The CDC just released a new report on death rates from childhood cancer. Good news! Cancer rates declined by 20% overall from 2009 – 2014, the last year that statistics are available. There was a decrease in both males and females, in all age groups, and in African American and Caucasian children. The number of children with leukemia has declined, making brain cancer the leading cause of childhood cancer. There... Read More
Immunotherapy (IT) has changed — and will continue to change — cancer treatment. Although only about 25% of patients who receive IT have a response, when patients do respond to treatment, the response is nothing short of amazing. Patients who just 5 years ago had a 10% chance of survival of over 5 years are now 10 years cancer free with no indication of recurrence. I personally know two people... Read More
It seems you can’t read the health section without finding a story about immunotherapy for cancer treatment. After 30+ years of research, immunotherapy is the latest successful cancer treatment. The success is remarkable. Immunotherapy is changing lives and providing options for a group of people who didn’t have options before. Immunotherapy treatment for cancer was the topic of the Institute of Medicine policy forum held this last week in Downtown... Read More
Today is World Cancer Day (#WorldCancerDay). This year, the focus is that together we can conquer cancer – #WeCanICan. It is the idea that by sharing stories, information, and data, together we can understand more about cancer biology, cancer detection, cancer prevention, and cancer treatment. Everyone has a role to play and by sharing ideas, we can move the field forward. Such an understanding can significantly reduce the pain and... Read More
The bacterial content in your gut (or also called the gut microbiome) may influence how you respond to therapy. This is the conclusion of two separate research papers published in the November 27 issue of Science Magazine. What did these papers actually show? Before getting to the data, it must be noted that this work was all done in a mouse model of cancer. The first lab tested if responses... Read More