The 2nd Annual Cancer Center Survivorship Research Forum: Implementing Equitable Cancer Survivorship Care disseminates important knowledge regarding clinical care of the growing population of cancer survivors. The conference will cover multiple topics essential to providing high quality and equitable survivorship care, including: oncofertility, sexual health, supportive needs of caregivers, late effects of cancer therapies, fear of cancer recurrence, care coordination and more. The forum is a hybrid activity. It will take place in-person on the Stanford University campus as well as virtually.
AACI Update | August 2023
Headlines
AACI Announces 2023 Award Recipients
AACI congratulates this year's Distinguished Scientist, Cancer Health Equity, and Champion for Cures award recipients, selected by the AACI Board of Directors. The awards will be presented in person on Monday, October 2, during the 2023 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting.
Pictured, clockwise from top right: Dr. Patricia LoRusso (Distinguished Scientist), Dr. Amelie Ramirez (Cancer Health Equity), and Dana Dornsife, founder and chief mission and strategy officer, Lazarex Cancer Foundation (Champion for Cures)
NCI Journal Publishes AACI Report on COVID-19 Impact on Clinical Trials
A report published last month in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) Cancer Spectrum shares the results of an AACI survey on the impact of COVID-19 on cancer clinical trials offices. Lead authors are Thomas J. George, MD, FACP, University of Florida Health Cancer Center; Tara L. Lin, MD, The University of Kansas Cancer Center; and Theresa L. Werner, MD, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah.
Pictured, clockwise from top right: Drs. Thomas J. George, Theresa L. Werner, and Tara L. Lin
DEI Summit to Be Held in Conjunction With AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting
In partnership with the American Cancer Society and the Cancer Center DEI Network, AACI will hold the second Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Summit on Saturday, September 30, in conjunction with the 2023 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting at the Salamander Washington DC. Registration for the summit opens Friday, August 4.
Promote Your Cancer Center With an AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting Program Ad
AACI invites you to promote your cancer center by purchasing an ad in the 2023 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting digital program book. The program book offers an excellent opportunity to showcase your center while supporting the annual meeting, October 1-3 in Washington, DC.
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News from the Centers
DuBois Inducted Into Royal College of Physicians
Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina
MUSC Hollings Cancer Center Director Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD, was inducted as a fellow into the Royal College of Physicians, an accolade held by some of the most innovative and inspirational physicians in the world. Dr. DuBois is known for his work illuminating the relationship between inflammation and cancer.
Researcher Provides Voice for State Residents in Cancer Clinical Trials
University of Hawai'i Cancer Center, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center researcher, Erin Bantum, PhD, has been re-elected to serve another three-year term on the National Cancer Institute’s Symptom Management and Quality of Life Steering Committee. This committee addresses the design, prioritization, and evaluation of concepts for Phase II and Phase III clinical trials to control cancer symptoms and cancer treatment side effects.
Comprehensive Cancer Center Designation Renewed
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded Rogel Cancer Center a $37 million grant over five years, renewing its designation as a comprehensive cancer center. The cancer center first received NCI designation in 1988 and was designated "comprehensive" three years later. The new grant provides funding through 2028, extending Rogel to 40 consecutive years of NCI funding. Eric Fearon, MD, PhD, is center director.
Study Examines Income Supplementation, Cancer Inequities in Persistent Poverty Areas
Stanford Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute recently awarded nearly $10 million to a collaboration between Stanford University, the University of California, San Francisco, and UC Davis to launch the UPSTREAM Research Center. The center will investigate whether and in what ways regular income supplementation for people living in poverty in several Northern California communities affect their health behaviors and cancer risk.
NCI MERIT Award to Support Colorectal Cancer Research
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Andreana Holowatyj, PhD, MSCI, has received the National Cancer Institute’s Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award to support her ongoing investigation into how early-onset colorectal cancer and its treatments impact reproductive health.
$3.9 Million Grant Funds E-Cigarette Flavoring Research
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
A new $3.9 million grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow researchers with the Center for Tobacco Research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center to evaluate effects of e-cigarette flavors on the smoking behaviors of current adult smokers.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma Focus of Federal Grant
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Researchers from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have received a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to find a more effective way to detect hepatocellular carcinoma. The research team proposes a new approach using extracellular vesicles.
Grant Supports Study of Imaging Surveillance Strategies to Optimize Lung Cancer Outcomes
University of Florida Health Cancer Center
With a $3.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), investigators from the newly NCI-designated UF Health Cancer Center and the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center will work to close evidence gaps in lung cancer care delivery. Over the five-year project, the team will examine the effectiveness of imaging surveillance strategies based on community-identified needs.
Funding Received to Explore Pre-Op Health in Native American Cancer Patients
The University of Arizona Cancer Center
Jennifer Erdrich, MD, MPH, was recently awarded a $1.3 million Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08) from the National Cancer Institute to study the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in American Indian patients with obesity-related solid tumor cancers who are preparing for surgery.
$1.2 Million Awarded to Study Impact of Nutrition on Children's Behavioral, Mental Health Conditions
UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) Center for the Study of Obesity will lead a $1.2 million, multiorganization, three-year research project examining how the availability of school meals benefits the mental and behavioral status of youths.
Addressing Health in Areas Characterized by Persistent Poverty
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
The Center for Health Outcomes and Population Equity at Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah, in partnership with the Montana State University Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity, received a grant for Cancer Control in Persistent Poverty Areas from the National Cancer Institute. The new grant is part of the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
Project Aims to Create Dormant Cancer Cell Biosensor
The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai
Jose Javier Bravo-Cordero, PhD, received a grant from the National Cancer Institute for "Intersectional Genetics-Based Biosensors for Dormant Cancer Cells." The goal is to devise a dormant cancer cell biosensor by using intersectional genetics and synthetic biology technologies that will allow the identification, molecular profiling, and genetic manipulation of dormant cancer cells in vivo.
Eckhardt Joins Baylor College of Medicine
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine
S. Gail Eckhardt, MD, FASCO, will join Baylor College of Medicine as associate dean for experimental therapeutics and associate director for translational research at Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center in September. Dr. Eckhardt, a former member of AACI's Board of Directors, is the director of the Livestrong Cancer Institutes at the University of Texas.
George, Crispen Appointed to Executive Leadership Positions
University of Florida Health Cancer Center
The University of Florida Health Cancer Center has appointed two oncologists to key executive leadership roles. Thomas George, MD, FACP, has been named deputy director. He is chair-elect of the AACI Clinical Research Innovation Steering Committee. Paul Crispen, MD, has been named associate director for clinical research.
Mustian Named Associate Director for Population Science
Wilmot Cancer Institute, UR Medicine
Karen Mustian, PhD, MPH, a longtime leader at the Wilmot Cancer Institute, has been promoted to associate director of population science. She joined the University of Rochester Medical Center in 2003 as a research assistant professor and the inaugural fellow in the URMC National Cancer Institute-funded Cancer Control Training Program.
Reddy Appointed Chair in Pancreatic Cancer Surgery
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple Health
Fox Chase Cancer Center is proud to announce that Sanjay S. Reddy, MD, FACS, has been appointed to the Marvin S. Greenberg, MD, Chair in Pancreatic Cancer Surgery. Dr. Reddy also serves as program director of the Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship, clinical director of the gastrointestinal service line, and co-director the Pancreatic Cancer Institute.
Medina-Kauwe Named Inaugural Chair in Medical Discovery
Cedars-Sinai Cancer
Cedars-Sinai has named Lali Medina-Kauwe, PhD, as the inaugural holder of the Carol Moss Foundation Chair in Medical Discovery. Support from the foundation will enable Dr. Medina-Kauwe to advance innovative research in nanomedicine, the engineering of tiny particles to prevent and treat disease.
Russell Named Chief Quality Officer
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Maria C. Russell, MD, has been named chief quality officer for Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. She joined the Emory faculty in 2012 and her clinical practice focuses on complex gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary malignancies.
Team Assesses Addition of Complement Inhibitor Drug to Immunotherapy for Ovarian Cancer
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center have launched a Phase II clinical trial that they hope will improve both survival and quality of life for patients with recurrent ovarian, fallopian-tube, or primary peritoneal cancer and malignant effusion.
Young Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders Face Highest Cancer Death Rates
University of Hawai'i Cancer Center, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
Due to changes in U.S. Census reporting, researchers have found that Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders between the ages of 20 and 49 experience the highest rates of cancer death among people their age, more than any other racial group in the U.S.
Existing Drug Shows Promise Treating Most Prevalent Type of Lung Cancer
UK Markey Cancer Center
A UK Markey Cancer Center research team identified an existing cancer drug that shows promise as a treatment for the most common type of non-small cell lung cancer. The study shows that the Food and Drug Administration-approved medication crizotinib (also known by its name brand, Xalkori) is effective at inhibiting the growth of non-small cell lung cancer with the most common genetic mutations.
HPV Vaccine Cost Reimbursement Could Hinder Vaccine Access, Study Suggests
Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina
MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researcher Kalyani Sonawane, PhD, and a team of researchers from South Carolina and Texas decided to quantify private insurance reimbursement rates for the HPV vaccine after several qualitative studies noted that health care providers were dissatisfied with HPV vaccine reimbursement by private insurance companies.
Studies Examine Effect of Cancer on Work and Finances
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
In the United States, cancer is among the most expensive medical conditions to treat. National costs for cancer care were estimated to be $190.2 billion in 2015. For people with cancer, the mounting medical expenses can lead to a startling side effect: financial toxicity. Several studies show that cancer patients and survivors are more likely to experience financial toxicity than people without cancer.
A Novel Approach Towards a Vaccine for Relapsing Acute Myeloid Leukemia
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Karin Gaensler, MD, continues her pursuit of a therapeutic cancer vaccine with the development of TriLeukeVax, an engineered autologous leukemia vaccine for stimulating cytolytic immune responses to residual leukemic stem cells. The vaccine would provide a new option for older patients relapsing with adult acute myelogenous leukemia – also known as acute myeloid leukemia.
Changing the Way Immune-Based Cancer Drugs Are Delivered Could Reduce Costs by 14 Percent
University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
An analysis finds that up to millions of dollars could be saved annually on cancer immunotherapy treatments across the Veterans Health Administration by reconsidering how those drugs are delivered.
Liquid Biopsy May Help Identify HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer
The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai
Analysis of circulating human papillomavirus (HPV) tumor DNA and tumor DNA fragment (tumor tissue–modified viral [TTMV]-HPV DNA) using a commercially available liquid biopsy test appears to have high specificity for identifying oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, though sensitivity is concerning, data from a retrospective observational cohort study suggested.
Overweight BMI Linked to Better Outcomes in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center are shedding light on how Body Mass Index (BMI) impacts treatment response, risk of recurrence, and survival in patients with head and neck cancer. Their retrospective study found that head and neck cancer patients with an overweight BMI had better outcomes than those with a normal or obese BMI.
Study Examines Later Cardiac Complications From Pediatric Radiation Therapy
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
A new study led by a Winship Cancer Institute researcher demonstrates for the first time that applying the same radiation therapy dose to the heart’s substructures as a uniform dose to the whole heart in children with cancer puts them at higher risk for future heart complications.
New Imaging Technology May Reduce Surgeries for Rectal Cancer Patients
Siteman Cancer Center
A team of researchers from Siteman Cancer Center is developing a new imaging technology that could directly reduce the number of unnecessary surgeries for rectal cancer and improve patients’ quality of life. This project is funded by a four-year $1.75 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Gene Mutations Linked to Hereditary Kidney Cancer Predisposition But Potential Pitfall Identified
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have confirmed that a large number of genetic variants of unknown significance are in fact verified mutations that predispose patients to a rare hereditary syndrome that increases the risk of kidney cancer.
KIPA Potentially Predicts Chemotherapy Response in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions are developing a strategy to predict the response of triple-negative breast cancer to chemotherapy, which would be a valuable tool for physicians deciding on the treatment with better probability of success on an individual basis.
New Approach Developed to Strengthen CAR T-Cell Therapy for Cancer Treatment
Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine
Using a new approach, Yale Cancer Center researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found a new way to substantially improve the effectiveness of CAR T-cell therapy. The researchers focused on a part of the immune system called the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 cytoplasmic tail and fused it with CAR T cells.
Novel Prostate Cancer Therapy Receives FDA Approval
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Neeraj Agarwal, MD, FASCO, presidential endowed chair of cancer research at Huntsman Cancer Institute, received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a new prostate cancer treatment. The treatment combines two cancer drugs, enzalutamide and talazoparib.
Study Finds Unexpected Mechanism of Cancer Cell Spread
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
A surprising finding from USC reveals key details about how cancer cells metastasize and suggests new therapeutic approaches for halting their spread. The research centers on a cellular chaperone protein known as GRP78, which helps regulate the folding of other proteins inside cells.
Study Finds New Potential Therapy Option for Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute
Researchers continue to refine and improve targeted drug therapies that have changed the most common form of adult leukemia from an incurable to a chronic condition. New published data offers another treatment option for patients who have stopped responding to the first and second generation drugs.
Missing a Rare Cause of Hereditary Cancer
Cedars-Sinai Cancer
New research from Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators could warrant reconsideration of current screening guidelines to include a poorly recognized cause of Lynch syndrome, the most common cause of hereditary colorectal and endometrial cancers. Their study concluded that the guidelines leave a significant number of patients undiagnosed.
Study Reveals New Clue to Gastric Cancer
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Fibroblast cells play key roles in the repair of damaged tissue and in pathological scarring. Now, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have uncovered evidence of their direct involvement in the development of gastric cancer.
Vaccine Plus Immunotherapy and Antibody Spark Immune System Response in Pancreatic Cancers
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
Giving patients with operable pancreatic cancers a three-pronged combination immunotherapy treatment consisting of the pancreatic cancer vaccine GVAX, the immune checkpoint therapy nivolumab and urelemab, an anti-CD137 agonist antibody treatment, is safe, increases the amount of cancer-killing immune system T cells in the tumors, and appears effective when given two weeks prior to cancer-removal surgery.
Cancer Screening Initiative Launched to Address Racial Disparities
Siteman Cancer Center
Siteman Cancer Center launched a prostate cancer screening initiative along with an educational campaign to address the racial disparity in prostate cancer. The campaign aims to spread awareness among African American men in the St. Louis area about their higher risk for prostate cancer (one in six Black men) and why they need to start screening for prostate cancer at ages 40 to 45.
Stanford, Veterans Affairs Announce Intent to Develop Comprehensive Cancer Center
Stanford Cancer Institute
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford Medicine have announced a collaboration on a project to potentially plan, build, and operate a National Cancer Institute-designated joint cancer care and research center on the VA Palo Alto campus.
Pinpointing Pain: Is It Cancer or Cancer Treatment?
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Distinguishing side effects of cancer treatment from potential metastatic recurrence can be difficult. In a Q&A, Hanna Hunter, MD, medical director of cancer rehabilitation at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, shares best practices on how doctors and patients can work together to manage pain symptoms.
Radiation Oncology Center Open, Proton Therapy to Come
UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute has opened a new radiation oncology center with expanded capabilities to provide advanced radiation treatments for children and adults with cancer, including the state’s first proton center. The $65 million, 58,000-square-foot structure was built to accommodate three new linear accelerators.
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Meeting Announcements
2nd Annual Cancer Center Survivorship Research Forum: Implementing Equitable Cancer Survivorship Care
September 11, 2023
Women's Health and Cancer Conference
September 29, 2023
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
The 26th annual Women’s Health and Cancer Conference will be held Friday, September 29. The program brings together patients, health care providers, researchers, and caregivers for a day of learning at UVM's Dudley H. Davis Center, or virtually, via Zoom.
This year’s theme is the "Changing Landscape of Cancer." Speakers at the free conference are pioneers in emerging treatments, nutrition, genetics, social media, sexual health, and strategies for living with and beyond cancer. Keynote presenter Kristin Flanary (aka "Lady Glaucomflecken") is on a mission to make health care a little more human.
Continuing medical education credits are offered at no charge courtesy of the University of Vermont Cancer Center.
Please contact UVM Cancer Center Assistant Director of COE Rachel Narkewicz with any questions about the conference.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit
September 30, 2023
In partnership with the American Cancer Society and the Cancer Center DEI Network, AACI will hold the second Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Summit on Saturday, September 30, in conjunction with the 2023 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting at the Salamader Washington DC.
2023 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting
October 1, 2023
Registration is now open for the 2023 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, October 1-3, 2023, at the Salamander Washington DC.
For those who are unable to attend the annual meeting in person, a virtual option is available. To register as a virtual attendee, select the "Member - Virtual Only" registration type. This will give you access to all sessions held in the main ballroom and a virtual breakout session. Virtual registration rates will remain the same. Login information will be provided closer to the meeting.
2024 AACI Leadership Diversity and Development Workshop
March 12, 2024
The 2024 AACI Leadership Diversity and Development Workshop will be held March 12-13 at Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, IL.
Registration for the workshop is now closed. Please contact AACI Director of Operations and Events Jaime Anderson or Events Manager Dawn Gobble with any questions about registration.
16th Annual AACI CRI Meeting
June 24, 2024
The 16th Annual AACI CRI Meeting will be held June 24-26 at Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, IL.
2024 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting
October 20, 2024
The 2024 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting will be held October 20-22 at Loews Chicago Downtown Hotel in Chicago, IL. A virtual registration option is also available to those who cannot attend in person.