Cancer – Johns Hopkins Medicine Podcasts: Recent Episodes
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More and more blood tests to screen for cancer are coming on the market, with a new one looking at proteins in the blood helping identify who is at risk to develop lung cancer. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson … How often can a blood test predict cancer risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
When someone has a years-long, multiple pack history of smoking, they are recommended to undergo screening for lung cancer utilizing a technology known as low dose computed tomography or low dose CT. Yet only about 18% of those eligible for … Will a blood test compel more people to be screened for lung cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
People with a history of tobacco smoking are recommended to have screening CT for lung cancer, but many of them choose not to be screened. A new study looks at the ability of a blood test to discern who is … Can a blood test improve lung cancer screening? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
A blood test used for population based cancer screening fell short of allowing cancers to be detected earlier, was cost prohibitive and delayed diagnoses for others, a new study shows. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says both … What do false positives and negatives have to do with screening tests for cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
A blood test capable of detecting multiple cancers seems like a dream come true, yet a new study looking at such a test used in populations of people failed to find cancers earlier, and also delayed diagnosis for others. William … Just how expensive could it be to screen populations of people for cancer using blood tests? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
When large populations of people were screened for multiple cancers using a blood test, not only didn’t cancers get found earlier, others who were not screened had delays in their diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center … Should blood tests to screen for cancer be used on a population basis? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
For some types of cancer obesity is clearly a risk factor. Now a new study shows that when people with obesity take a GLP-1 agonist to lose weight, they also reduce their risk for these cancers. Kimmel Cancer Center director … How do GLP-1 agonists compare against other strategies for weight reduction and cancer risk reduction? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
GLP-1 agonists are a class of drugs originally developed to treat diabetes but have been shown to be helpful for weight loss. Now a new study looks at whether their use reduces the risk of obesity related cancers. William Nelson, … How are one class of diabetes drugs related to cancer risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Making CAR-T cells from donor bone marrow already used to treat someone’s cancer helped rein in cancer recurrence, a new study shows. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins says this is one more place where an expansion … Can a new method for developing CAR-T cells to treat cancer be expanded? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
CAR-T cells developed from bone marrow donors whose bone marrow had already been used to treat someone’s cancer may be able to rein in cancer recurrence, a new study finds. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says this … Can donor CAR-T cells have an impact on cancer treatment? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Immunotherapies for cancer can be lifesavers, but they can also provoke an overwhelming immune response that can be life threatening. Now a Johns Hopkins study may help pinpoint who is at risk for this type of reaction. Kimmel Cancer Center … It may now be possible to tell who is going to react badly to some forms of cancer therapy, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
People with a type of advanced colorectal cancer who were treated with two different immunotherapy drugs did much better than a group treated with a standard type of chemotherapy, a new study reports. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at … Using two immunotherapies in colon cancer helps, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
As cancer cells grow, a study looking at their three dimensional architecture reveals that they become more like cells normally seen in fetal life. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says that may be the key to enabling … Studying cancers in three dimensions has revealed a kind of regression, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
An effort is underway to characterize cancerous tumors in three dimensions, with an eye toward a more complete understanding of their behavior. A series of papers have recently come out describing what’s been seen so far. William Nelson, director of … What are we learning from studying cancers in three dimensions? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
When cancer exists in the body it has a three dimensional structure, an architecture, that only now is being looked at in detail to understand better how cancers behave. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins explains. Nelson: … What can a 3D atlas of cancer teach us? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
The skin cancer melanoma has historically been associated with difficulties in treatment and survival, but that picture is changing rapidly. Now the results of a ten year trial support use of two agents to manage this disease, according to Kimmel … Treatment of the skin cancer melanoma continues to improve, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
So called triple negative breast cancer is associated with increased rates of spread, recurrence and death than other forms, but now long term results of a clinical trial offer better odds against this disease, William Nelson, director of the Kimmel … There’s good news for a difficult to treat breast cancer, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Women who’ve had a false positive mammogram may be at increased risk for developing breast cancer later, a recent study shows, so regular mammography is a good idea. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson concurs. Nelson: If you … Even if you’ve had a false positive mammogram you should still have regular screening, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
No woman likes to undergo mammography, and when results seem to show a problem when there isn’t one, many will choose to give subsequent studies a miss. That’s according to a recent study Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at … Just how often do mammograms turn up false positive results? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
If you are a woman who’s had a mammogram to screen for breast cancer, you may be reluctant to come back again for regular screening if you’ve gotten a positive result that turned out to be false. That’s the conclusion … What happens when a woman gets a false positive mammogram? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
How can we explain the disparity between cancer deaths among men and women, including the prognostication in a recent WHO report on cancer worldwide that many more men will succumb? Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins says … World Health Organization data paints an increased risk of cancer and cancer death for men, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
The World Health Organization has recently released a snapshot of world cancer data, with a look forward to what we might expect regarding cancers of all types in the coming decades. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at … Who is at risk for cancer development and death over the next decades? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
CAR-T therapy, where someone’s own immune cells are trained to go after their cancer, has now been shown to confer a heightened infection risk, and risk of death from infection, for some recipients. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William … How does infection risk relative to CAR-T treatment factor into therapy? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
An engineered type of T cell known as a CAR-T can be very beneficial for people with some types of cancer, yet a major cause of death among those who receive them is infection, a recent study finds. Kimmel Cancer … CAR-T therapy for cancer is associated with risk for infectious disease death, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Skin cancers run the gamut from relatively benign basal cell carcinoma to invasive melanoma. In between are squamous cell carcinomas, which are increasing in frequency and likely result in death more often than melanomas do, a new paper asserts, calling … Squamous cell skin cancer needs more rigorous study, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Many women who had both breasts removed when cancer was found in one really didn’t experience any benefit from doing so, with similar rates of recurrence and death to women who chose more conservative treatment, a recent study finds. Johns … Who should have both breasts removed when cancer is found in one? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Three groups of women, all with breast cancer in one breast, participated in a recent study looking at whether removing both breasts when cancer is found in one, so-called prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, was effective in reducing a woman’s risk. Kimmel … What does a study on removing both breasts when cancer is found in one tell us? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Bilateral mastectomy as a means of preventing cancer in the other breast when it is found in one breast may not be of benefit when it comes to reccurence or survival, a new study shows. William Nelson, director of the … Does removing both breasts when cancer is found in one help? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Individualized cancer vaccines based on the specific set of mutations someone has are now in clinical trials, with William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, predicting they will soon be commonplace. Yet because a cancer changes … How often might an individualized vaccine need to be developed to treat cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
If you have the misfortune to develop cancer, chances are good you may have a vaccine developed just for you to treat it, if further research bears out results of a recent study looking at such a vaccine to treat … Individualized cancer vaccines are on the horizon, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Myc, ras, BRCA…these are all shorthand for common cancer mutations, with a new study saying that’s how cancers should be identified rather than which organ or system they’re found in, since not knowing the mutations may delay proper treatment. Kimmel … Should cancers be named according to which mutations they carry? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
All cancers carry mutations, and these should direct how they are named, NOT where they are located. That’s the stance of a new study finding that treatments that are targeted to the actual mutations a cancer carries rely on identifying … Should cancers be named differently? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
More cancers were diagnosed in 2023 than in the previous year, the American Cancer Society says, but cancer deaths are not rising at the same rate. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, says as our … Reducing cancer rates will rely on a more complete understanding of what causes the disease, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
While overall cancer deaths are continuing their decline, there are three that are still problematic, the most recent data from the American Cancer Society demonstrates. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson names them. Nelson: The ones to watch … Deaths from certain cancers continue to rise, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
The annual analysis of the American Cancer Society reports that while the overall number of new cancers diagnosed is higher than last year, deaths from cancers are not rising along with the new cases. Sidney Kimmel Cancer center director William … The American Cancer Society reports many new cancers but not rising deaths, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Employing treatments like chemotherapy shortly before someone dies is not only ineffective, it can reduce quality of life and someone’s ability to interact with loved ones. Now a new study examines how often immunotherapy is utilized within a month of … How often is immunotherapy for cancer used shortly before death? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Diabetes drugs known as GLP1 receptor agonists are much in the news for weight loss. Now a new study finds that when people with diabetes take them, their risk of colorectal cancer is reduced. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson … Can a diabetes drug reduce the risk for colorectal cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
A panel of proteins found in the blood was both sensitive and specific in men and women in detecting early cancers. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, says the numbers may even be better if … Can proteins and DNA be used together to detect cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Blood proteins can be used to not only detect early cancers in both men and women, but also to localize them the majority of the time, a new study reports. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins says … A panel of blood proteins can identify early cancers with great accuracy, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Finding cancer early so it can be treated before it spreads is optimal, and now a new study looking at blood proteins finds that examining a panel of them is both sensitive and specific. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director … Can we detect cancer very early by looking at blood proteins? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Diabetes is known to be linked to cardiovascular disease, and now a new study adds to the condition’s association with cancer. Plasma prostasin levels were shown to predict whether a participant would develop diabetes and cancer, and may be useful … There’s more evidence that diabetes and cancer are linked, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Thyroid cancers are most often found because someone is being evaluated for another issue and imaging finds a cancer, a very large international study concludes. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, says it’s unclear what … How often are thyroid cancers found because of assessment for something else? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Men get cancer more often than women, a recent study concludes, along with speculation that genetic or hormonal factors may be the culprit. Not so fast, says Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson. Nelson: They found thyroid cancer … Are men more at risk to develop cancer than women? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
If you’ve been diagnosed with the skin cancer melanoma, treatment may involve taking a look at your lymph nodes near the cancer to assess spread, called a sentinel node biopsy. Used to be that if cancer was found there all … It may be possible to simply keep an eye on some people with melanoma rather than remove all their lymph nodes, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Treatment for some types of cancer involves taking a look at lymph nodes nearby and removing them if cancer is found. That’s often the case with the skin cancer melanoma, but a new study looks at outcomes among people with … What treatment is needed when melanoma is found? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Food deserts are places where it’s hard to find nutritious food. Now a new metric called ‘food swamps’ include the presence of fast food and convenience stores in these same places, and they’re associated with an increased risk for cancer. … What is a food swamp and how does it impact your risk for cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
High breast density has added complexity to the value of screening mammography, and now a new wrinkle has emerged, with a recent study showing that different densities in each breast can be a risk factor for breast cancer. William Nelson, … Different densities in either breast has complicated interpretation of screening mammography, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Pancreas cancer is deadly, but now a vaccine using mRNA technology may improve the odds. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson describes a new study. Nelson: What they've done here is they use the information that you can … Can an mRNA vaccine help fight pancreas cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Breast cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer – these are just a few of the cancers known to be associated with obesity. Now a new study adds metabolic risk factors to the profile. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns … What does a combination of metabolic risk factors and obesity reveal about cancer risk? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Obesity is a risk factor for several types of cancer, with a new study looking at additional metabolic risk factors to further define it, and giving rise to the idea of metabolically healthy versus unhealthy obesity. William Nelson, director of … Just how big a contributor to cancer risk is obesity? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
What accounts for the variety of cancer drugs the FDA has recently announced are in short supply? William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, says there are at least two issues. Nelson: There are a number … The FDA has warned that a number of cancer drugs are in short supply, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Cancer and infectious disease are increasingly related, with one of the latest studies establishing a link between a common bacterial infection, Helicobacter pylori, specific genes, and stomach cancer. And it’s not just bacteria, says Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer center director … The link between infections and cancer is becoming ever more robust, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
A combination of certain genes and infection with a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori or H. pylori increases the risk for gastric or stomach cancer, a new study finds. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins says that risk … What is the risk for gastric cancer with genes and infections? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
A common bacterium called Helicobacter pylori or H.pylori infects the stomach, and is known to cause stomach ulcers. Now new research links this infection and genetics to the development of stomach or gastric cancer. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel … What is the relationship between genes and infection in stomach cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
You have more bacteria in your gut than you have cells in your body, and they provide you a range of benefits. Now new research demonstrates that for some people with pancreas cancer, their bacteria produce a chemical that seems … Certain bacteria in the gut can be helpful when someone has cancer, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
People with cancer of the pancreas who had used antibiotics in the year prior to their treatment fared worse when their cancer was treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors than those who had not, a recent study finds. Kimmel Cancer Center … What is the relationship between antibiotic use and cancer treatment? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Your gut flora, or microbiota, normally helps keep you healthy. When you take an antibiotic it disrupts the flora. Now a new study shows that some types of antibiotics are associated with a poorer response to cancer therapies called immune … Can antibiotics compromise cancer treatment? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
A type of cell involved in your immune response known as a natural killer cell may soon be used widely to combat some cancers. That’s according to William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, who says … White blood cells called natural killer cells are being harnessed to fight cancer, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Did you know you have a whole family of white blood cells? Most are involved in your immune response, and they all have various jobs. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says one of these cells, called a … Can a type of white blood cell help in the fight against cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
If you’re at risk to develop ovarian cancer, does it make sense to remove your fallopian tubes, which bridge the ovaries and the uterus? Perhaps, according to William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. Nelson: I … How can we reduce the toll of ovarian cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Ovarian cancer has a very poor prognosis, often because it’s so advanced when it’s found. A growing trend is underway to remove the fallopian tubes, which bridge the uterus and the ovaries, to stave off the development of ovarian cancer. … Should you remove fallopian tubes to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
When the DNA in a cell is broken up, rearranged or there is too much of it that condition is called aneuploidy. Now a new study demonstrates that people with a high degree of aneuploidy don’t respond well to newer … new treatments? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Moderna, the maker of Covid vaccines, is now reporting success with a vaccine for the skin cancer melanoma. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says these are made for individual patients using markers that are specific for their … Makers of Covid vaccines are achieving success with cancer vaccines, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Women receiving radiation therapy for breast cancer can now have fewer treatments and may also be able to change the interval, a study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium shows. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns … Can radiation therapy be made less onerous? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Young women with breast cancer often state they’d like to have children at some point, yet after they’re treated their maintenance therapy may pose barriers. Now a study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium shows that pausing therapy … Young women with breast cancer may be able to safely pause treatment to have a child, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, known as TILS, allowed people with advanced melanoma, a serious type of skin cancer, to live longer than those who received an antibody alone, a recent study showed. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins … A type of individualized T cell helps people with advanced melanoma, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
So-called ‘bispecific antibodies,’ are racking up some impressive results when it comes to treating certain cancers, recent studies show. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins says making individualized antibodies for cancer treatment as well as … Are individualized antibodies on the horizon for cancer treatment? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
The blood cancer multiple myeloma largely responds to a specially constructed antibody known as a BITE, for bispecific T cell engager, a recent study shows. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins describes the data. Nelson: In this … Just how good is a specialized antibody for multiple myeloma? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Antibodies, usually made by our bodies to fight infection, have a unique structure that looks like a Y. Now special antibodies constructed in a laboratory have the two arms of the Y made to bind different things, and are used … A type of blood cancer can now be treated with a special type of antibody, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Antibodies are usually part of our immune response to infections, but now are being constructed in the laboratory to fight cancer, with a recent study demonstrating just how effective they can be against a type of blood cancer. William Nelson, … Can a unique antibody curb cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
If you have recently been diagnosed with cancer, your best bet for treatment may include enrolling in a clinical trial, where new treatments are being assessed, usually by comparing them with standard treatment. Yet a new study finds that under … How can we improve clinical trial participation for people with cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Cancer mutations are often named, with one common group in a gene called KRAS. Although common, KRAS mutations have been extremely difficult to target, but now a new agent may have broken the code. That’s according to William Nelson, director … Can a common cancer mutation now be controlled? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Some types of cancer seem to be increasing in incidence among adults younger than age fifty, with a new large analysis seeming to associate this risk with a host of factors. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins … What accounts for increased cancer risk among adults younger than fifty? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Foods that can’t be found in nature and have undergone extensive processing are known as ‘ultraprocessed,’ with a new study fingering them as associated with adverse health outcomes. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins says the message … Avoiding ultraprocessed foods is good for your health, Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
A blood marker called prostasin seems to link both one’s risk to develop diabetes and the risk of dying from cancer. How might these be linked? William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, offers his interpretation. … How might cancer and diabetes be linked? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Prostasin is the name of a blood marker that seems to be associated with someone’s risk of developing diabetes and perhaps also to the risk of dying from cancer. Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson at Johns Hopkins, says the … Can a new blood marker predict who might develop diabetes or die from cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Thyroid cancer seems to be occurring more often globally, yet a recent study shows that for the majority of people who had surgery for thyroid cancer, the cancer was found while they were being evaluated for something else, a so-called … How do most people with thyroid cancer find out they have it? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Do men experience cancer more often than women? A recent large study asserts yes, showing higher rates of bladder cancer and larynx cancer among men, while William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, says this can … Are there are differences in rates of cancer experienced by men and women? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Do men experience more cancers than women? Elizabeth Tracey reports Men get cancer more often than women. That’s the conclusion of a recent large study examining different types of cancer among males and females. But its conclusion is disputed by … Read More »
When someone has the skin cancer melanoma, a lymph node nearby, called a sentinel node, is frequently assessed to see if the cancer has spread. If cancer is found there also removal of all the lymph nodes in the area … How many lymph nodes need to be removed when cancer is found? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Perhaps you’ve reported your own blood pressure measurements or blood sugar to your physician. So called patient reported data that is monitored by a nurse helped make cancer treatment just a little bit smoother and easier, a new study finds. … Can patient reported data and outcomes improve cancer treatment? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
Community health workers were able to improve many aspects of cancer treatment for patients, a new study has shown. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, says benefits were multiple. Nelson: It was 128 folks with … Can a community health worker ease the rigors of cancer treatment? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »
People being treated for cancer with immune checkpoint inhibitors who also took acetaminophen, or Tylenol, had worse outcomes for their cancer treatment than those who did not, a recent study found. Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center director William Nelson says … Can using acetaminophen compromise your cancer treatment? Elizabeth Tracey reports Read More »