Debu Tripathy, M.D.

Articles by Debu Tripathy, M.D.

Although there is much to learn about the intricacies of how the immune system interacts with cancer, advances are occurring rapidly as immunotherapy for cancer has exploded with myriad ongoing clinical trials and newer drugs coming on line constantly.

Involving patients in the decisionmaking process is an important and welcome trend, because it incorporates their values and preferences in situations where there are no black-and-white answers as to which path is best.

With an incidence rate of about three cases per million people a year in the United States, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia is a rare malignancy, and, therefore, has no widely used screening tools. Diagnosing the disease early and, most important, accurately is the art of medicine that remains to be perfected.

It takes a lot to call something a revolution in medicine ... The most important, of course, is its impact on people’s lives — particularly, a cure for illness or a major extension of life. A revolution also implies a sweeping cataclysmic change, one that is disruptive and boldly states that things will no longer be the same.