Tag: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

  • Nation & World

    First draft of a genome-wide cancer ‘dependency map’

    Researchers have identified more than 760 genes upon which cancer cells of multiple types are strongly dependent for their growth and survival. 

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Understanding how the intestine replaces and repairs itself

    When working stem cells within the intestine are depleted, some types of mature cells can transform themselves into stem cells, replenishing the population.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Prospect of shorter treatment and cure for chronic myelogenous leukemia

    Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a slowly progressing type of blood cancer that develops in the bone marrow. Researchers discovered that CML stem cells die in response to inhibition of a protein called Ezh2. Drugs that target the protein are currently being tested in clinical trials for other cancers.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    William Kaelin wins Lasker Award

    Harvard Medical School Professor William G. Kaelin Jr. was named the winner of the 2016 Lasker Award for Medical Research, America’s most prestigious biomedical award. He was honored for his work in the root causes of cancer.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    First area cell transplantation center

    An expansive effort by several Harvard-affiliated units and hospitals has created the first cell transplantation center in the Boston area.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Faculty elected to National Academy of Sciences

    Five Harvard faculty members were elected to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    New weapon against breast cancer

    Levels of a molecular marker in healthy breast tissue can predict a woman’s risk of getting cancer, according to new research from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Diagnosing Ebola in minutes

    A new test can accurately diagnose the Ebola virus disease within minutes at the point of care.

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    At Medical School, a late bloomer

    Afamefuna Nduaguba, a Nigerian immigrant, overcame early struggles at Roxbury Community College to gain a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and now an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Vitamin D protects some against colorectal cancer

    A new study by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute demonstrates that vitamin D can protect some people with colorectal cancer by perking up the immune system’s vigilance against tumor cells.

    2 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Gene test aids cancer profile

    A new genetic test developed by Harvard Medical School physicians at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center checks cells of leukemia and other blood cancers for 95 genetic mutations, providing a quick genetic profile that physicians can use to make treatment decisions.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    The cellular origin of fibrosis

    Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have found the cellular origin of the tissue scarring caused by organ damage associated with diabetes, lung disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and other conditions.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    HSPH’s Marvin Zelen dies at 87

    Professor Marvin Zelen of the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) died on Nov. 15 after a battle with cancer. He was 87. Zelen was known for developing the statistical methods and study designs that are used in clinical cancer trials.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A way to inhibit inflammation of blood vessel linings

    A study led by Harvard-affiliated researchers is the first to demonstrate that BET bromodomain-containing proteins help execute inflammation in the endothelium while inhibition of BET bromodomain can significantly decrease atherosclerosis in vivo.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Spread of multiple myeloma halted in mice

    In an advance against cancer metastasis, scientists at the Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that a specially developed compound can impede multiple myeloma in mice from spreading to the bones.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Antibody halts cancer-related wasting condition

    New research raises the prospect of more effective treatments for cachexia, a profound wasting of fat and muscle that occurs in about half of all cancer patients, increasing their risk of death. Harvard Professor Bruce Spiegelman demonstrated that symptoms of cachexia in mice improved when given an antibody that blocked the effects of a protein…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Natural hormone molds leaner bodies in mice

    A natural hormone that is increased by physical exercise and by exposure to cold improves blood sugar control, suppresses inflammation, and burns fat to mold leaner bodies in mice, report scientists at the Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Roomy cages built from DNA

    Scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have discovered a way to build self-assembling cages made of DNA. The cages are the largest stand-alone DNA structures made to date, and one day may be able to deliver drugs or house tiny bioreactors or photonic devices inside the human body.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    ‘Beige’ cells key to healthy fat

    “Beige fat” cells found in healthy subcutaneous fat in mice play a critical role in protecting the body against the disease risks of obesity, report Harvard researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who say their study findings may have implications for therapy of obesity-related illness in humans.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Nut consumption reduces risk of death

    In the largest study of its kind, people who ate a daily handful of nuts were found to be 20 percent less likely to die from any cause over a 30-year period than those who didn’t consume nuts, say Harvard researchers.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Improving cord blood transplants

    They began with a discovery in zebrafish in 2007, and now researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have published initial results of a Phase Ib human clinical trial of a therapeutic that could improve the success of blood stem cell transplantation. This marks the first time that HSCI has carried a discovery from…

    7 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Marriage linked to better cancer outcomes

    People who are married when diagnosed with cancer live longer than those who are not married. Married patients also tended to have cancers diagnosed at an earlier stage, according to Harvard researchers.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Cancer vaccine begins Phase I clinical trials

    A cross-disciplinary team of Harvard scientists, engineers, and clinicians announced Sept. 6 that they have begun a Phase I clinical trial of an implantable vaccine to treat melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A marker for breast cancer

    An international scientific collaborative led by the Harvard Stem Cell Institute’s Kornelia Polyak has discovered why women who give birth in their early 20s are less likely to develop breast cancer than women who don’t, triggering a search for a way to confer this protective state on all women.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Vaccine works on hard-to-treat leukemia


    Scientists at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute observed a strong and selective immune response in some patients who received several doses of a “personalized” tumor vaccine composed of their own inactivated leukemia cells combined with an immune stimulant.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Hansjörg Wyss doubles his gift

    Founding donor Hansjörg Wyss doubled his gift to Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering from $125 million to $250 million to the University to further advance the institute’s pioneering work.

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    HMS partners with NFL Players Association

    he National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has awarded Harvard Medical School a $100 million grant to create a transformative 10-year initiative — Harvard Integrated Program to Protect and Improve the Health of NFLPA Members.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Mutations drive malignant melanoma

    Two mutations that collectively occur in 71 percent of malignant melanoma tumors have been discovered in what Harvard scientists call the “dark matter” of the cancer genome, where cancer-related mutations haven’t been previously found.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Doctor honored for work, leadership

    Jane deLima Thomas, a palliative care physician and associate director of the Harvard Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is one of five U.S. physicians to receive the 2013 Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Award.

    1 minute
  • Nation & World

    Help with life’s bottleneck

    Some Harvard Medical School junior faculty members are receiving a bit of help at a difficult time in their lives, as they juggle the twin pressures of their demanding, developing careers and the consuming work of raising young families. These junior faculty have been awarded assistance through the Eleanor and Miles Shore 50th Anniversary Fellowship…

    4 minutes