Our most popular stories of 2024

By Mayo Clinic staff

The dedicated cancer care professionals and researchers at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center spent 2024 expanding their understanding of cancer and developing new prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment methods. This blog is one way Mayo Clinic shares these innovations with people affected by cancer.

In case you missed them, here are the 10 most-read articles the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center Blog published in 2024:

1. Understanding triple-negative breast cancer and its treatment

Unlike other common subtypes of breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, also called basal-like breast cancer, isn't affected by hormones or the HER2 gene. It grows rapidly, making it more likely to spread beyond the breast before diagnosis, and it is more likely to recur than other breast cancers.

Roberto Leon-Ferre, M.D., a Mayo Clinic oncologist whose research focuses on triple-negative breast cancer, says recent advances are improving treatment outcomes for people with this disease. He and other researchers at Mayo Clinic are working to develop new treatments by understanding how this cancer grows and spreads and how the immune system may recognize and fight it. If you've been diagnosed with this breast cancer subtype, here's what you should know.

2. Ovarian cancer: New treatments and research

Three cancers — ovarian epithelial cancer, fallopian tube cancer and primary peritoneal cancer — are commonly called ovarian cancer. They arise from the same kind of tissue and are treated similarly.

S. John Weroha, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic oncologist and chair of Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center's Gynecologic Cancer Disease Group, says new treatments are helping more people survive ovarian cancer of all types, and researchers are studying new treatments and screening methods in clinical trials. If you've been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, he wants you to know there is hope. Here's why.

3. Bladder cancer: Research is driving new treatment options, better outcomes

Just 10 years ago, people with bladder cancer that didn't respond to treatment often underwent bladder removal, even if the cancer had not spread. "Now, we have a whole host of new drugs and clinical trials that allow us to offer more options," says Mark Tyson, II, M.D., a Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center urologic surgeon. Many of these options, in addition to those available in clinical trials, provide effective treatment while preserving the bladder.

In this article, Dr. Tyson discusses new and developing bladder cancer treatments and what you should know when seeking bladder cancer care.

4. Excess body weight, alcohol and tobacco: How lifestyle can affect your cancer risk

In 2023, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) reported that 40% of all cancers in the U.S. are associated with modifiable risk factors, including excess body weight, alcohol consumption and smoking tobacco. Globally, nearly half of all cancer deaths in 2019 were related to these risk factors.

Jon Ebbert, M.D., is a Mayo Clinic internist who specializes in smoking cessation, disease prevention research and early cancer detection. Here, he discusses the link between these risk factors and cancer and the steps you can take to reduce your risk.

5. Cancer fatigue: A common cancer side effect that is different for everyone

Cancer fatigue, also called cancer-related fatigue, is a common side effect of cancer and cancer treatment. As its name implies, extreme tiredness and lack of energy are key symptoms, but the condition can affect more than energy levels and make day-to-day life difficult.

Comprehensive, personalized treatment programs that offer rehabilitation, including physical and occupational therapy, can help improve cancer fatigue. In this article, Dr. Touré Barksdale, a Mayo Clinic cancer rehabilitation and palliative medicine specialist, and Jenny Bradt, D.P.T., a Mayo Clinic physical therapist who specializes in cancer rehabilitation, discuss how cancer fatigue affects people differently and how it can be improved.

6. Multiple myeloma: Its evolution, treatment and the quest to catch it early

Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell in the bone marrow. When multiple myeloma develops in the bone marrow, cancerous plasma cells multiply and crowd out healthy cells.

An estimated 35,780 new cases of multiple myeloma will be diagnosed in the United States in 2024. While multiple myeloma is a serious condition, people with the disease are living longer thanks to treatment advances. "The prognosis has changed remarkably over the last few years," says Joselle Cook, M.B.B.S., a Mayo Clinic hematologist specializing in multiple myeloma and other plasma cell disorders.

Here's an overview of how multiple myeloma evolves, how it's treated, and the quest to find a screening test to diagnose the disease earlier.

7. You're at risk of colorectal cancer. Know the symptoms. Get screened.

Colorectal cancer is no longer a disease of older people. In the past decade, incidence rates for cancers of the colon and rectum increased by about 2% per year in people younger than 50, according to the American Cancer Society.

Derek Ebner, M.D., a Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center gastroenterologist, says adults of all ages should be aware of colon and rectal cancer symptoms and report them to a healthcare professional. Learn what you need to know to prevent colorectal cancer or catch it early when it's most treatable.

8. Prostate cancer: Family history, genetics and your risk

If you've been diagnosed with prostate cancer, learning about your family history and the genetic characteristics of your cancer can help your care team zero in on the best treatment plan for you.

In this article, Daniel Childs, M.D., a Mayo Clinic medical oncologist who specializes in genitourinary cancers, and Joan Steyermark, a Mayo Clinic genetic counselor, explain the roles of family history and genetics in the development and treatment of prostate cancer.

9. Treating kidney cancer without surgery

Kidney cancer treatment often begins with surgery to remove the cancer in order to preserve normal kidney function when possible. Surgery is the most common treatment for people with smaller tumors confined to the kidney at the time of diagnosis.

If your cancer has spread beyond the kidney or you have other medical issues that place you at high risk for surgical complications, your care team may consider other treatment options.

Anne Rajkumar, M.D., a Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center radiation oncologist, says research has shown that less invasive treatment options provide excellent outcomes for people with kidney cancer. These include ablation procedures, radiation therapy and systemic therapies. Here's an overview of those options.

10. HPV-related head and neck cancer treatment is improving, but prevention is best

Head and neck cancers are cancers in the mouth, throat, sinuses and salivary glands. These cancers have common risk factors, including tobacco and alcohol use, environmental factors and exposure to human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV has been linked to cancers that affect the oropharynx, the part of the head and neck that includes the tonsils, the back of the tongue, the soft palate, and the side and back wall of the throat.

Katharine Price, M.D., a Mayo Clinic medical oncologist, says that while head and neck cancer treatment has come a long way, prevention is always better. Here's what she wants you to know.