Posts by: Ana Pena, PhD

Ana Pena, PhD

Ana is a molecular biologist with a passion for communication and discovery. As a science writer, her goal is to provide readers, in particular patients and healthcare providers, with clear and quality information about the latest medical advances. Ana holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where she specialized in infectious diseases, epigenetics, and gene expression.

August 13, 2019September 4, 2019

Medicare Now Covers CAR T-cell Therapy for Certain Lymphomas and Leukemias

News

Medicare will provide nationwide coverage for CAR T-cell therapies, an innovative anti-cancer treatment, for certain types of lymphoma and leukemia, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced. ... Read more

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019

Affimed Trial Updates Support AFM13 Use for Certain CD30-positive Lymphomas

News

Updated results from two clinical trials support the potential of AFM13, an investigational immunotherapy being developed by Affimed, in combination with Merck‘s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or ... Read more

July 18, 2019

Localized and Superficial Brain PCNS Lymphomas May Benefit from Surgery, Study Reviews Suggest

News

Certain patients with primary central nervous system (PCNS) lymphoma, a rare type of brain cancer, may benefit more from having surgery to remove their tumor than following the current standard ... Read more

June 4, 2019

Cancer Vaccine Shows Potential against iNHL in Early Results

News

A new cancer vaccine still in clinical testing showed potential for driving disease remission in patients with advanced indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (iNHL) and may help restore efficacy of immunotherapies, including ... Read more

May 28, 2019July 1, 2019

Preclinical Study Uncovers Resistance Mechanisms to Lymphoma Therapy and Potential Way to Overcome Them

News

Lymphoma cells can become resistant to therapy as they acquire novel genetic mutations, but a new study has found that they can also become resistant as they reprogram which genes ... Read more

May 14, 2019

Health Canada Approves Adcetris-Chemo for Advanced Classical Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

News

Health Canada has approved Seattle Genetics‘ submission requesting approval of Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) in combination with standard chemotherapy as a frontline treatment for patients with advanced (stage IV) classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma. ... Read more

April 23, 2019

Epstein-Barr Vaccination Could Cut Risk of B-cell Lymphoma, Study Suggests

News

Chronic B-cell activation — which can happen because of infectious mononucleosis, commonly caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) — triggers an excessive proliferation of certain B cells, which can evolve into a B-cell lymphoma. Although ... Read more

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019

Scotland Rejects NHS Access to Kymriah for Aggressive Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

News

Scotland’s healthcare system has rejected the use of Novartis‘ immunotherapy Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) for adults with aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who failed at least two prior lines of therapy. The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) ... Read more

January 9, 2019January 31, 2019

First-line Imbruvica-Gazyva Therapy Extends Survival Without Disease Progression in CLL/SLL Patients, Phase 3 Study Shows

News

First-line treatment with Imbruvica (ibrutinib) plus Gazyva (obinutuzumab) significantly extends the time patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) live without cancer progression, and it also increases their ... Read more

November 5, 2018

Imbruvica Combo Improves Long-term Survival in CLL/SLL Patients, Updated Phase 3 Results Show

News

Combining AbbVie’s Imbruvica (ibrutinib) with Treanda (bendamustine) and Rituxan (rituximab) improves long-term survival outcomes in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) whose cancer reappeared or ... Read more