Press Releases
2000
November 21, 2000
Study provides new details of 'the birth of a virus'With sinister efficiency, retroviruses such as HIV use only a small portion of their genetic programming to steal away from the cell where they were born and infect other cells. A study published this week by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute provides new details of how retroviruses make their escape and cloak themselves in the cell's membrane to avoid attack from the body's immune system. read more
November 20, 2000
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announces opening of The Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative TherapiesLeonard P. Zakim, former director of the Anti-Defamation League, lost his battle with cancer, but his dream lives on for an integrated approach to cancer treatment. read more
November 14, 2000
Better understanding of prognosis linked to greater emphasis on easing suffering of children with advanced cancerThere is considerable delay among parents in recognizing when children with advanced cancer have no realistic chance of cure, according to a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital-Boston study published in the November 15 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). read more
November 9, 2000
Boston hospitals report early results of endostatin clinical trialClinical researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center today presented preliminary information from their Phase I clinical trial of EndostatinTM Protein, an angiogenesis inhibitor that seeks to reduce tumors by cutting off their blood supply. read more
October 2, 2000
Survey indicates oncologists support for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide declined dramaticallyResults of a survey of 3,299 members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) indicate support among U.S. oncologists for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide of terminally ill cancer patients declined dramatically in recent years. read more
September 12, 2000
Combination of radiation and hormone suppression therapy shown to effectively treat early-stage prostate cancerIn the first study of its kind, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) have found that combined radiation therapy (RT) and androgen suppression therapy (AST) is a more effective treatment for localized, early-stage prostate cancer compared to treatment using radiation therapy alone. read more
September 9, 2000
Study points to cell "crisis" as key event in development of cancer in older adultsA new study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute offers fresh evidence for a theory of why incidences of certain cancers grow more common as people age. read more
August 24, 2000
Dana-Farber to establish new center for leukemia researchA Specialized Center of Research in Myeloid Leukemia has been established at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and three affiliates as the result of a five-year, $7.5 million grant from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. read more
August 14, 2000
Reid Ponte appointed new chief of Nursing and Patient Care Services at Dana-Farber Cancer InstitutePatricia Reid Ponte, R.N., D.N.Sc., nursing director at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a practicing nurse for 25 years, has been appointed chief of Nursing and Patient Care Services at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. read more
July 26, 2000
Edward J. Benz, Jr., M.D. named president of Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteEdward J. Benz, Jr., M.D., an internationally recognized hematologist, has been named the next president of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Institute's Board of Trustees announced today. Benz, who will begin at Dana-Farber this fall, is currently chair of the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he holds the prestigious Sir William Osler Professorship of Medicine. read more
July 24, 2000
Research study maps formation process of certain type of breast cancerA slow-motion movie of the changes inside a breast cell as it becomes a particularly stubborn type of cancer cell would show a process very much like that depicted for the first time in a new study by researchers at Dana-Farber. read more
July 10, 2000
Patients to be enrolled in final stage of Boston clinical trial for EndostatinDuring the next several weeks, clinical researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will enroll 12 additional patients into the final stage of their Endostatin clinical trial. Once these patients have been enrolled, the Phase I clinical trial in Boston will be closed to new patients. read more
June 26, 2000
Dana-Farber scientist receives first-ever Kirsch Foundation Medical Investigator awardThe Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation has announced that Ronald A. DePinho, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is one of four recipients of its first-ever medical Investigator Awards program. read more
June 15, 2000
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute appoints David Rosenthal, M.D., medical director of New Center for Integrated TherapyDr. David S. Rosenthal, M.D., past president of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and director and CEO of Harvard University Health Services (HUHS), has been appointed medical director of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's soon-to-be-unveiled Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies. read more
June 13, 2000
New technique enables scientists to isolate elusive cell proteins offering new targets for drug therapiesResearchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have devised a new way to pluck specific proteins from the membranes of cells making it possible to obtain these key proteins in a pure, undamaged and highly-stable state-something that has been cumbersome and rarely successful in the past. read more
June 13, 2000
Dana-Farber physician-researcher named winner of the 2000 Discover Magazine's Award for Technological InnovationDr. Todd Golub, pediatric oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer "Institute and research scientist at the Whitehead Institute Center for Genome Research, has been awarded the DISCOVER Magazine Award for Technological Innovation in the "Health" category for his pioneering work using "DNA chips" to diagnose cancers. read more
May 23, 2000
Dana-Farber to establish new center for brain researchContinuing its leading-edge research into treatments for malignant diseases, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is launching a new, comprehensive neuro-oncology center to focus on the genetics of brain development--with the goal of creating new clinical therapies for brain cancers and other neurological malignancies. read more
May 18, 2000
Silverman is honored at Dana-Farber for leadership excellenceLewis B. Silverman, M.D., a Newton native, director of the Jimmy Fund Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, was honored with the 1999 Stephen E. Sallan Leadership Award in Pediatric Oncology. read more
April 27, 2000
Dana-Farber, Children's Hospital formalize 50-year relationshipThe formation of the Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care (DF/CHCC) was announced today by the Boards of Trustees at Children's Hospital Boston (CH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). The affiliation formalizes a long-standing collaboration between the two preeminent hospitals that spans 50 years. read more
April 6, 2000
Dana-Farber physician named director of Research for the Asian American NetworkThe National Cancer Institute (NCI) has announced a $7.6 million grant to lead a five-year program known as the Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training (AANCART), which is composed of six major cancer centers, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. read more
March 30, 2000
Leading cancer institute tests novel monitoring techniqueA cancer detection technique that uses an advanced sensor developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, is being tested by the prestigious Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, for use in monitoring the effectiveness of cancer treatment. read more
March 21, 2000
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute president responds to Supreme Court decision to strike down FDA regulation of cigarette sales to minorsDespite all the attention paid to new cancer treatments, and all the research into cancer and disease prevention, we have known for decades the best way to prevent cancer---stop smoking. Like nothing else, tobacco kills. read more
February 21, 2000
Boston doctors join Katie Couric to fight colorectal cancerOn Wednesday, March 1, 2000, Dr. Robert J. Mayer of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health will join Katie Couric, Lilly Tartikoff, and actor Dennis Franz to launch the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA). The event, to be held at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City, will launch this unique alliance to build awareness of colorectal cancer - the nation's second leading cause of cancer death. read more
February 17, 2000
Gene injections can prevent development of cirrhosis in mice, study findsThe long-sought trigger for cirrhosis of the liver - the world's seventh leading cause of death by disease - may be the erosion of tiny, repetitive DNA strands called telomeres that cover the tips of chromosomes and limit the number of times cells may divide, according to a new study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. read more
February 2, 2000
New study finds substantial suffering among children with cancer at the end of lifeFor pediatric cancer patients, the primary goal of treatment is often to cure. Consideration of the toxicity of the therapy or the patient's quality of life is often secondary to this goal. Still, about 25 percent of children with cancer die of their disease. read more
January 31, 2000
Finding may lead to new approach for preventing mother-to-infant HIV transmission during birthIn Africa, where tens of thousands of children infected with the AIDS virus are born each year, a drug or vaccine capable of preventing the virus from passing from mother to infant has the potential to save many lives. read more
