• March 7, 2019  

    Researchers Tap Genomic Technology to Develop Personalized Treatments for Pediatric Glioma Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “Researchers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals are using next-generation genomic technology to develop targeted therapies for high-grade pediatric glioma.

    “Sabine Mueller, MD, PhD, adjunct associate professor of neurology, pediatrics and neurosurgery at University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues aim to treat as many as 44 children and young adults with this disease.”

    Go to full article published by Healio on Feb 3, 2019.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • January 7, 2019  

    Breast Cancer Testing Guidelines out of Date, Missing Genetic Screening, Study Says Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “The current guidelines for genetic testing of breast cancer patients limit the number of women who can get tested. Because of these restrictions, these tests miss as many patients with hereditary cancers as they find, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

    ” ‘Unfortunately, insurance companies pay attention to these guidelines,’ said Dr. Peter Beitsch, co-author of the study and a cancer surgeon practicing in Texas. Insurance companies and other payers reimburse genetic testing — or not — based on the guidelines.”

    Go to full article published by CNN on Dec 12, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • November 20, 2018  

    Liquid Biopsy Shows Promise for Monitoring Childhood Brain Tumors Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “New research by investigators at the University of California, San Francisco and the Children’s National Health System, has provided early evidence that liquid biopsy testing could help doctors monitor how well treatments are working in kids with diffuse midline gliomas.

    “Brain cancers present a challenge for longitudinal monitoring, because obtaining repeat biopsy samples is dangerous and difficult. But liquid biopsy techniques have now opened the possibility of tracking these and other tumors over time based on analysis of tumor genetic material that is shed into the blood or other body fluids.”

    Go to full article published by GenomeWeb on Oct 15, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • October 22, 2018  

    Liquid Biopsy IDs More NSCLC Mutations, Yields Patient Therapy Response in Study of Guardant Test Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “New data this week has added evidence for the value of blood-based cancer testing in non-small cell lung cancer, demonstrating in a cohort of about 300 that comprehensive liquid biopsy — in this case Guardant Health’s Guardant360 test — can help identify targeted mutations in more patients than tissue sequencing.

    “The study also found that patients treated on the basis of blood-based test results respond to treatment similarly to those treated based on tissue test results.”

    Go to full article published by GenomeWeb on Oct 12, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • October 22, 2018  

    Biomarker Selects TNBC Patients for Targeted Therapy Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt from MedPage Today:

    “A tumor necrosis-based gene expression signature (GS) successfully identified patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) responsive to neoadjuvant therapy with the novel targeted agent LCL161, according to researchers.

    “The international, randomized phase II trial of 207 patients with localized TNBC showed that of the 30.1% with GS-positive disease, a significantly higher pathologic complete response (pCR) was seen in those treated with paclitaxel plus the inhibitor of apoptosis antagonist LCL161 compared with those treated with paclitaxel alone (38.2% versus 17.2%).”

    Go to full article published by MedPage Today on Oct 5, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • October 8, 2018  

    Accuracy and Precision Define Radiation Oncology

    With: Eddy Yang, MD, PhD

    A Q&A with Eddy Yang, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Translational Sciences Department of Radiation Oncology; Deputy Director, Associate Director of Precision Oncology at the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute; Birmingham, AL; shyang@uabmc.edu Originally published December 5, 2017 Q: You are a radiation oncologist with a particular interest in cancer of the prostate. How does the molecular study of prostate, as well… Read more »

  • September 18, 2018  

    Biomarkers, PARP Inhibitors Vital for Personalized Treatment in Breast Cancer Subtypes Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt from OncLive:

    “Developing predictive biomarkers will be key to treating patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), especially when choosing a targeted therapy, said Banu K. Arun, MD.

    “In a presentation during the 2018 OncLive® State of the Science Summit™ on Breast Cancer, Arun said there is evidence that PARP inhibitors as well as immunotherapy in combination with various agents may be effective in women with TNBC and BRCA1-related breast cancers, but the science isn’t there yet.”

    Go to full article published by OncLive on Aug 29, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • August 22, 2018  

    Study Describes Design, Validation of Foundation Medicine’s Blood-Based TMB Test Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt from GenomeWeb:

    “Researchers from Genentech, Foundation Medicine, UC Davis, and other medical centers, have published a report on the development and early validation of Foundation’s planned blood-based tumor mutational burden test.

    “Appearing today in Nature Medicine, the study describes the development of the test and its characteristics, and its retrospective validation in two cohorts. Investigators demonstrated, by applying the assay to samples from two clinical trials, that blood-based TMB (bTMB) could reproducibly identify lung cancer patients who respond to immunotherapy treatment with Roche/Genentech’s atezolizumab (Tecentriq).”

    Go to full article published by GenomeWeb on Aug 4, 2018 (Free registration required).

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • August 21, 2018  

    Dana-Farber Researcher Sees Biomarker Potential in ESR1 Mutations Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt from OncLive:

    “As a medical oncologist and investigator, Rinath M. Jeselsohn, MD, focuses on the detection and clinical implications of ESR1 mutations in estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer. She is a member of the research team in the lab of Myles A. Brown, MD, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, where investigators are seeking to elucidate the factors underlying the mechanisms of hormone responsiveness, particularly steroid hormone receptors, in human cancers.

    “Jeselsohn, who has led numerous studies into ESR1 mutations, discussed the field in an interview with OncologyLive®.”

    Go to full article published by OncLive on Aug 3, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • April 26, 2018  

    Predicting If an Immune Checkpoint Drug Will Work

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Drugs that activate the immune system to attack cancer in a process known as immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) are a focus of intense investigation. A number of them are already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various cancers; namely, the anti-CTLA4 antibody ipilimumab (Yervoy), two anti-PD-1 antibodies: pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and nivolumab (Opdivo), and three anti-PD-L1 drugs: atezolizumab (Tecentriq), avelumab (Bavencio)… Read more »