Stanford Department of Medicine

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08/31/2026

Could one blood test eventually screen us for dozens of cancers?

The idea has attracted enormous interest, but Ash Alizadeh thinks the future may be more nuanced.

In the newest episode of The Future of Medicine, the Stanford hematologist-oncologist and physician-scientist discusses the promise and limitations of multi-cancer early detection tests, which look for molecular signals associated with cancer in the bloodstream.

Alizadeh argues that the field still has an important question to answer: Is a "Swiss Army knife" designed to detect many cancers the best approach, or could more targeted tests for people with particular risk factors ultimately work better?

The conversation also turns to an area where the evidence is becoming especially compelling: tracking cancer after treatment. By identifying the DNA mutations unique to someone's tumor, scientists can build highly personalized blood tests designed to find signs of residual or returning disease earlier than conventional methods may allow.

Alizadeh joins Department of Medicine's Euan Ashley to unpack what cancer blood tests can already do, what remains unproven, and how better molecular information could change the decisions doctors and patients make.

Watch the full episode: https://bit.ly/4xZXkWC
Listen at https://bit.ly/43LGRZv or wherever you get your podcasts.

Stanford Medicine

For many cancer survivors, challenges continue even after treatment ends. It's estimated that up to half of adults who c...
08/28/2026

For many cancer survivors, challenges continue even after treatment ends. It's estimated that up to half of adults who complete cancer treatment experience chronic pain — even when there is no detectable injury.

New research led by Lauren Heathcote and Stanford Department of Medicine's Lidia Schapira suggests that fear of cancer recurrence may play a role in how pain develops and persists over time.

Read more: https://stan.md/4zzBfzL

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Stanford Medicine! The recent Spark Tank Administrative Showcase put t...
08/27/2026

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Stanford Medicine! The recent Spark Tank Administrative Showcase put the spotlight on 25 innovators who shared 5-minute pitches on ideas their colleagues across departments can adopt, adapt and amplify to streamline efforts.

Big thanks to all who joined us for our Staff Barbecue, and kudos to our event organizers. Making time for community and...
08/25/2026

Big thanks to all who joined us for our Staff Barbecue, and kudos to our event organizers. Making time for community and connection is always well worth the effort!

08/25/2026

Our newest episode of explores how a common soil fungus in California's Central Valley is causing a life-threatening disease that's frequently mistaken for the flu.

Valley fever is caused by Coccidioides fungus that becomes airborne when soil is disturbed. While many people recover without knowing they had it, some develop severe infections that spread to the brain or bones. Cases are rising across California, yet the disease remains difficult to diagnose and understudied.

At the Stanford Valley Fever Clinic, Department of Medicine's Shanthi Kappagoda and Dean Winslow treat the disease's most complex cases and work to answer critical questions about treatment, prevention and, possibly, a future vaccine.

Read more: https://stanford.io/4hRHd8P

08/24/2026

A microscopic change in a single gene helped reshape how doctors understand and treat a group of blood cancers.

That gene is JAK2.

Ross Levine, Chief Scientific Officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and a physician-scientist specializing in blood cancers and cancer genetics, was one of the scientists who co-discovered the disease-associated JAK2 mutation. He explains it this way: JAK2 normally helps carry signals telling blood cells when to grow. The mutation can effectively leave that signal stuck in the "on" position.

That discovery quickly gave doctors a new way to diagnose disease and helped lead to targeted drugs. But more than 20 years later, important questions remain.

In a new episode of The Future of Medicine with Stanford Department of Medicine's Euan Ashley, Levine discusses why existing JAK inhibitors are not cures, how scientists are designing the next generation of blood cancer therapies and why much more may still be hiding in the enormous amounts of DNA and clinical data being generated from people with cancer.

He also shares what decades in science have taught him about discovery, persistence, mentorship and supporting the next generation of physician-scientists.

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/KNB27ZRqABI

Listen at https://thefutureofmedicine.buzzsprout.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

Stanford Medicine

What if the treatment clock for a rare genetic disease could start before a child is even born?A Stanford team led by St...
08/20/2026

What if the treatment clock for a rare genetic disease could start before a child is even born?

A Stanford team led by Stanford Department of Medicine's Euan Ashley is exploring that possibility as part of Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health's THRIVE program. The researchers are developing methods to detect severe inherited immune disorders during pregnancy, creating time to prepare a personalized gene-editing treatment before birth.

A second Stanford team, led by dermatologists Jean Tang and Anthony Oro, is developing a spray-on CRISPR therapy for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a group of rare inherited disorders that leave the skin extremely fragile, causing painful blisters and wounds from even minor friction.

Both projects are tackling the same underlying problem: how to make personalized genetic medicine faster, more affordable and more scalable for patients with rare diseases.

Read more: https://stanford.io/3SgWOnW

"Stories are a part of humanity and help us understand each other in ways nothing else can," says Department of Medicine...
08/19/2026

"Stories are a part of humanity and help us understand each other in ways nothing else can," says Department of Medicine's Mukta Awasthi, who leads the My Life, My Story (MLMS) narrative medicine program at VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

This initiative brings veterans' personal narratives into their medical records, helping clinicians understand not just a patient's diagnosis, but the life behind it.

"The motivation to start MLMS at Palo Alto VA was to reinforce the concept that the best care is delivered when we marry the science of medicine with the story-driven art of medicine," she explains.

The first veteran Awasthi interviewed was 99 years old and named Peter Yim Yee (pictured). He had served in World War II, returned home to attend Stanford, and spent 50 years caring for patients as an anesthesiologist. Near the end of his life, with his family gathered around him, he sat down to tell his own story.

Learn more: https://stanford.io/4wYGw22

David Entwistle, president and CEO of Stanford Health Care, believes improving community health goes beyond the clinic."...
08/18/2026

David Entwistle, president and CEO of Stanford Health Care, believes improving community health goes beyond the clinic.

"It requires strong partnerships, deep community engagement and sustained investment in the well-being of our neighbors," he says, discussing Stanford Medicine's $1.2 billion annual community investment.

These funds aim to support the health and wellness of people who live in nearby communities, aiding food security, care access, mental and behavioral health services and other components of community wellness.

Learn more: https://stan.md/4fTtflr

08/17/2026

For Clarence Braddock, a nationally recognized medical educator and former executive vice dean at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, one of the most important lessons of changing medicine is that how change happens may matter as much as what ultimately changes.

In this episode of The Future of Medicine, Braddock joins Department of Medicine's Euan Ashley to discuss what he has learned from decades in medical education, including why major reforms can succeed or fail based on how people are brought into the process.

They also explore the evolution of medical school, shared decision-making, AI and what tomorrow's physicians actually need to learn.

Watch the full conversation on The Future of Medicine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOJzevl2fb0

You can also stream at https://bit.ly/43LGRZv, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

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