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July 26, 2024
How an Expert Would Treat His Own Advanced Lung Cancer: An Update
With: Jack West, MDA new cancer diagnosis is overwhelming. Patients often ask their doctors, “What would you do if you were me?” Here, our Curious Dr. George asks lung cancer expert Howard (Jack) West, MD, FASCO, how he would handle his own diagnosis of advanced lung cancer. Dr. West is a Princeton- and Harvard-educated oncologist with additional training and experience in Boston and Seattle focusing on lung… Read more »
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March 9, 2021
How an Expert Would Treat His Own Advanced Lung Cancer
With: Jack West, MDA new cancer diagnosis is overwhelming. Patients often ask their doctors, “What would you do if you were me?” Here, our Curious Dr. George asks lung cancer expert Howard (Jack) West, MD, how he would handle his own diagnosis of advanced lung cancer. Dr. West is a Princeton- and Harvard-educated oncologist with additional training and experience in Boston and Seattle focusing on lung cancer.… Read more »
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July 30, 2022
Deciphering the Elusive Origin and Pathways of Brain Metastases Bookmark
George Lundberg, MDThe most common brain tumors are other types of cancer that have spread (or “metastasized”) to the brain from a primary site elsewhere in the body. And, the genomic makeup of the brain metastases may not be the same as the primary cancer. An article from The ASCO Post discusses what this means for treatment.
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Justyna Poweska
Wife of a brain cancer patient
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October 11, 2022
Demystifying Cancer Biomarkers: Webinar Recap
Sarah StanleyIf you have just been diagnosed with cancer, or are facing recurrence, progression, or a change in treatment, you may feel bombarded with new information and advice. At some point, a clinician or even a well-meaning friend may urge you to have “biomarker testing” done. This phrase can be especially confusing when dealing with the stress of trying to understand a new diagnosis, a… Read more »
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March 22, 2022
Immunotherapy to Treat Cancer Bookmark
George Lundberg, MDImmunotherapy uses biological substances, such as your own immune system, to attack cancer cells. Learn more about immunotherapy from the National Cancer Institute.
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Some of the most promising new treatments for metastatic lung cancer are currently being tested in patients enrolled in clinical trials. We help you stay up to date on the latest results from these studies.
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September 6, 2022
‘Clinically Meaningful’ Improvement in SCLC Patients With Pembrolizumab/Chemo Combo Bookmark
George Lundberg, MDAs reported by MedPage Today, long-term results from a clinical trial suggest that a combination of the drug pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy is better than chemo alone for small cell lung cancer (SCLC). But unfortunately, most patients who received the combo did not benefit significantly, and biomarkers are very much needed to identify patients whose cancers will respond well.
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August 5, 2022
Adagrasib in Previously Treated Patients With KRAS G12C–Mutated Advanced NSCLC Bookmark
George Lundberg, MDAs reported by The ASCO Post, the drug adagrasib has shown some promising results in a clinical trial for people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a KRAS-g12c mutation whose cancer progressed after prior treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows adagrasib to be given to people whose cancer has a KRAS-g12c mutation through expanded access.
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E. David Crawford, MD
Cancer Commons Advisor
Cancer affects many aspects of life, whether you’re newly diagnosed, in the midst of treatment, or in follow-up care. Learn about ways to maintain quality of life, such as palliative care and managing side effects.
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October 14, 2019
Pediatric Palliative Care: A Specialty Comes of Age
For a child with cancer, palliative care can provide much-needed relief from stress and symptoms—for the patient and their family alike. Palliative care is given alongside cancer treatment, and is not synonymous with “end-of-life” care. In fact, anyone with a serious illness can benefit from palliative care, no matter their long-term outlook. Because of its importance for children with cancer, we are honored to… Read more »
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August 11, 2021
Anxiety Before Each Chemotherapy Treatment Bookmark
Lola Rahib, PhDArticle from Let’s Win! Pancreatic Cancer: Pancreatic cancer patients share their experiences with pre-chemo anxiety and their personal strategies for overcoming it.
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February 11, 2020
‘Impressed With Impact’ of Ketamine in Cancer Palliative Care Bookmark
George Lundberg, MDArticle from Medscape curated by Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, who notes:
Depression is, for obvious reasons, common in patients with advanced cancer. The old, inexpensive drug ketamine—already approved for medical use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—seems rapidly effective, according to small studies.
Go to full article published by Medscape.
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.
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Learn more about what’s new in advanced cancer research and treatment, including screening and statistics, using artificial intelligence to improve treatment, and other new horizons in cancer care.
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July 11, 2024
The Personalized Power of the “N-of-1” Approach
With:Randomized, controlled clinical trials with a large N—number of participants—are the recognized “gold standard” of evidence-based medicine. Even so, the results of large-N trials can only reveal population averages, and are not predictive of any individual’s response to a given treatment. On the other hand, one can consider every patient with cancer as the sole participant in their own clinical trial with an Nof1, even if the trial is not… Read more »
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November 10, 2022
A Powerful Knowledge Base for Precision Oncology
With:Genetic mutations found in a tumor can be important clues to the patient’s best treatment options. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York has developed a product called OncoKB™, which enables anyone to access and navigate key clinical information about the various genetic abnormalities that may be found in tumors. Here, Curious Dr. George asks MSK Lead Software Engineer Hongxin Zhang about… Read more »
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June 2, 2022
Harnessing Each Patient’s Data to Help Many More
With: Kaumudi Bhawe, PhDAt Cancer Commons, we don’t just help people navigate cancer treatment; we learn from everyone we help. Here, our Curious Dr. George asks Cancer Commons Clinical Scientist Kaumudi Bhawe, PhD, to share how new knowledge can be captured from every patient to help many more. Curious Dr. George: Cancer Commons has accumulated in-depth data on many hundreds of patients with various cancers. Because of the… Read more »
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The coronavirus pandemic presents unprecedented challenges to cancer patients. We can help you understand how COVID-19 might impact your treatment and other aspects of your cancer care.
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February 20, 2021
COVID-19 Vaccination: The VOICE for Patients with Cancer Bookmark
George Lundberg, MDThis piece from the scientific journal Nature Medicine describes a new clinical trial studying vaccination against COVID-19 specifically in patients with cancer.
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February 20, 2021
Patients with Cancer Less Likely to Enroll in Clinical Trials Due to COVID-19 Bookmark
George Lundberg, MDFewer patients with cancer may be willing to enter a clinical trial. This Cancer Network article explains why and offers solutions.
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