers uncover clues to origins of ovarian cancer (July 22, 2009)
Some cancers seem to burst onto the scene in an advanced, malignant state, having already overrun a wide swath of tissue in the body. One of the most common of these tumors is known as serous ovarian cancer. Dana-Farber scientists are trying to search for their source.
Drug treatment supercharges production of cord blood stem cells (May 20, 2009)
A novel drug treatment that supercharges the production of cord blood stem cells could improve outcomes of cord blood stem cell transplants.
MicroRNA assume new role in DNA repair (May 14, 2009)
Among their many talents as message couriers and gene regulators, microRNA molecules also help control the repair of damaged DNA within cells, Dana-Farber and Harvard Medical School scientists have found.
New hope for patients with rare brain tumors (March 11, 2009)
A few young children may be cured and others given a better shot at long term survival thanks to a new therapy regimen administered to young patients with an aggressive type of brain tumor, say Dana-Farber researchers.
Tiny particles offer big promise for lung cancer treatment (February 26, 2009)
Yolonda Colson, MD, PhD, a cardiothoracic surgeon in the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, is testing a small solution to the problem of lung cancer recurrence following surgery.
Protein biomarkers may guide breast cancer treatment (February 2, 2009)
Dana-Farber researchers have identified a set of proteins that may aid in the treatment of a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer designated "triple-negative."
International consortium to catalog cancer's secrets (July 23, 2008)
Leading research institutions in nine countries, including Dana-Farber, have joined forces to uncover the genetic changes that make cancer cells dangerous and elusive.