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WDET A foundation will offer scholarships and internships to medical students for assistance in recruiting underrepresented and disadvantaged individuals into clinical trials. Hayley Thompson, Ph.D., associate center director of Community Outreach and Education at Karmanos Cancer Institute and faculty supervisor of Karmanos’ Office of Cancer Health Equity and Community Engagement , applauded this work and explained why it's important for patients of color to consider participating in clinical trials. Sh...

Your genes determine your eye color and height, and they may also reveal your cancer risk. Having a family history of certain types of cancer can increase your risk of developing the disease. There is a lot of information out there about genetics and cancer risk, and sifting through it can be overwhelming and confusing. But you don’t have to do it alone. The Karmanos Cancer Institute genetic counseling service is available to patients throughout the Karmanos Cancer Network. “Genetic counselors have adva...

Clinical Leader As we approach a new year, Clinical Leader asked clinical trials professionals about the success and future outlook of using decentralized clinical trials (DCT). Wasif Saif, M.D., MBBS , medical oncologist and leader of the Phase I Clinical Trials Multidisciplinary Team at Karmanos, explained how DCTs have provided access to many cancer patients, and what should be considered when designing a trial. Read the article here .

Healio Do you understand how clinical trials work in oncology? Wasif Saif, M.D., MBBS , medical oncologist, leader of the  Phase I Clinical Trials Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) and co-leader of the  Gastrointestinal and Neuroendocrine Oncology MDT , debunked a common myth about clinical trials for cancer and explained why there are no placebos in phase I trials. Read the article here . Learn more about clinical trials at Karmanos here .

Though rare in the U.S., stomach cancer makes up about 1.5% of all cancer diagnoses annually. The American Cancer Society estimates that over 26,800 people will be diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2024. Also known as gastric cancer, it’s a disease that is usually detected in patients in their upper 60s, affecting more men than women. Signs & Symptoms of Stomach Cancer Due to stomach cancer being rare in the U.S., there are no standard guidelines for routine screening for average-risk people, so it i...

WebMD Breast cancer survivors have turned the in-person support group into a thread on Reddit. Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Denver found themes of advice, affirmation, venting, solidarity, and motivation, among other topics discussed in over 700 posts. Though peer support is present, Mary Morreale, M.D. , clinical psychiatrist and member of the Supportive Oncology Multidisciplinary Team at Karmanos, explained why survivors will need to find a delicate balance with...

Patient Power The liver plays a crucial role in the health of our skin, among its other duties. Anthony Shields, M.D., Ph.D. , medical oncologist and member of the  Gastrointestinal and Neuroendocrine Oncology  and the  Phase 1 Clinical Trials  Multidisciplinary Teams at Karmanos, explained skin conditions that some liver cancer patients may experience. Read the article here .

A recent study published in Scientific Reports correlates higher levels of pollutant particulate matter to higher occurrences of head and neck aerodigestive cancer. The article “ Air Pollution Exposure and Head and Neck Cancer Incidence ” is the work of a multi-institutional collaboration with researchers from Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, Johns Hopkins University and Mass General Brigham. The study was led by John Cramer, M.D. , otolaryngologist, member of the Head and Ne...

GQ Anthony Shields, M.D., Ph.D. , medical oncologist and member of the  Gastrointestinal and Neuroendocrine Oncology  and the  Phase 1 Clinical Trials  Multidisciplinary Teams at Karmanos, spoke to GQ about the imaging process for cancer screenings and his thoughts on full-body scans. Read the article here .

Mary Lou Brose never imagined having a CT scan of her back could be life-changing, but results from the test turned her world upside down.  A surgeon ordered the CT to get a closer look at what was happening with Mary Lou’s sciatic nerve, and what he found – a mass in her lung that turned out to be cancerous – brought the discussion about her back pain to an abrupt halt. “The surgeon noticed something in my lung,” Mary Lou said. “He said I was not going to have back surgery until this was taken car...