The Duke Cancer Institute’s Conversations in Cancer video series examines key developments and emerging innovations in oncology. Hosted by Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD, chief of the Duke Division of Medical Oncology and associate vice president for oncology services for Duke University Health System, the series features conversations with DCI experts dedicated to advancing cancer research and patient care.
Dive into the world of cancer vaccines: what they are, do they kill cancer cells and how and what’s on the horizon. Duke Health's medical oncologist Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD, and Duke Cancer Institute's cancer vaccine researcher Zachary Hartman, PhD, discuss these questions.
We live in an environment where plastic is everywhere. It’s in our clothing fibers, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the gum we chew, and the water we drink. Jason Somarelli, Ph.D., an assistant professor in medicine at Duke, who studies microplastics and their effects on the human body and Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD discuss the pervasiveness of plastic pollution, its potential impact on cancer risk, and what we can do to protect ourselves and future generations.
For many years, the focus of cancer treatment has been to kill or destroy cancer cells with chemotherapy and radiation. But new research from DCI is shifting how doctors view cancer and approach treatment decisions. Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD, talks to Nicholas DeVito, MD, a Duke researcher and immunologist who treats colon and other gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, about his research suggesting that for an increasing number of GI cancers, certain types of immunotherapies may replace harsh cancer treatments as first-line therapy.
Cellular therapies are showing tremendous promise for certain cancers that were previously thought to be incurable. While there are several types of cell therapies, the common denominator is their use of a patient’s cells, which are removed, altered, then infused back into the body to attack and kill cancer cells. Chenyu Lin, MD, a hematologist-oncologist at Duke, explains how they work, and what the future may hold.
Within radiotheranostics, radioligand therapy, is using radioactive material to target and destroy cancer cells with less side effects than standard cancer treatment. They are approved to treat advanced prostate cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, thyroid cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and clinical trials are underway in more cancer types.
Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD, talks to Hannah McManus, MD, a medical oncologist who treats prostate cancer about this technology. In the case of prostate cancer, for example, the treatment – PLUVICTO -- looks for a protein called PSMA, which is present in a large majority of prostate cancer cases. In neuroendocrine cancer, LUTATHERA targets somatostatin receptors (SSTRs), which are found on the surface of most neuroendocrine tumors. In both types of cancer, the radioactive molecule is given through an infusion, it enters the cancer cell and releases radiation, which destroys the cell.
Because of its precise delivery mechanism, this approach reduces harm to healthy cells. People experience fewer side effects, which can be associated with chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.