A patient-specific tumor organoid model is being used to identify the most effective chemotherapy protocol to treat appendix and colon tumors, a personalized medicine approach that is showing promise. The organoids were created by researchers at the Wake Forest Organoid Research Center (WFORCE), a joint effort by the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) and the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center.
News
Aug 07, 2020
ASH has published new guidelines to help older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their health care providers make critical care decisions, including if and how to proceed with cancer treatment and the need for blood transfusions for those in hospice care. Each year, nearly 20,000 people receive a diagnosis of AML. The disease generally develops in older people; the median age of diagnosis is 68. As the "baby boomer" generation ages and the average demographic age in the United States increases, evidence-based recommendations for the optimal treatment of older adults with AML take on greater urgency and importance.
Aug 07, 2020
Genetic modifier HDAC6 was found to control tumor growth and halt metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer in vivo, according to a new study published in the top-tier journal Cancer Research by investigators at the George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center. Immunotherapy - the use of drugs to stimulate one's own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells - has been wildly successful in melanoma and other cancers. However, it has been less effective in breast cancer.
Journal Abstracts
Aug 07, 2020
Jason A. Beyea et.al. conducted a study to examine the long-term incidence and predictors of hearing loss requiring hearing amplification devices using population-based health care data. The researchers concluded that childhood cancer survivors are at elevated risk for requiring hearing amplification devices, which continues to increase between 20 and 30 years after diagnosis.
Aug 07, 2020
Wanda L. Salzer et.al. conducted a study to high-risk stratum of Children’s Oncology Group Study AALL1131 was designed to test the hypothesis that postinduction CNS prophylaxis with intrathecal triple therapy including methotrexate, hydrocortisone, and cytarabine would improve the postinduction 5-year disease-free survival compared with intrathecal methotrexate, when given on a modified augmented Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster backbone. The researchers concluded that postinduction CNS prophylaxis with ITT did not improve 5-year disease-free survivalfor children with HR B-ALL.
Aug 07, 2020
Frank Bridoux et.al. conducted a multicenter controlled trial comparing renal recovery and tolerance profile of doublet versus triplet bortezomib-based regimens in patients with initial myeloma cast nephropathy and acute kidney injury without need for dialysis. The researchers concluded that adding cyclophosphamide did not sufficiently improve the efficacy-toxicity balance.
Recent Articles
Aug 07, 2020
Frank Bridoux et.al. conducted a multicenter controlled trial comparing renal recovery and tolerance profile of doublet versus triplet bortezomib-based regimens in patients with initial myeloma cast nephropathy and acute kidney injury without need for dialysis. The researchers concluded that adding cyclophosphamide did not sufficiently improve the efficacy-toxicity balance.
Aug 07, 2020
Jennifer Pursley et.al. conducted a study to develop robust normal-tissue complication probability models for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with radiation therapy using Child-Pugh score and albumin-bilirubin grade increase as endpoints for hepatic toxicity. The researchers concluded that there is a stronger influence of low-dose bath on hepatic toxicity than those found in previous studies, indicating that radiation therapy techniques that minimize the low-dose bath may be beneficial for patients.
Aug 07, 2020
A patient-specific tumor organoid model is being used to identify the most effective chemotherapy protocol to treat appendix and colon tumors, a personalized medicine approach that is showing promise. The organoids were created by researchers at the Wake Forest Organoid Research Center (WFORCE), a joint effort by the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) and the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Clinical Research
Jun 01, 2020
The purpose of this study is to find the most effective dose of radiation therapy to give to breast tumors in a shorter period of time, prior to standard partial mastectomy/axillary surgery.
Jun 01, 2020
This research study is being done to understand how patients with chronic cancer pain take their long-acting opioid medications and to develop an intervention to enhance cancer pain management.
Feb 27, 2020
Christopher G. Brennan-Jones et.al. identified specific strategies which have shown effectiveness in reducing workplace noise. These include implementation of stricter legislation and also stress upon the need for training in the proper use of earplugs and earmuffs so as to reduce noise exposure to safe levels.
Publications
Jun 26, 2020
In patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), a once-daily oral regimen of ibrutinib and venetoclax was associated with deep molecular remissions in both bone marrow and peripheral blood, including in patients with high-risk disease, according to investigators in phase 2 CAPTIVATE MRD trial.
Jun 04, 2020
Georgios Tsakonas et.al. conducted a study to understand the alterations in gene expression in brain metastasis versus primary tumour as it may increase aggressiveness and impair therapeutic efforts. The researchers concluded identified a unique gene downregulation pattern in brain metastases compared with primary tumours. This finding may explain the lower intracranial efficacy of systemic therapy, especially immunotherapy, in brain metastasis of patients with non–small-cell lung cancer.
Jun 01, 2020
Advance in Cancer Prevention addresses all types of cancer, how cancer forms in the body, and their prevention. It focuses on Cancer Vaccines, Chemotherapy, Radioactive Iodine Therapy, Breast Reconstruction Surgery, Mammography, Chemoprevention, aromatase inhibitors, Scintimammography, Oncoplastic surgery, Sumoylation, Dietary Supplements, Cancer Screening, Cancer and Nutrition, Exercise and Cancer, Alternative Cancer Medicines, Stem cell transplants for cancer prevention, Naturopathic Treatments, Clinical Naturopathy, Cancer Prevention from nuts.
Videos
Jul 17, 2020
As many as half of patients diagnosed with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer will see their cancer spread to their brain. Though brain metastases, or "Brain Mets," are rare, they are exceedingly difficult to treat, so these patients experience poor outcomes. At this year’s ASCO meeting, Dr. Nancy Lin of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute presented promising results from the HER2CLIMB trial for these patients. In this video BCRF talks with Dr. Lin about her research focus, Brain Mets, and HER2CLIMB’s findings.
Jul 10, 2020
Watch Dr. Jamie Studts discuss the quality implementation of lung cancer screening and share his thoughts on optimizing community-based implementation.
Jul 03, 2020
This is a recording of the American Lung Association’s Lung Cancer Precision Medicine Summit which took place on June 18, 2020. Oncologists Dr. Erin Schenk and Dr. Ibiayi Dagogo-Jack discuss which precision medicine treatment is available for lung cancer patients and promising new research. Carly Ornstein, National Director of Lung Cancer Education, gives a high-level overview of precision medicine and discusses new resources.
Jul 03, 2020
This is a recording of the American Lung Association’s Lung Cancer Precision Medicine Summit which took place on June 18, 2020. Oncologists Dr. Erin Schenk and Dr. Ibiayi Dagogo-Jack discuss which precision medicine treatment is available for lung cancer patients and promising new research. Carly Ornstein, National Director of Lung Cancer Education, gives a high-level overview of precision medicine and discusses new resources.
Case Studies
Jun 24, 2020
Polycythemia vera is one of the myeloproliferative neoplasms that is distinguished by the uncontrolled production of blood cells and an increased red cell mass due to acquired JAK2 mutation. It has many complications and it might increase the risk of other tumors. However, it does not cause hypercalcemia and is rarely associated with parathyroid adenoma. Ahmed M. Abdalhadi and Mohamed A. Yassin report on a 64-year-old female with polycythemia vera found to have hypercalcemia due to parathyroid adenoma.
Jun 22, 2020
Durvalumab, a programmed cell death ligand 1 inhibitor, induces various immune-related adverse events (irAEs), including lung injury. However, diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a rare type of lung injury due to immune checkpoint inhibitors. A 76-year-old man with c-stage IIIA squamous cell carcinoma of the lung received maintenance durvalumab therapy after chemoradiotherapy. He developed dyspnea and malaise after 11 cycles of durvalumab. Chest computed tomography showed rapidly spreading bilateral ground-glass opacity in the lungs. We diagnosed DAH by hemosiderin-laden macrophages in bloody bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Despite mechanical ventilation, steroids, and cyclophosphamide, he died of respiratory failure. The autopsy revealed that fresh and old bleeding areas coexisted, and neither pulmonary vasculitis nor diffuse alveolar damage was detected microscopically. Furthermore, CD3+ and CD8+ lymphocytes were observed in the lung interstitium, whereas CD20+ and CD4+ lymphocytes were scarcely detected. We report the first case of durvalumab-induced DAH. We should be alert to irAEs with DAH as a potential differential diagnosis of lung injury during durvalumab treatment.
Jun 19, 2020
Only three cases of patients suffering from a localized chronic form of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) successfully treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have been published so far. This is the first case report of a patient with a localized chronic form of LCH of the femur, which was successfully treated with percutaneous image-guided RFA, and who was evaluated pre-RFA and followed up post-RFA for a period of 48 months, in order to validate the safety and efficacy of this method and to obtain imaging studies depicting the actual in situ changes taking place post-RFA. RFA was proved to be a safe and efficient method when treating patients with a localized chronic form of LCH.
Jun 19, 2020
Recent data suggest that BRCA mutation carriers younger than 40 may not benefit from mammography in addition to MRI. Our objective was to evaluate screening modalities utilized in a high-risk population. Clinicopathologic data were abstracted for patients followed in a high-risk clinic from 2007 to 2017. Three patients were diagnosed younger than 40, 1 on a mammogram, and 2 on MRI. The patient diagnosed on mammogram had no prior MRI and the lesion was seen on follow-up MRI. Interval screening MRI identified DCIS in BRCA patients with a previous normal mammogram and cancers diagnosed on mammograms were all identified on follow-up MRI. These findings support further evaluation of MRI alone until age 40 in BRCA mutation carriers.