Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Please join us in welcoming Helenemarie Blake, Esq, CIPP/US, CIPM, as Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer. Blake will oversee healthcare compliance at the Institute, ensuring compliance with all major laws, regulatory requirements, policies, and procedures relevant to healthcare providers. We’re excited to have her on board!

More than 25 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute staff are presenting their work in podium, interactive session, and poster presentations this week at the 2025 Oncology Nursing Society Congress. If you’re attending, stop by our booth, 3094, to connect with our staff and learn about the Dana-Farber difference. #ONSCongress

Our Nursing and Patient Care Services team is proud to represent the Institute at the 2025 Oncology Nursing Society Congress in Denver, Colorado. This week, they’re sharing their work through podium sessions, poster presentations, and interactive discussions — showcasing the innovation, collaboration, and compassionate care that define oncology nursing at Dana-Farber. We’re honored to contribute, learn from peers nationwide, and celebrate the vital role of nursing in cancer care. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3XRA6SR

A cancer diagnosis can trigger anxiety, depression, even existential distress. Treatment is initially geared to physical symptoms, but mental health requires equal attention. Now, through our new Supportive Oncology Collaborative, that care will be more fully integrated into the patient experience. Supportive Oncology Collaborative is a model designed to improve access to supportive care for cancer patients, particularly those in underserved populations. It integrates various disciplines, including social work, psychiatry, psychology, and palliative care, into a cohesive team that coordinates to meet cancer patients' unique mental and physical needs. Oncology social workers lead initial intake assessments and act as care leads, using validated mental health assessment tools to provide insights into each patient's psychological and emotional state. The social worker acts as a care champion, who then presents each patient's case to the full supportive oncology team, which meets weekly to steer holistic care. The nascent program started at our regional campuses. This year, it will begin its debut at each of Boston's treatment centers, beginning with sarcoma and neuro-oncology. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4iJXWIO

8 years after her diagnosis, Anne’s cancer is still here but so is she. And that’s why she’s running this year’s #BostonMarathon presented by Bank of America for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, to help others with cancer live a thriving life. Help her reach her fundraising goal. https://go.bofa.com/wrcchc #ReasonToRun #Boston129

A study from Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center found that stage 3 colon cancer patients with residual cancer in their blood post-surgery may benefit from adding celecoxib to their treatment. The analysis showed that patients with circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in their blood generally had worse outcomes, but those treated with celecoxib, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, showed significantly improved disease-free survival. "This is one of the first studies to show that ctDNA status has predictive utility in terms of selecting patients that respond better to a drug," says Jonathan Nowak, MD, PhD, a pathologist who presented the study at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. "These results add to our earlier findings that celecoxib improves survival for PIK3CA mutated colon cancer," says Jeffrey Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, senior author and co-director of the Colon and Rectal Cancer Center. "These findings will help develop a personalized approach to additional therapy for patients with early-stage colon cancer." Stage 3 colon cancer patients typically undergo surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy to reduce recurrence risk. However, some patients experience cancer return, potentially rendering them incurable. Improving adjuvant therapies to prevent recurrence is a key research focus. To explore celecoxib's effect on disease-free survival, Meyerhardt and colleagues launched the CALGB (Alliance)/SWOG 80702 trial in 2010, enrolling 2,526 patients. Post-treatment, patients received adjuvant chemotherapy with FOLFOX for three or six months, with or without daily celecoxib for three years. Celecoxib showed moderate benefits, but results weren't statistically significant. Recent evidence suggests anti-inflammatory drugs might benefit some colon cancer patients. Patients with positive ctDNA tests post-surgery have a higher relapse risk and may benefit from additional therapies. This study aimed to see if anti-inflammatory drugs could help prevent relapse in these patients. The study analyzed 1,011 of 2,526 patients from the original trial who had blood samples available. ctDNA tests showed patients with positive ctDNA had worse outcomes. However, those with positive ctDNA who received celecoxib alongside standard chemotherapy had significantly improved disease-free survival compared to those on standard chemotherapy alone. For patients with negative ctDNA, there was no significant difference between celecoxib and placebo. "Based on this analysis, the benefits of celecoxib with chemotherapy look promising for early-stage colon cancer patients with positive ctDNA after primary treatment," the investigators stated. "This evidence plus results from other ongoing studies will help determine which patients may benefit from celecoxib in addition to other standard treatments."

A new study published in Science led by Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center (Boston Children's Hospital) researchers introduces Perturb-multiome, a novel genomic screening tool that systematically reveals how transcription factors shape blood cell development. By combining CRISPR-based knockouts with single-cell multiomic profiling, this approach pinpoints which DNA elements drive blood cell production and influence disease risk. The study found that DNA regions occupying just 0.3% of the genome account for a disproportionately large share of genetic influence on blood cell traits. “In our early work, we used genetic association studies to identify BCL11A as a principal switch regulating fetal hemoglobin, a discovery that laid the groundwork for the development of Casgevy as a gene therapy for sickle cell disease and thalassemia. Now, with our new Perturb-multiome approach, we can systematically unearth how thousands of genetic variants influence blood cell production and change disease risk, creating fresh opportunities for improved targeted treatments,” said Vijay Sankaran, MD, PhD. Read more: https://bit.ly/4hYLHH7

Emilie Center, RN, was just days into her nursing career here when she helped save a life — off the clock and outside the hospital. Center was walking with her mother in a 5K walk-run in her hometown when she noticed a group of people off to one side of the course. She rushed over and found a man in cardiac arrest and a bystander performing CPR. Identifying herself as a nurse, Center took over and continued performing CPR even after emergency services personnel arrived. Once the man was breathing on his own, she comforted his wife and two adult daughters as he was readied for transport. "It was my first time having to use CPR on somebody," recalls Center, a clinical research nurse in the Immune Effector Cell (IEC) Therapies Program. "Even though we have very realistic training mannequins, it’s nothing like the rush of adrenaline you get when it’s real." A few weeks later, the runner’s wife called to thank Center and tell her he was doing well. The incident turned Center into a local hero, but what meant the most was hearing that she had inspired others to sign up for CPR classes. Growing up in a large family that included several nurses, Center was first drawn to the profession while helping care for her grandmother. She worked as a clinical nursing assistant in an assisted living facility while earning her nursing degree and gained a special affinity for oncology patients and their resiliency. She began her career at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, eventually joining us to work with cellular therapy patients. Her role involves coordinating care, educating patients about the process and potential side-effects, and monitoring them when they receive their infusions of manipulated cells. "I love it because we can help such a wide and growing range of patient populations as more cancers get approved for cellular therapy," says Center. "It’s an exciting group to be a part of." She didn’t plan on telling her new colleagues about what happened at the 5K, but word got out when someone noticed a newspaper highlighting Center’s heroics. "I was not surprised when I heard that Emilie saw someone in distress and jumped in to help without hesitation," says Maura Dacey, MSN, RN, director of Research Nursing. "Emilie has a keen eye for the details that embody a clinical research nurse, and along with her calm and steady demeanor she was able to put all those assessments skills immediately to use when she saw this man in trouble." Center says it was especially impactful because of what happened a few months earlier – her father had a massive heart attack. She recognized the seriousness of his symptoms and called an ambulance, leading to his successful recovery. Her father is now set to walk her down the aisle in April. After her honeymoon, Center will return to work, hoping for no more off-the-job surprises.

Ellie McLaughlin and Suzy Amor, Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) members joined Yaminah Romulus, Manager of Government Affairs, at the Alliance for Childhood Cancer Action Days in Washington, DC. This two-day event provided parents, children, healthcare professionals, and others from across the country an opportunity to advocate for important childhood cancer issues before Congress. The team met with staff from various offices of the Massachusetts congressional delegation to urge Congress to: 💙 Prioritize the “Childhood Cancer Package” by cosponsoring The Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act (H.R. 1509/S. 752), which would help children with cancer as they often require specialized care that may not be available in their home state, and The Give Kids a Chance Act (H.R. 1262), which would address some of the most pressing research needs of children and families with cancer 💙 Protect federal funding for childhood cancer research by opposing any changes to NIH that will harm children with cancer and by fully funding the Childhood Cancer STAR Act and the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI) 💙 Oppose any changes to Medicaid that will cut funding, restrict access, or reduce the quality of services for children and their families

Researchers presented new research studies during the 2025 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting, held March 14-17. The Dana-Farber led studies exemplified innovative clinical research for the improvement of treatment for gynecologic cancers. Panagiotis Konstantinopoulos, MD, PhD, the Velma Eisenson Chair for Clinical and Translational Research in Gynecologic Oncology, presented findings from the RESOLVE study of a phase 2 clinical trial showing that treatment with metformin, letrozole, and abemaciclib for recurrent estrogen receptor-positive endometrial cancer is safe and appears to induce deeper and more durable responses than letrozole and abemaciclib alone. The team initiated the trial based on preclinical research suggesting synergy between the three drugs, which together inhibit the estrogen receptor, CDK4/6, and PI3K pathways. All 25 patients in the trial received the three medicines. At a median of 17 months of follow-up, three patients had a complete response, five a partial response, and sixteen had stable disease. Based on next-generation sequencing of tumors, the team found that all the complete and partial responses were observed in patients with no specific molecular profile (NSMP) endometrial cancers without RB1 or CCNE1 mutations, suggesting this patient group will derive the most benefit from this combination. "Addition of metformin to hormonal therapy and CDK4/6 inhibition with abemaciclib demonstrated encouraging and durable evidence of activity in NSMP endometrial cancers providing support for simultaneous inhibition of ER, CDK4/6 and PI3K pathways in this setting," said Konstantinopoulos. Elizabeth K. Lee, MD presented results from a phase 1/2 clinical trial reporting that Rinatabart sesutecan (Rina-S), an investigational, novel antibody-drug conjugate directed at folate receptor alpha (FRα), showed encouraging preliminary antitumor activity as a single agent in a dose expansion cohort of patients with advanced ovarian cancer. The open-label, multicenter phase 1/2 study tested Rina-S in a cohort of 42 patients with heavily treated advanced ovarian cancer. Patients received one of two doses of Rina-S (100 mg/m2 or 120 mg/m2) every three weeks. After a median of 24 weeks of follow-up, 22.7% of patients taking the lower dose and 55.6% of patients taking the higher dose had confirmed objective responses, with 2 complete responses in the higher dose group. Side effects included low blood counts and gastrointestinal distress. The results support further testing of single-agent Rina-S at 120mg/m2; enrollment of patients with platinum resistant ovarian cancer is ongoing in a phase 2 study (RAINFOL-OV1) and in a randomized phase 3 study (RAINFOL-OV2/GOG-3107, NCT06619236). "Rina-S, a novel FRa-directed antibody-drug conjugate, demonstrated encouraging activity in patients with ovarian cancer, across FRa expression levels," said Lee. "These findings support the further study of Rina-S in ovarian cancer."