Category Archives: In the News

Checking in on Checkpoint Inhibitors

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Dr. Allison Betof Warner

Dr. Allison Betof Warner

A recent article from WebMD Health News discusses the promise—and limitations—of immune therapies. These therapies—”checkpoint inhibitor” drugs like Keytruda, Opdivo, and five others approved by the FDA—have successfully treated cancers ranging from melanoma to types of lung, colorectal, and kidney cancers. As MSK’s Dr. Allison Betof Warner says in the article, they have saved numerous lives and been a “game changer.”

Still, checkpoint inhibitors have limitations. Sometimes, drugs will initially shrink a cancer and then stop working. Some patients see no benefit, including 30 to 40 percent of advanced melanoma patients. Medical professionals also can’t predict which patients will experience serious side effects. This is why, Betof Warner concludes, “Immune therapy is an incredible tool. But it’s not a magic bullet.” Researchers are working to continue improving checkpoint inhibitor efficacy.

MSK Practitioners Discuss Gender Inequality at ASCO Annual Meeting

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Among the many MSK presentations at this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting were two highlighting gender inequality of the past and present.

Dr. Marina Stasenko, an MSK clinical fellow in gynecologic oncology, presented the results of a survey of Society of Gynecologic Oncology members. Of the 402 respondents, 71 percent of women and 51 percent of men said they experienced a form of sexual harassment during training or practice. Of these, 17 percent of women and 10 percent of men reported the harassment. Women were more likely to state that harassment negatively impacted their careers. Read more about the survey from Targeted Oncology and Cancer Network coverage.

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Predicting Breast Cancer Spread and More

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  • Scientists from Johns Hopkins University developed a new diagnostic tool for predicting breast cancer spread. Knowing whether a tumor is going to metastasize is crucial for timely addressing the issue and ultimately prolonging lives. Current prediction tools use genetics screening which can be difficult to interpret. The new tool, called MAqCI, developed by Professor Konstantopoulos team is based on cell characteristics, behavior and phenotype. This was reported in Nature Biomedical Engineering on May 6th.
  • A new and potentially more effective way to prevent the spread of castration resistant prostate cancer was identified by researchers from at Boston University School of Medicine. The team of researchers “discovered that inhibition of the protein BRD 4” may be a way to hinder cancer spread by regulating cancer cell migration and invasion. The study was published in Molecular Cancer Research on May 20th.
  • Through a unique intersection of biology, medicine, physics and mathematics, researchers from Johns Hopkins University created a visualization they compared to Google Maps of blood vessels and blood flow in a tumor. While this technology will likely not be used to directly study human cancer growth, the tools can be used to identify earlier signs of cancer and predict it’s behavior to customize treatment. A report originally published in March was publicized recently on a physics news site.