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The Latest In Cancer Research And Treatment In San Diego

Pictured is Lori Wilson, a breast cancer patient who is featured in the KPBS television series "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies."
Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies
Pictured is Lori Wilson, a breast cancer patient who is featured in the KPBS television series "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies."

The Latest In Cancer Research And Treatment In San Diego
The Latest In Cancer Research And Treatment In San Diego GUESTS:Dr. Razelle Kurzrock, director, Center for Personalized Therapy at Moores Cancer Center Dr. Marin Xavier, hematologist and oncologist, Scripps Clinic in Hillcrest

TOP STORY ON MIDDAY EDITION, TONIGHT ON KPBS TV IS THE FIRST PART OF THE DOCUMENTARY BASED ON THE BOOK THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES. A BIOGRAPHY OF CANCER. THE THREE-PART SERIES PRODUCED BY KEN BURNS TRACES THE HISTORY OF CANCER TREATMENT AND RESEARCH UP TO THE PRESENT DAY. IT IS AN EPIC STORY AND ONE THAT SAN DIEGO DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS ARE TAKING PART IN EVERY DAY. BOTH THE UNDERSTANDING OF AND TREATMENT OF CANCER HAVE ADVANCED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE PAST DECADES, THE CANCER IN ALL ITS FORMS IS STILL THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE UNITED STATES CLAIMING MORE THAN HALF 1 MILLION AMERICAN LIVES EACH YEAR. JOINING ME ARE DR. RAZELLE KURZROCK DIRECTOR FOR THE CENTER PERSONALIZED THERAPY AND CANCER MORE CENTER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. AND DR. MARIN XAVIER HEMATOLOGIST AND ONCOLOGIST SCRIPTS CLINIC IN HILLCREST. DOCTORS, I KNOW YOU'RE BOTH MY YOU WITH THE BEST SELLING BOOK THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES. DO YOU THINK THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STORY TO TELL DR. KURZWEIL ? I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT STORY TO TELL. CANCER HAS BEEN A DEVASTATING DISEASE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS AND ESPECIALLY IN THIS CENTURY. WHEN WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OVERCOME INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND THE STORY OF HOW WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIGHT CANCER AND SOME OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENT WHICH ARE ACTUALLY VERY EXCITING IS REALLY A VERY IMPORTANT STORY TO THE DISEASE THAT TOUCHES ALMOST EVERY FAMILY. AND YOU AGREE, DR. XAVIER, AND EXCITING THING HAVING THIS DOCUMENTARY OUT THERE FOR PEOPLE TO SEE? OF COURSE THIS IS WHAT WE DO EVERYDAY IS TRY TO HELP PATIENTS BATTLE CANCER. TO ME THIS IS THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES. IT IS TRULY AS WE'VE SAID, IT TOUCHES EVERYBODY IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. SO I THINK IT REALLY IS A WONDERFUL TALE OF THE HISTORY OF WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO AND WHY WE ARE WHERE WE ARE TODAY SO I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT. DR. RAZELLE KURZROCK HOW HAS CANCER TREATMENT CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED PRACTICING MEDICINE ? CANCER TREATMENT HAS CHANGED A LOT AND IT IS IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING MORE QUICKLY. SO WHEN I STARTED PRACTICING MEDICINE AND EVEN TODAY, MOST PATIENTS WERE DIAGNOSED BASED ON WHAT OREGON THE CANCER CAME FROM, IF IT CAME FROM THE BREAST OR THE COLON OR THE LONG AND THEN THEY WOULD GET DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST CANCER OR COLON CANCER OR LUNG CANCER. THE MAIN MODALITIES OF TREATMENT WERE SURGERY, RADIATION THERAPY, CHEMOTHERAPY AND THAT REMAINS TO -- REMAINS TRUE TODAY BUT THERE IS SOME TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGES OCCURRING NOW WITH PERSONALIZED OR PRECISION MEDICINE WITH IMMUNOTHERAPY AND GENOMIC WE TARGETED THERAPY THAT I BELIEVE WILL CHANGE THE FACE OF CANCER OVER THE COMING YEARS. I WONDER, IF YOU COULD, DR. RAZELLE KURZROCK TO GIVE US AN IDEA OF HOW PERSONALIZED THERAPY WORKS. SO HISTORICALLY WE BUMPED PATIENTS TOGETHER AND SO IF YOU HAD AS AN EXAMPLE: CANCER THERE WOULD BE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE COLON CANCER AND NOW WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO IS UNDERSTAND EACH PATIENT'S INDIVIDUAL TUMOR BETTER. AND WE HAVE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES THAT ENABLED US TO DO THAT AND THEN TO TARGET THOSE TUMORS IN TWO WAYS THAT ENCOMPASSES THE WORDS PRECISION AND PERSONALIZED, SO FIRST OF ALL, WE DID THERE PRESET A VERY PRECISE AND HIT THE TWO MORE -- TUMOR BUT DO NOT DO AS MUCH DAMAGE TO NORMAL TISSUE. THE SECOND ASPECT IS PERSONALIZED, LOOKING AT EACH PATIENT'S TUMOR AS AN INDIVIDUAL TUMOR RATHER THAN LUMPING TUMORS TOGETHER AND TRYING TO CRAFT A THERAPY THAT IS CUSTOMIZED FOR THAT TUMOR. IMMUNOTHERAPY ACTUALLY WORKS WITH THE BODY'S OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM, IS THAT RIGHT ? EXACTLY. IMMUNOTHERAPY TRIES TO HARNESS THE BODY'S IMMUNE SYSTEM AND IT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF BOTH THE POSITION THERAPY AND PERSONALIZED THERAPY BECAUSE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IS VERY PRECISE AND VERY PERSONALIZED IT IS YOUR OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM AND SO THAT DEFINITELY FALLS UNDER THE RUBRIC AS WELL. SO, DR. KURZROCK, WHEN SOMEONE IS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, HOW DO DOCTORS BEGIN FIGURING OUT WHAT KIND OF THEIR PAY IS MOST APPROPRIATE ? WELL, MOST PATIENTS GET CLASSIC THERAPY BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT MOST -- THE MOST ABOUT IT. SO SURGERY, RADIATION THERAPY, CHEMOTHERAPY, THESE ARE MODALITIES OF THERAPY THAT WE'VE STUDIED FOR YEARS. WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TO ADD TO THAT IS AS AN EXAMPLE.GENOMICS ON THE TUMOR. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT INSTEAD OF JUST LOOKING SUPERFICIALLY AT THE CELL AND SAYING THE CELL COMES FROM THE BREAST OR THESE TUMORS COME FROM THE COLON, WE CAN LOOK DEEP IN THE CELL WITH NEWER TECHNOLOGY AND UNDERSTAND THE ABNORMALITIES THAT ARE CODED AT THE DNA LEVEL OR THE GENE LEVEL THAT DRIVE THAT TUMOR. AND IN SOME CASES, WE HAVE THERAPIES THAT CAN BE MATCHED TO THOSE ABNORMALITIES. IN THE SAME WAY, WE CAN LOOK AT THE TUMOR AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT IF THAT TUMOR MIGHT BE AMENABLE TO IMMUNE THERAPIES AND THEN TRY TO CUSTOMIZE IMMUNE THERAPIES FOR THE PATIENT. CONSIDERING WHAT DR. KURZROCK HAS EXPLAINED ABOUT THE NEW DIRECTION THAT CANCER RESEARCHERS GOING IN, DR. XAVIER, DO YOU SEE A DAY WHEN THE STANDARD TREATMENTS OF RADICAL SURGERIES AND CHEMOTHERAPY WILL BEGIN TO BE PHASED OUT ? I THINK MOST OF US WOULD PROBABLY SAY THINGS ARE MOVING FASTER THAN WE WOULD ABOUT -- IMAGINE. HAVING THESE TOOLS TO BE ABLE TO TEST THE TUMORS FOR THOSE DRIVER MUTATIONS AND TARGET THEM AND HAVE DRUGS AVAILABLE THAT WILL ACTUALLY SHUT DOWN THOSE PATHWAYS, I THINK IT IS GOING TO BE MOVING UP TOWARDS EARLIER PHASES IN A PATIENT'S JOURNEY WITH CANCER. I THINK THAT WE ARE JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SEQUENCE THESE BECAUSE WE ARE SOMEWHAT LIMITED BY WHAT THE FDA PROVES. THEY WILL PROVE ONE DRUG FOR ONE DISEASE AND JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE HAS A MUTATION IN A DIFFERENT DISEASE OF THEM EVEN HAVE ACCESS TO A DRUG THAT IS APPROVED FOR SOMETHING ELSE. SO WE DO HAVE A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE BUT ARE VERY LIMITED BY HOW WE CAN ACTUALLY -- HOW WE CAN TAKE ACTION WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE BASED ON THE -- OF THESE ARE VERY COSTLY THERAPIES AS WELL AND SO RIGHT NOW I THINK AS A PRACTICING CLINICAL ONCOLOGIST, THIS IS THE CHALLENGE WE HAD AND HOW TO GET THAT CLOSER TO THE PATIENT FASTER AND HOW TO BYPASS TOXIC THERAPIES. DR. XAVIER, DO WE KNOW ABOUT WHY CANCERS FORM IN THE FIRST PLACE? SO AS WE HAVE MORE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THESE PATHWAYS, WE ARE DEVELOPING A MUCH MORE HIGH LEVEL UNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT DRIVES DIFFERENT TUMORS. EACH TUMOR HAS CERTAIN PATHWAYS THAT ARE THE DRIVERS FOR THAT TUMOR AND SO THAT IS WHY YOU BECOME SO PERSONALIZED AND IS NOT JUST THE COLON OR THE BREAST, BUT THIS IS, FOR EXAMPLE, A AND TOWARD A DRIVEN CANCER OR OF PHILADELPHIA CHROMOSOME DRIVEN TUMOR. WE HAVE MUTATIONS THAT WE KNOW DRIVE THE TUMORS AND THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY FIT WITH THE SIDE OF ORIGIN AND SO YES, WE DO HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE THAT THE KEY IS TO LINK THOSE MUTATIONS WITH THERAPIES THAT WILL TURN OFF THAT PATHWAY. SO DR. KURZWEIL -- SO DR. KURZROCK, WHAT YOU'RE BOTH SAYING IS THAT THE STANDARD IDEA OF A PHYSICIAN FOCUSING OR RESEARCHER FOCUSING ON BRAIN CANCER OR COLON CANCER OR BREAST CANCER OR LIVER CANCER, AS IF THEY WERE DIFFERENT DISEASES ALMOST, IT'S NOT EXACTLY WHAT RESEARCH IS SHOWING US. THAT IS NOT THE DIRECTION THAT THE RESEARCH IS POINTING TO SOME BECAUSE THAT RIGHT? WE ARE NOT 100% SURE ABOUT IT, BUT THERE IS CERTAINLY EVIDENCE THAT THE TUMOR DERIVED FROM WHICH OREGON IT DERIVES FROM WHETHER A BRAIN TUMOR OR BREAST TUMOR OH: CANCER WILL BECOME LESS IMPORTANT. WE ARE NOT SURE THAT THE CONTEXT IS ALTOGETHER NOT NEEDED, BUT IT SEEMS THAT WILL BE LOOK AT THE DINNER WAS DASHED GENOMICS OF TUMOR, BREAST TUMOR MAY BE SIMILAR TO A COLON TUMOR THAN IT MIGHT BE TO ANOTHER BREAST TUMOR. SO THIS ISN'T REALLY IN A WAY A DISRUPTIVE TEMP -- TECHNOLOGY AND A GOOD WAY MAYBE THE INTERNET IS WITH -- DISRUPTIVE BECAUSE WE ARE LEARNING A LOT ABOUT TUMORS AND THAT THEY ARE NOT THE WAY WE THOUGHT THEY WERE. SO I DO THINK THAT IN THE FUTURE, IT WILL BE MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE GENOMICS OF THE TUMOR THAN TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER IT CAME FROM THE BREAST OR THE COLON OR THE BRAIN. WE ARE NOT YET SURE, THOUGH, THAT THAT TRADITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE IRRELEVANT. IT MAY -- THE CONTEXT MAY STILL HAVE REBOULET -- RELEVANCE, BUT IT WILL NOT BE THE FIRST TIER OF RELEVANCE. IT WILL BE THE SECOND TIER OF RELEVANCE. AS DR. XAVIER WAS POINTING OUT, ISN'T THAT USUALLY THE WAY THAT CANCER RESEARCH IS FUNDED NOW. DEPENDING ON WHERE THE CANCER IS IN THE BODY? YES, AND THAT IS QUITE A CHALLENGE BECAUSE FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS ARE SET UP TO REVIEW PROPOSALS BY THESE CLASSIC PARADIGMS, THESE CLASSIC MODELS. SO IF ONE SENDS IN A PROPOSAL AND SAYS, WELL, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH TYPE OF CANCER I'M JUST LOOKING AT GENOMICS, THAT MAY BE THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE, BUT FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS OFTEN DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THAT. DR. XAVIER, ARE THE TARGETED THERAPIES THE IMMUNOTHERAPY THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, ARE THEY MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN SURVIVAL RATES OR IS IT TOO SOON TO TELL ? SO I THINK THAT IS THE KEY IS THAT WE DO NOT HAVE LARGE ENOUGH BODY OF DATA TO SAY THAT A CERTAIN TYPE OF GENOMIC TEST TO IDENTIFY CERTAIN MUTATION IN TARGETING THAT MUTATION IMPROVES OVERALL OUTCOMES AT THIS POINT IN TIME. AND THAT IS WHY WE ARE SO CHALLENGED. IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL AND WE KNOW -- WE CAN SEE AT THE BEDSIDE ANECDOTALLY THAT WE ARE SPECIFICALLY GIVEN SOMEBODY A MEDICATION THAT IS GOING TO WORK AND IT IS BEARING THEM SIDE EFFECTS FROM TREATMENTS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT WORK SO IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE, BUT THAT IS WHAT THE TROUBLE WE ARE RUNNING INTO IS THAT WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE ROUTINE PRACTICES OF GIVING ONE DRUG FOR DISEASE WHERE IT'S NOT BEEN STUDIED IN. I KNOW DR. KURZROCK YOU HAVE HAD SOME REMARKABLE RESULTS WITH THEM YOU KNOW THERAPY, AGAIN, ANECDOTALLY BUT IT WORKS DIFFERENTLY THAN THE STANDARD CHEMOTHERAPY, RIGHT? YOU TELL A STORY ABOUT A MAN WHO HAD FANTASTIC DISEASE FOR MELANOMA -- METASTASES DISEASE FOR MELANOMA. WE KNOW IMMUNOTHERAPY IS REALLY QUITE DIFFERENT THAN CHEMOTHERAPY OR TARGETED THERAPY. AND THE EXAMPLE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF IMMUNOTHERAPY, WE WORK WITH A DRUG CALLED IPILIMUMAB WHICH IS FDA APPROVED BUT IT WAS BEFORE IT WAS AT THE APRIL THROUGH -- APPROVED AND BEFORE WE UNDERSTOOD IMMUNOTHERAPY WAS DIFFERENT AND THIS PATIENT HAD MELANOMA METASTATIC MELANOMA AND WAS AN STAGE WHEN ON THE THERAPY AND PROGRESS, DISEASE PROGRESSED AFTER TWO MONTHS OF WE SENT HIM TO HOSPICE. HE WAS IN HOSPICE FOR ABOUT ONE MONTH AND BEGAN TO FEEL BETTER. AND SO HE CAME OUT OF HOSPICE, WAITED ONE MORE MONTH AND THEN FELT BETTER AND WHEN HE CAME BACK TO US TO OUR SHOCK, HE WAS IN COMPLETE REMISSION. I DON'T WANT TO GIVE ANYBODY FALSE HOPE. THIS IS REALLY A MIND -- MINORITY OF PATIENTS BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS NOT TOTALLY ATYPICAL FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY NOW. WHAT WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IN THE OTHER -- WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT IN THE EARLY DAYS BUT WE NOW KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME PATIENTS THAT HAVE PROGRESSIVE DISEASE DIFFERENT FROM CHEMOTHERAPY WHERE WE CAN SAY TOO MUCH IF YOU'RE PROGRESSING, YOU HAVE DONE POORLY. SOMETIMES IT TAKES TIME FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM TO REVEREND UP . AND SOME OF THESE PATIENTS ACTUALLY CAN HAVE VERY DRAMATIC RESPONSES. AND THERE ARE A SUBSET OF PATIENTS WITH IMMUNOTHERAPY THAT CAN HAVE VERY LONG-TERM REMISSIONS AND WE BELIEVE MAY EVEN BE CURED. IT IS NOT THE MAJORITY, BUT THIS IS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF THERAPY THAN CHEMOTHERAPY. THE COURSE OF THE RESPONSES CAN BE DIFFERENT. WE EVEN HAVE NEW RESPONSE CRITERIA CALLED IMMUNE RESPONSE CRITERIA NOW THAT WE KNOW THIS HAPPENS IN ORDER TO ACKNOWLEDGE THESE DIFFERENCES. I THINK THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF -- I THINK IT IS A FAIR TO SAY TO SAY THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CANCER BREAKTHROUGH FATIGUE AMONG THE GENERAL OF -- PUBLIC WE'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT NEW TREATMENTS FOR CANCER BUT IT SEEMS IT IS IMPENETRABLE IN THE WAY. IT IS THE SECOND HIGHEST CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE NATION. DR. XAVIER, DO YOU THINK WE WILL BEGIN TO SEE THOSE HIGH NUMBERS BEGIN TO SLIP ADDS THESE NEW THERAPIES BEGIN TO BE MORE IRREGULAR -- A REGULAR PART OF CANCER TREATMENT ? WHAT IS SO EXCITING IS THAT AT LEAST THREE OF THOSE IMMUNOTHERAPIES THAT WE HAVE MENTIONED ARE NOW ON THE SHELF. WE CAN ACTUALLY PRESCRIBE THOSE. I CAN TAKE THAT IPILIMUMAB AND PUT IT INTO A PATIENT AND EVEN THOUGH IT IS A MINORITY THAT WILL HAVE THE DRAMATIC RESPONSE, IT WILL BE WONDERFUL. OF COURSE, THAT WILL IMPROVE OUR OVERALL OUTCOMES. THE CURATES IT WILL BE -- CURE RATES WILL BE A COMMON NATION OF EARLY DETECTION AND CATCHING TUMORS BEFORE THEY ARE INCURABLE AND WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MAINLY IN THIS EPIC STORY TONIGHT IS WHEN IS REALLY LIKE A NEW TOOLBOX AND WE HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO BEST USE IT AND REALLY IMPACT THIS DISEASE AT LARGE. AND DR. KURZROCK, DO YOU SEE A DAY WHERE WE ACTUALLY PENETRATE AND KNOW HOW TO CURE CANCER ? I AM OPTIMISTIC. I THINK WE'RE STANDING ON THE THRESHOLD OF MAJOR CHANGES FOR CANCER. WHEN I WENT INTO ONCOLOGY, I WENT INTO IT WITH THE HOPE THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO IMPACT CANCER AND HONESTLY, THE FIRST 20 YEARS WERE QUITE BEAUTIFUL. ALMOST EVERY STUDY WE DID WAS NEGATIVE. WE NEVER SAW A RESPONSE. THIS IS A NEW DAY. ALMOST EVERY STUDY THAT WE DO THAT IS RATIONAL ACTUALLY COMES OUT WITH RESPONSES AND OFTEN REALLY DRAMATIC RESPONSES. THE FDA IS APPROVING A LOT OF NEW THERAPIES, RAPIDLY NOW BECAUSE OF SOME OF THESE REMARKABLE RESPONSES. AGAIN, IT IS STILL THE SECOND-LARGEST KILLER IN THE COUNTRY AND WE HAVE NOT REACHED THE TIPPING POINT BUT I REALLY SENSE WE ARE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THAT TIPPING POINT. I CAN FULLY UNDERSTAND THE BREAKTHROUGH FATIGUE, BUT I AM OPTIMISTIC THAT IN THE NEXT FIVE OR 10 YEARS WE ARE GOING TO GO OVER THE TIPPING POINT AND REALLY SEE MAJOR CHANGES. THE FIRST PART OF THE PBS DOCUMENTARY CANCER: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES BEGINS TONIGHT AT NINE ON KPBS TV. IT CONTINUES TOMORROW AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT . TOMORROW ON MIDDAY EDITION WE WILL CONTINUE OUR DISCUSSION ON CANCER TREATMENTS WITH A FOCUS ON LIVING WITH CANCER. I'VE BEEN SPEAKING TODAY WITH DR. RAZELLE KURZROCK, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR PERSONALIZED THERAPY AT MORRIS KANTOR SENSOR AND DR. MARIN XAVIER HEMATOLOGIST AND ONCOLOGIST AT SCRIPPS CLINIC IN HILLCREST. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.

The first part of a documentary based on the book "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies" will air Monday on KPBS television.

The three-part series, produced by Ken Burns, traces the history of cancer treatment and research up to the present day. It's a story that San Diego doctors and scientists are taking part in every day.

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Cancer in all its forms is still the second leading cause of death in the U.S. — claiming more than half a million American lives each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Razelle Kurzrock, director of the Center for Personalized Therapy at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, said the television series is important as a way of showing how cancer treatment has changed over the years.

“Cancer treatment has changed a lot, and it’s in the process of changing even more and very quickly,” Kurzrock told KPBS Midday Edition on Monday. “Historically, we lumped patients together. Now what we’re trying to do is understand each patient’s tumor.”

"Cancer: The Emperor Of All Maladies"

When: 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

Where: KPBS television

For more information, go to http://cancerfilms.org/

She said modern-day treatments allow doctors to offer precise and personalized care.

Dr. Marin Xavier, a hematologist and oncologist at Scripps Clinic in Hillcrest, said advancements in cancer treatment are “moving faster than we had ever imagined,” but a lack of data makes it challenging for doctors to know how effective new treatments are.

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“That’s particularly why we’re so challenged,” Xavier said. “We just don’t have enough data to support the routine practice.”

Still, the challenges and advances in cancer treatment make up an important story to share, she said.

“It touches everybody in some way or another,” Xavier said. “It really is a wonderful tale of why we do what we do.”

The Latest In Cancer Research And Treatment In San Diego