The 2021 Artificial Intelligence in Oncology Symposium: Precision Medicine and Cancer Disparities will bring together experts in AI and machine learning as well as clinical, industry, and federal agency experts in pathology, radiology, drug discovery, ethics, and policy to speak on research developments, regulatory policy, reimbursement, and ethics surrounding AI in oncology. For the health and safety of all attendees, this year's symposium will again take place virtually.
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AACI Update | August 2021
Headlines
Winn Chosen as AACI President-Elect; Four New Members Join Board
Robert Winn, MD, director of VCU Massey Cancer Center, has been elected to serve as vice president/president-elect of AACI’s board of directors. Marcia Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD; Ruben Mesa, MD, FACP; and Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, have been elected as new board members, and Joann Sweasy, PhD, has been appointed to fill the remainder of Dr. Winn’s term as a regular board member.
New Cancer Center and Corporate Members Join AACI
Last month AACI welcomed the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine to its roster, bringing its membership number to 103. Directed by Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, the Meyer Cancer Center is a matrix cancer center organized by four research focus areas: Cancer Biology; Cancer Genetics & Epigenetics; Experimental Therapeutics; and Cancer Prevention & Control. The association also welcomed Fulgent Genetics to the AACI Corporate Roundtable.
AACI to Honor Garber With Distinguished Scientist Award
Judy E. Garber, MD, PhD, FAACR, chief of the Division of Cancer Genetics and Prevention at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will receive the AACI Distinguished Scientist Award on Wednesday, October 20, during the 2021 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting.
Supporter Message: Patient Resource Navigator
Patient Resource Navigator provides the tools to guide patients through their care continuum. This leading-edge platform offers one-to-one patient education guides and apps, created with specific content for each patient’s diagnosis and treatment plan. System-provided metrics assist in demonstrating patient-centered care, meeting accreditation standards and developing marketplace differentiation.
AACI Executive Director Provides Remarks on ARPA-H
Since President Biden first proposed the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), the health care advocacy community has been eager to learn more. Last month, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) hosted the first of many listening sessions on the proposed creation of ARPA-H. The first session included individuals representing cancer, heart, lung, and blood disorders and environmental health. AACI Executive Director Jennifer W. Pegher was one of three participants from the cancer community.
News from the Centers
Libutti Recognized as Healthcare Hero
Rutgers Cancer Institute
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Director Steven K. Libutti, MD, FACS, has been named by the business journal NJBIZ as a 2021 Healthcare Hero in the healthcare professional category. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, is editor-in-chief emeritus of the Nature Journal Cancer Gene Therapy, and holds 11 U.S. patents.
Michalski Chosen as President-Elect of American Society for Radiation Oncology
Siteman Cancer Center
Jeff M. Michalski, MD, MBA, vice chair and director of clinical programs in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected president-elect of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) board of directors.
Bhowmick Honored by the Society of Asian American Scientists in Cancer Research
Cedars-Sinai Cancer
Neil Bhowmick, PhD, co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, was one of 10 Indian American scientists honored by the Society of Asian American Scientists in Cancer Research for his contributions to cancer research.
Maquat Wins Warren Alpert Foundation Prize
Wilmot Cancer Institute, UR Medicine
Lynne E. Maquat, PhD, founding director of the University of Rochester’s Center for RNA Biology, received the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize in recognition of pivotal discoveries in RNA biology. She shares the award with fellow RNA biologist Joan Seitz, PhD, of the Yale School of Medicine.
Plimack Appointed Medical Oncology Editor for European Urology Journal
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health
Elizabeth Plimack, MD, MS, chief of the Division of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, was recently appointed medical oncology editor for the journal European Urology.
Researchers Receive Social and Behavioral Sciences Community Partner Award
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health
Three researchers from the Fox Chase Cancer Prevention and Control Program were recognized by Temple University with the Social & Behavioral Sciences Community Partner Outstanding Supervisor Award. This year’s honorees were Jennifer Barsky Reese, PhD; Linda Fleisher, PhD, MPH; and Suzanne M. Miller, PhD.
Roswell Park Teams Draw More Than $34 Million in Grants Supporting New Research
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists have continued to draw research support, garnering more than $34 million in grants from government agencies and private funders. The grants fund efforts to improve outcomes for patients with challenging cancers like triple-negative breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and head and neck cancers, and to advance what we know about COVID-19 in cancer patients.
Greenebaum Earns NCI Designation Renewal
University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center
The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center has earned renewal of its National Cancer Institute designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. It will receive a support grant of nearly $13 million over the next five years, a 14-percent increase over the previous five-year grant. Kevin J. Cullen, MD, is center director.
Moffitt Receives $10 Million to Establish Research Center for Rare Blood Cancer
Moffitt Cancer Center
The family of It Works! founder Mark Pentecost has donated $10 million to Moffitt Cancer Center to establish a research center dedicated to finding a cure for multiple myeloma. Mark and Cindy Pentecost became supporters of the cancer center after he received treatment for his own battle with the rare blood cancer. In 2018, the Pentecost family gave $3 million to help fund new innovations in myeloma research.
Endowed Professorship Named to Honor Carol Fabian
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
A new endowed professorship at The University of Kansas Cancer Center has been named to honor Carol Fabian, MD, founder of the cancer center’s Breast Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Research Center. At $4 million, it is the second-largest professorship ever established at KU Cancer Center.
$2.3 Million Awarded to Investigate Treatment Options for Advanced Prostate Cancer
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers Paul B. Fisher, MPh, PhD, FNAI, and Xiang-Yang (Shawn) Wang, PhD, were recently awarded $2.3 million in total funding through a five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to understand the genetic processes that contribute to prostate cancer growth and to develop novel therapeutic strategies to effectively treat late-stage disease.
Researcher Gets $2.26 Million to Uncover Barriers to Offering Targeted Cancer Therapies
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
With a $2.26 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, Rogel Cancer Center researcher Christine Veenstra, MD, MSHP, will seek to understand the barriers to equitable use of targeted therapies among diverse patients and diverse practice settings.
Komen Funds VICC Breast Cancer Initiatives
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Susan G. Komen has announced breast cancer research grants, including $1.2 million in funding for three separate initiatives led by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC). The grants focus on two key areas – research to better detect and treat stage IV metastatic breast cancer and research to eliminate disparities in breast cancer outcomes.
Birrer Invested in Westbrook Director's Chair
UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
Michael Birrer, MD, PhD, vice chancellor and director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was invested July 15 in the Kent C. Westbrook, MD, Director’s Chair for the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.
Brain Cancer: Hunting What's Left
University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center
Like a mystery detective, Sara G.M. Piccirillo, PhD, is hunting deadly bad actors in brain cancer and immune cells by studying the crime scene and questioning bystanders one by one. Using $850,000 in grant funding, she is focusing on residual disease and macrophages.
Singh is New Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
Moffitt Cancer Center
Sarabdeep “Sabi” Singh has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Moffitt Cancer Center. Prior to joining Moffitt, Singh served as the chief operating officer of the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics since 2013.
Davis Promoted to Vice President for VUMC Cancer Care Network and Strategy
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Nancy Davis, MD, has been promoted to vice president for cancer care network and strategy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a new position responsible for developing provider relationships with other health care systems and expanding access to oncology care throughout Tennessee and other states.
Cookson Named Urology Division Chief
Duke Cancer Institute
Urologic surgical oncologist Michael Cookson, MD, MHA, FACS, has been appointed chief of the Duke Division of Urology. He will join Duke from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Colman Appointed Co-Leader of Experimental Therapeutics
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah has announced the appointment of Howard Colman, MD, PhD, as the new co-leader of the Experimental Therapeutics Program. Dr. Colman also directs HCI's Computational Oncology Research Initiative.
Leader Tapped for New Liver and Bile Duct Center
The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai
Myron Schwartz, MD, is director of the new Center of Excellence for Liver and Bile Duct Cancer at Mount Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute.
A Fermented-Food Diet Increases Microbiome Diversity and Lowers Inflammation, Study Finds
Stanford Cancer Institute
A diet rich in fermented foods enhances gut microbe diversity and decreases molecular signs of inflammation, according to Stanford researchers. In a clinical trial, 36 healthy adults were randomly assigned to a 10-week diet that included either fermented or high-fiber foods. The two diets resulted in different effects on the gut microbiome and the immune system.
Cancer Death Rates Declined More Steeply in States That Expanded Medicaid
Duke Cancer Institute
Cancer deaths were lower in the five states and District of Columbia that expanded Medicaid early on as part of the Affordable Care Act, compared to states that did not expand the federal insurance, according to a study led by Duke Cancer Institute.
Financial Barriers Fell for Some Cancer Survivors After Affordable Care Act
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
Younger cancer survivors—those between ages 18 and 64—faced fewer financial barriers to health care after the Affordable Care Act was implemented than they did before the landmark law took effect, University of Michigan researchers found.
Study Uncovers Geographic-Related HPV Vaccination Disparities in Virginia
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
A study led by VCU Massey Cancer Center analyzed the variation in vaccination rates among boys and girls within zip codes in Virginia. The results showed several areas of significantly lower vaccination coverage, including predominantly rural localities, and overall large geographic disparities in HPV vaccination.
Factors Needed for Breast Cancer Metastasis Identified
UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute
Marcus Zachariah, MD, is co-lead author of a study on breast cancer brain metastasis, "HIF1A signaling selectively supports proliferation of breast cancer in the brain." He and his colleagues identified changes in metabolism critical for growth of breast cancer cells in the brain during metastasis.
Beyond CAR T: New Frontiers in Living Cell Therapies
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
UCSF researchers are beginning to engineer much more complex living therapeutics by tapping into the innate capabilities of living cells to treat a growing list of diseases including solid tumors like cancers of the brain, breast, lung, or prostate, and also inflammatory diseases like diabetes, Crohn’s, and multiple sclerosis.
Therapeutic Eradicates Breast Cancer in Mice
Cancer Center at Illinois
A new approach to treating breast cancer kills 95-100 percent of cancer cells in mouse models of human estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancers and their metastases in bone, brain, liver, and lungs. The newly developed drug, called ErSO, quickly shrinks even large tumors to undetectable levels. The research team was led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Leukemia Treatment Can Bait and Capture Cells in Hiding
Wilmot Cancer Institute, UR Medicine
A study led by Wilmot Cancer Institute researchers describes a three-step process for attacking leukemia and its significance for patients who face acute myeloid leukemia. The approach is quite different from standard methods such as chemotherapy because it allows scientists to deliver treatment that can correct faulty genes that fuel the cancer.
Study Demonstrates the Benefit of Radiosensitizers in Cancer Treatment
UK Markey Cancer Center
A recent study demonstrated the benefit of utilizing drugs to promote radiation sensitivity in models of a rare tumor subtype. The research, conducted in the lab of Piotr Rychahou, MD, illustrates the potential benefit of using an inhibitor of PI3K/mTOR pathway, key player in tumor formation, to increase the toxic effect of radiation therapy using in vitro models.
Cancer Discovery Highlights National Role of UAMS Research Team
UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
A highly specialized UAMS research team that serves as a national resource recently helped the University of North Carolina discover a key driver of cancer cell development. The discovery, which gives researchers a new target for drug therapies, put an exclamation mark on a successful first year for the UAMS team, called the IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics.
Study Identifies Gut Microbes Associated With Toxicity to Combined Checkpoint Inhibitors in Melanoma
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found specific intestinal microbiota signatures correlate with high-grade adverse events and response to combined CTLA-4 and PD-1 blockade treatment. They also identified a potential new strategy to treat toxicity—while maintaining response—to combined immune checkpoint blockade through either IL-1R inhibition or manipulation of the gut microbiota.
Assured Resolution
University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center
A UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center study, led by Stephanie Fine, MD, compared three-dimensional tomosynthesis mammography to digital mammography. Over the three-year study period, women who had 3D breast examinations saw, on average, a 30-percent reduction in the number of callbacks over women who used traditional two-dimensional exams.
Dendritic-Cell Vaccines Can Be Paired With Standard Therapy for Breast Cancer
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
A research team led by Fumito Ito, MD, PhD, FACS, of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center reports new data on the promise of combining standard treatment for breast cancer with a particular form of cancer immmunotherapy – dendritic-cell treatment vaccines.
Gene Expression Control Mechanism Found That May Create Proteins at Distinct Locations
Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center of The Wistar Institute
A study by The Wistar Institute describes an important function of alternative polyadenylation (APA) in allowing certain mRNAs to reach specific sites of protein synthesis and reveals that length, sequence, and structural properties can determine the destination (and fate) of mRNAs within the cell.
Immune System Clock Predicts Illness and Mortality
Stanford Cancer Institute
Investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have built an inflammatory-aging clock that can predict how strong your immune system is, how soon you’ll become frail, or whether you have unseen cardiovascular problems that could become clinical headaches a few years down the road.
Study: Ibrutinib Effective for Difficult to Treat Forms of Hairy Cell Leukemia
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
The oral targeted therapy drug ibrutinib is an effective treatment option for high-risk hairy cell leukemia, according to a new study conducted by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.
Cancer Misinformation Common on Social Media
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
A new study reports that one third of the most popular cancer treatment articles on social media contain misinformation. Further, the vast majority of that misinformation has the potential to harm cancer patients by supporting approaches that could negatively impact the quality of their treatment and chances for survival.
Reminder: August 24 PCLI Webinar
AACI's Physician Clinical Leadership Initiative (PCLI) will host The Role of the Clinical Pharmacist in an Academic Hematology/Oncology Practice at 2:00 pm eastern time on Tuesday, August 24. This webinar will cover the clinical pharmacist (CP) training and supervision requirements along with roles and responsibilities.
New Main Facility for Outpatient Care Planned
Siteman Cancer Center
Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is planning a nine-story, 659,000-square-foot facility that will provide a central home for nearly all aspects of advanced cancer care for outpatients. Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, is director of the Siteman Cancer Center.
Fred Hutchinson, Seattle Children's, and UW Medicine Lay Groundwork for Historic Partnership
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, UW Medicine, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and Seattle Children’s have announced plans to explore restructuring their longtime relationship to accelerate a shared mission of advancing diagnosis, treatment, and pioneering of cures for cancer and other diseases. If finalized and approved, the proposed restructure would establish an adult-focused oncology program and, separately, a pediatric oncology program.
Response to COVID-19 Vaccines Varies Widely in Blood Cancer Patients
The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai researchers found that multiple myeloma patients mount variable and sometimes suboptimal responses after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. The study points to the need for antibody testing and precautions for these patients after vaccination.
Uniting the Black Community to Defeat COVID
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Kim Rhoads, MD, MPH, director of the Office of Community Engagement at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, founded Umoja Health Partners to unite about 30 organizations combating COVID-19 in Black communities in the Bay Area. She shares why the Umoja approach (the name comes from the Swahili word for "unity" or "oneness") is working.
Phage Display-Based Gene Delivery: A Viable Platform Technology for COVID-19 Vaccine Design and Development
Rutgers Cancer Institute
Researchers at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics at Rice University, have demonstrated that a technology with favorable biological attributes known as phage display could be a viable platform for the development of new vaccines to protect against COVID-19.
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Artificial Intelligence in Oncology Symposium
November 8, 2021