A board-certified oncologist with nearly two decades of experience, Natasha Tiffany, MD, serves as an affiliate assistant professor at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. For over 15 years, she has also treated patients at Oregon Oncology Specialists in Salem. Throughout her career, Natasha Tiffany, MD, has written and presented on various topics, including the latest developments in breast cancer treatment and care.
In recent years, new treatments and therapies have shown promise in helping patients with various types of cancer. One new treatment is immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to fight disease. While immunotherapy has proven effective in treating several cancer types, its ability to fight other types, such as breast cancer, is still being studied. In March 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first immunotherapy treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Known as an immune checkpoint inhibitor, the immunotherapy shows promise in improving treatment outcomes in TNBC, but it does not work for all cancer types. Researchers believe that the reason immunotherapy works for TNBC is related to the specific way this type of cancer grows. During TNBC growth, altered tumor proteins called neoantigens are produced, which likely triggers an immune response in the body. Immunotherapy can help unleash more immune cells to attack the cancer. Although immunotherapy for breast cancer is still in the early stages, work in this area is progressing quickly. Nearly 300 clinical trials testing immunotherapeutic approaches for breast cancer are ongoing. This testing will be key to driving further developments.
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AuthorNatasha Tiffany, MD, is a physician, educator, and research scientist currently working in Oregon. A Partner and Physician in a private practice located in the state’s capital city of Salem, Dr. Tiffany teaches at her alma mater, Oregon Health & Science University, where she is an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Hematology and Medical Oncology Division. Archives
October 2019
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