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Treatment - Cancer Currents Blog

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Cancer treatment related news, with context from leading experts. Includes articles on new therapies, treatment side effects, and important trends in treatment-related research.

  • A photo of Shayla Johnson and her nearly 1-year-old son Ronin.
    Pausing Long-Term Breast Cancer Therapy to Become Pregnant Appears to Be Safe
    • By Edward Winstead

    Many young women who are diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer want to become pregnant in the future. New research suggests that these women may be able to pause their hormone therapy for up to 2 years as they try to get pregnant without raising the risk of a recurrence in the short term.

  • A woman in her 40s in her bedroom holding a pill bottle and her mobile phone
    A Safer, Better Treatment Option for Some Younger Women with Breast Cancer
    • By Sharon Reynolds

    For younger women with advanced breast cancer, the combination of ribociclib (Kisqali) and hormone therapy was much better at shrinking metastatic tumors than standard chemotherapy treatments, results from an NCI-funded clinical trial show.

  • Illustration showing efficacy of the chemotherapy drug DRP-104. On the left, a chemical structure labeled "DRP-104 (Inactive Drug)" is shown, which converts into "DON (Active Drug)". On the right, a cross-section of the body displays a digestive tract labeled "Gut," adjacent blood vessels, and a cluster of yellow tumor cells. Blue molecules enter the bloodstream from the gut and predominantly accumulate in the tumor cells as active green molecules.
    Can Chemotherapy Drugs Be Designed to Avoid Side Effects?
    • By Sharon Reynolds

    Researchers have modified a chemo drug, once abandoned because it caused serious gut side effects, so that it is only triggered in tumors but not normal tissues. After promising results in mice, the drug, DRP-104, is now being tested in a clinical trial.

  • An illustration of brentuximab's mechanism of action.
    Brentuximab Approved for High-Risk Hodgkin Lymphoma in Children and Adolescents
    • By Edward Winstead

    Based on an NCI-sponsored clinical trial conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group, FDA has approved the drug brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in combination with chemotherapy for some children and adolescents with Hodgkin lymphoma.

  • Illustrations of two forms of breast-conserving surgery
    Shorter Course of Radiation Is Effective, Safe for Some with Early-Stage Breast Cancer
    • By Elia Ben-Ari

    In a large clinical trial, a condensed course of radiation therapy was as effective and safe as a longer standard course for those with higher-risk early-stage breast cancer who had a lumpectomy. This shorter radiation course makes treatment less of a burden for patients.

  • illustration showing immunotherapy being delivered by IV and activating nearby immune cells
    Immunotherapy before Surgery Appears Effective for Some with Melanoma
    • By Carmen Phillips

    For melanoma that can be treated with surgery, a few doses of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) beforehand looks to be a good choice. In a clinical trial, people who got the presurgical immunotherapy were much less likely to have their cancer come back than those who only received it after surgery.

  • Diagram illustrating the mechanism of Teclistamab, a bispecific antibody. It connects a T cell to a multiple myeloma cell. This connection facilitates cell killing, as indicated by an arrow from the T cell to the myeloma cell.
    Teclistamab Shows Promise for People with Heavily Pretreated Multiple Myeloma
    • By Elia Ben-Ari

    In a small clinical trial, nearly 40% of people with multiple myeloma who were treated with the immunotherapy drug teclistamab (Tecvayli) had all signs of their cancer disappear. The trial participants had myeloma that did not respond to or came back after three or more prior treatments.

  • Diagram of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) showing three labeled components: an antibody (colorful Y-shaped protein structure) that targets cancer cells, a linker chain that joins the antibody to the drug, and a cytotoxic drug (red molecule) that destroys cancer cells.
    Enhertu Marks First Targeted Therapy for HER2-Mutant Lung Cancer
    • By Nadia Jaber

    On August 11, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave accelerated approval to trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) for adults with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has a specific mutation in the HER2 gene. Around 3% of people with NSCLC have this kind of HER2 mutation.

  • A fluorescence micrograph of neuroblastoma cells, with cell nuclei stained red. Areas of neon green and blue encase the red cell nuclei. The background of the image is black.
    Study Confirms Dinutuximab Extends Life for Children with High-Risk Neuroblastoma
    • By Linda Wang

    Researchers have confirmed that the immunotherapy drug dinutuximab (Unituxin) can help children with high-risk neuroblastoma live longer. The finding is based on a trial of nearly 1,200 children with the disease.

  • Anatomic illustration of two forms of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer
    For Common Form of Bladder Cancer, Chemo Combo Effective Alternative to BCG
    • By Carmen Phillips

    The standard treatment for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), a drug called BCG, has been in shortage for a decade. Bladder cancer experts agree that gemcitabine and docetaxel offers an effective alternative to BCG, after a study showed that 82% of patients with high-risk NMIBC treated with the combination were alive 2 years later without their cancer returning.

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