Rare blood cancer patient beats two-month prognosis thanks to genetic sequencing
A man diagnosed with an aggressive rare cancer was given months to live, but genetic testing guided a drug that cured him.
After an initial misdiagnosis of follicular lymphoma, Michael Wolff was referred to Dr. Mrinal Gounder at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where a biopsy revealed histiocytic sarcoma, an extremely rare and aggressive blood cancer. Given a prognosis of two months, Wolff underwent intensive chemotherapy while his tumor DNA was sequenced, uncovering several potential therapeutic targets. The team selected Mekinist, a medication normally used for melanoma, based on a specific mutation in his cancer.
The drug produced rapid relief from chemotherapy toxicity and, within ten days, imaging demonstrated an 80% shrinkage of his tumors. Wolff’s case was later published in the New England Journal of Medicine, leading to broader use of Mekinist and, subsequently, FDA approval of another agent, Cotellic, for the disease. A decade after the treatment, Wolff remains cancer-free and has returned to his international jazz performances.
