When facing a frightening new cancer diagnosis, some people ask their doctors, “What would you do if you were me?” Here, our Curious Dr. George asks liver cancer expert Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, FACCC, FASCO, how he would handle his own hypothetical case of liver cancer. Dr. Benson is Professor of Medicine and Associate Director for Cooperative Groups at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Curious Dr. George: Please consider this hypothetical scenario: As a busy academic oncology practitioner, you know that you contracted hepatitis C many years ag ..read more

There is no teacher quite like personal experience. Whether you are dealing with your own diagnosis or helping someone else, you become deeply familiar with cancer’s many practical and emotional challenges. Facing cancer can inspire people to help others navigate their own cancer journey. On November 9, 2022, Cancer Commons presented a free webinar featuring three passionate advocates who have drawn on their own experiences with cancer to make a difference for others: Cancer Commons CEO Rebecca Driscoll, who moderated the discussion and presented information on biomarker testing and patholog ..read more

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 this tool. Curious Dr. George: At the 2022 Precision Medicine World Conference in Santa Clara, CA, you outlined how OncoKB can be of great value for investigators, drug developers ..read more

For many years, people with advanced cancer who turn to Cancer Commons have benefitted from working with Chief Scientist Emma Shtivelman, PhD. Here, she shares three patients’ stories. Curious Dr. George: You have helped many hundreds of patients with advanced cancer to feel valued, to better understand their disease and their clinical situation, and to explore their options. Will you please share with our readers a few de-identified examples of patients who benefited from your assistance? Emma Shtivelman, PhD: In my years of work with numerous advanced cancer patients, I have e ..read more

The 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. . The post Deciphering the Elusive Origin and Pathways of Brain Metastases appeared first on Cancer Commons ..read more

If 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 new prognosis, and treatment options. But for many patients, biomarker testing is a powerful tool that can help ensure you receive the optimal cancer treatment. Cancer Commons frequently helps people understand such te ..read more

This review article in the academic research journal Biomarker Research discusses how combining immunotherapy and targeted therapies provides new hope for people with hepatocellular carcinoma. . The post Recent Advances in Systemic Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma appeared first on Cancer Commons ..read more

At 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 molecular nature of cancers, many are very complex—even unique. How might these data be best studied and reported to help inform diagnostic and therapeutic decisions for many additional ..read more

In this article for Cancer Therapy Advisor, Dr. Shaalan Beg shares updates from the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium on treatments for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. . The post Treatment Approaches for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Insight From the 2022 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium appeared first on Cancer Commons ..read more

Cancer Commons helps people make sense of the latest research on treatments for their distinct type of cancer. Meanwhile, a growing number of research papers now include a plain language summary (PLS)—an overview of the paper written for anybody to understand. Here, our Curious Dr. George discusses plain language summaries with Adeline Rosenberg, MSc, Senior Medical Writer at the healthcare communications company Oxford PharmaGenesis, and Chris Winchester, DPhil, Chief Executive Officer at Oxford PharmaGenesis. Curious Dr. George: Patients and the public are very interested in the results ..read more