February 13, 2018
Ask the Doctors – What are clinical trials and how do they work?
Dear Doctors: I keep reading about new cancer drugs that have been developed in clinical trials. What exactly is a clinical trial and how does it work? A clinical trial is a scientific study that looks into whether a specific drug, medical treatment, device or approach is not only effective, but also safe. Although clinical […]
Tags: biomedical research, cancer, cancer drugs, clinical trial, clinical trials, Dr. Eve Glazier, Dr.Elizabeth Ko, drugs, laboratory testing, new drugs, research, scientific study
September 25, 2017
New clinical trial could boost immunotherapy’s power against cancer
By Tiare Dunlap 
Good news: Cancer survival rates are improving. The five-year cancer survival rate has risen from 49 percent in the mid-1970s to 69 percent in 2013, even as the U.S. cancer death rate has decreased by 25 percent through 2014. But these rates could be even better. A new clinical trial led by Dr. Antoni Ribas […]
Tags: aggressive cancer, Antoni Ribas, cancer treatment, clinical trial, immunotherapy, immunotherapy clinical trial, late stage cancer, melanoma, UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
August 18, 2017
How prostate cancer patients can choose a treatment they won’t regret
By Ryan Hatoum 
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in July suggests that as many as 15 percent of patients who undergo treatment for prostate cancer later regret the treatment they choose. Dr. Christopher Saigal, vice chair of urology at UCLA, is trying to fix that. Prostate cancer is one of the more curable cancers […]
Tags: cancer, clinical trial, clinical trials, Dr. Christopher Saigal, men's health, patient care, personalized medicine, prostate, prostate cancer, prostatectomy, surgery, urology
November 7, 2016
New drug offers greater hope for some patients with lung cancer
By uclahealth 
For the vast majority of patients with lung cancer, advances in treatment have been minimal. Chemotherapy remains the standard of care, and for those whose cancer worsens during or after initial treatment, the outcome of so-called second-line therapy has been poor: Only about 10 percent of patients show any improvement, and the average length of […]
Tags: cancer, cancer cells, chemotherapy, clinical trial, docetaxel, Dr. Edward Garon, former smokers, lung cancer, malignancies, non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC, ramucirumab
October 26, 2016
It started with my annual mammogram
At the age of 50, just after sending the youngest of my 3 beautiful daughters off to live in Israel for a year, I went for my annual mammogram. I received a phone call on a Friday afternoon explaining that I needed to come back for some additional images. The follow up was scheduled for […]
Tags: bilateral mastectomy, bone scans, BRCA 1, BRCA 1 gene, BRCA 2, BRCA 2 gene, breast cancer, breast cancer researcher, breast reconstruction, breast reconstruction after mastectomy, breast reduction, cancer
April 26, 2016
Multipronged approach takes aim at malignant brain tumors
By uclahealth
Researchers and clinicians at UCLA are making progress in their efforts to find effective treatments for malignant brain tumors — in part through a strategy that recognizes multiple options are needed coupled with the ability to predict which therapies will most benefit each specific patient. “Thanks to our work in molecularly and genetically classifying these […]
Tags: biomarkers, brain tumors, cancer, clinical trial, DCVax, dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine, Dr. Linda Liau, Dr. Timothy Cloughesy, genetic profiling, geneticsc, glioblastoma, gliomas
January 25, 2016
By uclahealth
I have melanoma, stage 4. It’s in the liver, lungs, and brain,” says Laura Mayes, 40-year-old wife and mother.
Tags: brain tumor, cancer, clinical trial, liver tumor, lung tumor, melanoma, patient stories
October 6, 2015
By uclahealth
“I was diagnosed with PKD (polycystic kidney disease, in which cysts grow on kidneys and cause kidney failure) when I was 15. My doctor at the time said it was no big deal. My mom and I went home and researched it. It felt like I won the lottery from hell,” says Caitlin Flanary, a […]
Tags: clinical trial, cysts, Dr. Anjay Rastogi, high blood pressure, kidney failure, kidneys, PKD, polycystic kidney disease
November 1, 2008
Melanoma Survivor is Loving Life
By uclahealth
The melanoma had spread throughout his body. It was everywhere, and none of the surgeries or chemotherapies or radiation seemed to work. So Joseph Rick planned a trip to Illinois and bought a grave plot next to his father. Once a big guy, he’d lost 165 pounds. He could barely walk. He was 40 and […]
Tags: cancer, clinical trial, Dr. Antoni Ribas, Dr. John Glaspy, melanoma, UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
November 1, 2007
Beating Back Late-Stage Melanoma
By uclahealth
Three shots did for Carol McSeveney what six surgeries, 32 doses of radiation and six infusions of interferon could not – beat back the stage IV melanoma that threatened to take her life. Today, eight years after her diagnosis with an aggressive form of melanoma, McSeveney is cancer free. And she says her participation on […]
Tags: cancer, clinical trial, Dr. Antoni Ribas, Dr. James Economou, Dr. John Glaspy, melanoma, UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, vaccine for melanoma
