immunotherapy

Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore opened a six-bed urgent care center next to its infusion center a couple of years ago. Of the patients who land there, about 80 percent are discharged home afterward, rather than needing admission to the hospital.

Urgent Care Services For Cancer Patients Offer A Gentler ER Alternative

12:15pm May 03, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

Some hospitals and oncology practices are setting up urgent care sites tailored to the needs of cancer patients, to help keep them out of the emergency room when complications or side effects arise.

Sometimes fast-acting chemotherapy can help slow an aggressive cancer — and give the slower-acting immunotherapies a chance to work.

Old-Style Chemo Is Still A Mainstay In The Age Of Targeted Cancer Therapy

10:37am March 13, 2017

by Richard Harris

Scientists hunting cures for cancer hope to find therapies with fewer side effects. But there's also new evidence that old-style chemotherapy sometimes helps gentler treatments work better.

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The human body is on alert for malignant cells. Scientists and doctors are getting better at harnessing the human immune system as a weapon against cancer.

Cancer Immunotherapy At A Crossroads

10:42am September 17, 2016

by Bret Stetka

Doctors can now marshal patients' immune systems to fight some cancers. Yet many people don't respond to immunotherapy, and the costs of treatment can be astronomical.

Dr. James Allison in his lab at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

A Scientist's Dream Fulfilled: Harnessing The Immune System To Fight Cancer

9:14pm June 09, 2016

Melanoma can be a deadly skin cancer, but 10 years ago biologist Jim Allison figured out a way to tweak the body's immune system to go after those malignant cells. Some patients are now cancer-free.

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Which would you choose — a daily tablet or a trip to the doctor for an allergy shot?

Immunotherapy Tablets For Dust Mite Allergy Reduce Asthma Risk

4:20pm April 26, 2016

by Nancy Shute

Dust mite allergies are a common trigger for asthma. A new form of immunotherapy that relies on oral tablets rather than shots reduces the risk of a moderate or severe asthma attack, a study finds.

Earlier this week, NIH temporarily halted work in the cell therapy lab of Dr. Steven Rosenberg, chief of surgery at the National Cancer Institute, pending a review of safety standards there.

Task Force Calls For More Safety Oversight At NIH Research Hospital

2:10pm April 22, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NIH Director Francis Collins has stopped research at two leading labs for now. But an independent board of experts wants even more oversight to ensure that patient safety is the top priority.

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Training The Immune System To Fight Cancer Has 19th-Century Roots

7:22pm December 28, 2015

by Rebecca Davis

When Jimmy Carter said his advanced melanoma was gone, he credited immunotherapy, treatments that harness the immune system to fight cancer cells. This idea dates back to a 19th-century doctor.

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Former President Jimmy Carter said this month that immunotherapy treatment has shrunk melanoma tumors.

Cancer Treatments May Need To Be Tailored To Each Tumor

8:27pm December 09, 2015

by Angus Chen

Jimmy Carter seems to have gotten the perfect drug to treat his cancer. But scientists need to understand a lot more about tumors before personalized cancer treatments are available for everyone.