Reporting in the journal Cell Reports, researchers combined several types of data from pre- and post-treatment biopsies of breast tumors to obtain a molecular picture of how the cancer evolved as a result of chemotherapy. “Better understanding of tumor evolution is key to improving the design of cancer therapies and for truly individualized cancer treatment,” said Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD, a breast cancer researcher. The model was developed by Polyak and Franziska Michor, PhD, a computational biologist at Dana-Farber. …

Number of cancer stem cells might not predict outcome in HPV-related oral cancers

The researchers investigated cancer stem cell numbers in oral cancers associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) and in oral cancers not associated with the virus. Typically, patients with HPV-positive oral cancer respond better to therapy and have a more promising prognosis than patients with HPV-negative tumors. The latter are usually associated with tobacco and alcohol use…

Genetic counseling via telephone as effective as in-person counseling

The landscape of genetic testing has broadened to include a range of diseases, and demand for testing and counseling has greatly increased because of direct-to-consumer marketing, says the study’s lead investigator, Marc Schwartz, PhD, co-leader of Georgetown Lombardi’s Cancer Prevention and Control Program. "It’s important that all people interested in testing have access to thorough information so they can consider the implications of test results and interpret them in the context of family history," says Schwartz, who is also co-leader of the Fisher Center for Familial Cancer Research at Georgetown. "Counseling on the phone reduces costs and expands genetic counseling and testing access to rural areas, where counseling isn’t always available." While this study was conducted with women considering testing for mutations in the breast or ovarian cancer genes BRCA1 and/or BRCA2, the findings "may extend to genetic counseling for other hereditary cancers and complex conditions in adults such as heart disease," says co-author Beth N. …