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MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
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Stan Gerson, MD
Director, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and UH Seidman Cancer Center
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AACI Presidential Initiative
I would like to alert our membership of the two-year initiative I set out for the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) at the national meeting last week.
As President of AACI for the next two years, I asked all the cancer centers to participate in a review of practices and approaches to improving the quality of cancer care administered across their individual networks. Click here to view the initiative overview.
I have been thinking about this project for a year, observing the challenges that both Seidman Cancer Center and Taussig Cancer Institute have in managing patient care across the entire Northeast Ohio region, covering some 4.3M people and 16,000 (out of a total of 23,000) new cancer cases diagnosed annually.
In fact, when Vice President Biden announced the Moonshot and indicated NCI-designated cancer centers only saw about 15% of all cancer cases -- while we actually see close to 60% -- I realized there was a flaw in the calculation because we only report to the NCI those analytic cases seen at our main campuses (as do all centers) and we leave our networks out.
When I mentioned at AACI I thought the proportion was closer to 40% of all cases in the US, this prompted the NCI to request that all cancer centers begin to provide data of their entire network management. That is a big win for the initiative.
So, what is next:
- Please see the link to the AACI Cancer Center Network Care Initiative White Paper. We submitted this to the Moonshot office in July after the national summit to indicate the nation's cancer centers readiness to tackle high quality care practices across networks to improve the availability of high quality care, carepaths, innovation, proper referrals, and clinical trials to a larger population of patients. This was signed by all cancer center directors at the national summit.
- Note key elements of the initiatives for AACI to include:
- Quality of care
- Multidisciplinary care across the network
- Access to local and national clinical trials, genomics tumor boards, and center tumor boards
- Uniformity of care through implementation of carepaths
- Integration of patient databases for aggregation of data for research and quality
- Improved screening and prevention strategies across the network
- Population education in cancer prevention, screening, treatment
- Linkages to safety net hospitals
- Strengthening the virtual continuum of care so patients can get expert opinions as well as care closer to home.
- We will start with the Physician Leadership Group to refine a questionnaire about the current status of networks including topics of care coordination, employment models, availability of clinical trials and genomics, a research pharmacy, use of carepaths, data sharing, end of life care, high risk assessments, and use of commercial products to facilitate program interactions across sites.
- We will assemble and review results, aiming to both publish the survey and identify best practices that will improve patient access and quality of care, while improving the efficiencies and consistency of care.
My goals are to assist centers across the country in developing high quality network-based cancer care that provides access to clinical trials and advanced diagnostics and interpretation, while reinforcing the value of the nation's best cancer centers.
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Scientists Develop Computer Models to Predict Cancer Cell Network Activity
A multi-institution academic-industrial partnership of researchers led by the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center has developed a new method to broadly assess cell communication networks and identify disease-specific network anomalies. The computer-based method, called InFlo, was developed in collaboration with researchers at Philips and Princeton University and predicts how cells send signals across networks to cause cancer or other disease. Details about the new method were recently published in
Oncogene.
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Vinay Varadan
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"Cellular signaling networks are the mechanisms that cells use to transfer, process, and respond to biological information derived from their immediate surroundings," said
Vinay Varadan, PhD, assistant professor of General Medical Sciences-Oncology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, and senior corresponding author on the study. "InFlo can be viewed as modeling the flow of information within these signaling networks."
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Analisa DiFeo
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Analisa DiFeo, PhD, senior co-corresponding author on the study, Norma C. and Al I. Geller Designated Professor of Ovarian Cancer Research at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, validated InFlo using ovarian cancer tumor cells that were resistant to platinum-based chemotherapy. InFlo pinpointed the interaction between two proteins called cAMP and CREB1 as a key mechanism associated with platinum resistance.
"Following up on InFlo's predictions, we showed that inhibiting CREB1 potently sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to platinum therapy and is also effective in killing ovarian cancer stem cells. We are therefore excited about this discovery and are currently evaluating whether this could lead to a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer," said DiFeo.
InFlo is being incorporated into Philips IntelliSpace Genomics platform, and will soon be available for widespread use in basic and translational research settings. Case Western Reserve University researchers will continue to develop the IntelliSpace Genomics InFlo module and the next step will be to expand InFlo to incorporate other data streams. "We are currently collaborating with the Imaging Informatics research group in the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics at Case Western Reserve University to integrate InFlo with imaging-features derived from pathology and radiology data," said Varadan. Such an addition would result in one of the most comprehensive tools available to researchers to infer mechanisms underlying complex diseases such as cancer.
more>
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Computational Imaging Team Awarded US Patent for Capturing Intra-tumoral Heterogeneity on Radiographic Imaging
Case Comprehensive Cancer Center members Anant Madabhushi, F. Alex Nason Professor II of Biomedical Engineering, and Pallavi Tiwari, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Prateek Prasnna, graduate student of biomedical engineering, were jointly awarded US patent
9,483,822 for their invention, Co-Occurence of Local Anisotropic Gradient Orientations.
The technology
is associated with distinguishing disease phenotypes using co-occurrence of local anisotropic gradient orientations (CoLIAGe). One example apparatus includes a set of logics that acquires a radiologic image (e.g., MRI image) of a region of tissue demonstrating disease pathology (e.g., cancer), computes a gradient orientation for a pixel in the MRI image, computes a significant orientation for the pixel based on the gradient orientation, constructs a feature vector that captures a discretized entropy distribution for the image based on the significant orientation, and classifies the phenotype of the disease pathology based on the feature vector. Embodiments of example apparatus may generate and display a heatmap of entropy values for the image.
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NCCN 22nd Annual Conference: Improving the Quality, Effectiveness, and Efficiency of Cancer Care™
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Conference: Improving the Quality, Effectiveness, and Efficiency of Cancer Care attracts more than 1,500 registrants from across the United States and the globe including oncologists (in both community and academic settings), oncology fellows, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care professionals involved in the care of patients with cancer. Respected opinion leaders present the latest cancer therapies and provide updates on selected NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), the data upon which the NCCN Guidelines® are based, and quality initiatives in oncology. Topics change annually but focus on the major cancers and
supportive care areas.
The Annual Conference General Session begins on Thursday, March 23 at 8:00 AM and concludes on Saturday evening, March 25. This year's agenda will include more than 25 educational sessions featuring the latest advances in oncology care, plus interactive patient case studies & roundtable discussions.
This conference (with the exception of the NCCN Roundtable Discussions) will be designated for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for physicians and certified for credit for nurses and pharmacists.
Registration Waiver/Discounts for NCCN Member Institutions
Registration fee is waived for NCCN Member Institution junior faculty (with a title of Assistant Professor or below). NCCN also extends a 50% discount off the registration fee to staff employed at NCCN Member Institutions. Interested individuals should e-mail Liz Rieder at [email protected] to learn more about how to apply for these discounts.
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Avon Lake Patch - Nov 3, 2016
Prayers From Maria, a charity founded by an Avon Lake couple, announced the availability of $600,000 in grants to fund research into a type of brain tumor known as a glioma, which is critically fatal for children. The foundation began in 2010 awarding grants that today have inspired more than $5 million in follow-on funding from the National Institutes for Health and others into research at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, and elsewhere...For instance, a 2014 grant of $250,000 has helped a biomedical engineer at Case School of Engineering, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Efstathios Karathanasis, to develop chain-like nanoparticles that can carry drugs across the blood-brain barrier that otherwise keeps standard medicines from reaching the target cancer. These nanochains can then tote bombs of chemotherapy medicine identified by Dr. Jeremy Rich, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, chairman of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. In 2015, their study received a five-year, $2.82 million National Institutes of Health grant to make, in essence, tiny stealth bombs that slip past the brain's defenses to attack what would otherwise be incurable cancers...In 2010, Prayers From Maria granted $100,000 to fund the research of Dr. Bing-Cheng Wang, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. He used it as "seed money" for the compilation of preliminary data and ultimately received $3.3 million in follow-on grants from the National Cancer Institute to continue his brain tumor progression research.
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Medscape - Nov 2, 2016
Since the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued its recommendation against prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in 2012, the use of PSA screening and digital rectal examinations has decreased significantly, as has the incidence of early-stage prostate cancer...
When asked to comment, Eric Klein, MD, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, chairman of the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, said he is also concerned about the impact of the 2012 recommendation and points to recent evidence suggesting "it is not safe to find fewer low-grade cancers."
The negative effect on screening of the USPSTF recommendation "is going to lead to underdiagnosis of potentially lethal cancers," he predicted.
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| Mental Rehab May Reduce 'Chemobrain'
Medpage Today - Nov 1, 2016
Participation in a web-based mental rehabilitation program called InSight -- now sold as
BrainHQ
-- led to significant improvement in cognitive symptoms reported by cancer survivors, Australian researchers reported...
The "believe the patients" perspective also received a nod from
Halle Moore, MD, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and Cleveland Clinic.
"I don't think we're very good a testing for cognitive complaints, but patients sure seem to know when they have them," she said. "That's probably more important from the patient and survivor perspective."
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Dr. Chao on Predicting Survival Following Stereotactic Spinal Radiosurgery (video)
OncLive - Oct 31, 2016
Samuel Chao, MD, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center, Cleveland Clinic, discusses spine stereotactic radiosurgery for the treatment of metastases located on the spine. Certain factors can predict survival for patients that undergo spine stereotactic radiosurgery including age, performance status, and disease control. Treatment decisions can then be based on risk-status, says Chao. Patients can be grouped into risk categories, with patients in class 1, for example, surviving up to two years after spine stereotactic radiosurgery. Those in class 3, typically survive less than 6 months.
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WKYC - Oct 31, 2016
Recently, the National Institutes of Health began its largest study of breast cancer genetics in black women.
According to the NIH, "the rate of triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive subtype, is twice as high in black women as compared to white women."
Locally, doctors are also conducting research on the disparities.
"I have seen pretty aggressive triple negative breast cancers in the Cleveland area," Dr. Shaveta Vinayak, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, an assistant professor in medicine with Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, explained. "I've practiced in New York, California and lots of places but people are presenting definitely at more advanced stage and I definitely think we need to change that."
Vinayak's research and clinical practice focuses on triple negative breast cancer as well as trying to bring new clinical trials.
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American Association for Cancer Research
AACR-Aflac, Inc. Career Development Award for Pediatric Cancer Research
Deadline: Nov 15
The AACR-Aflac, Inc. Career Development Award for Pediatric Cancer Research represents a joint effort to encourage and support junior faculty to conduct pediatric cancer research and establish a successful career path in this field. The research proposed for funding may be basic, translational, clinical, or epidemiological in nature and must have direct applicability and relevance to pediatric cancer.
AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award
Deadline: Nov 22
The
AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award represents a joint effort to encourage and support tenure-eligible junior faculty. The research proposed for funding must focus on research in cancer etiology, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention and may be basic, translational, or clinical in nature.
The recipient of the 2017 AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award is required to give a presentation of their research in a minisymposium at the AACR Annual Meeting 2018. (Travel support will be provided, separate from this grant, for the grant recipient to attend the 2018 meeting.)
SU2C Catalyst Research Grants: Genentech-Supported Projects
Deadline: Dec 1
The SU2C Catalyst is a new collaborative initiative intended to leverage all stages of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostic, and devices industries (collectively referred to herein as "industry") to bring new treatments to patients as rapidly as possible. SU2C is at the intersection of a large and highly skilled scientific community consisting of its Scientific Advisory Committee, Dream Teams, Translational Research Teams, and Innovative Research Grant recipients, academic institutions, and industry. The SU2C Catalyst establishes a mechanism through which industry and academic scientists in the cancer community will conduct SU2C collaborative research projects that will deliver significant benefits for patients and society, accelerating the development of new treatments and, where appropriate, combination therapies. As the Scientific Partner in the SU2C Catalyst, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) provides scientific oversight and conducts expert peer review and grants administration for SU2C.
Stand Up to Cancer Colorectal Cancer Dream Team Translational Research Grant
Deadline: Dec 1
The
Stand Up To Cancer Colorectal Cancer Dream Team Translational Research Grant represents a new, focused effort to implement advances in colorectal cancer research as rapidly as possible through the creation of a collaborative, translational, cancer research "Dream Team." The most talented and promising researchers across institutions will be assembled into a Dream Team, forming an optimal configuration of expertise needed to solve key problems in colorectal cancer and positively impact patients in the near future. This Dream Team will span multiple disciplines and utilize the new tools of modern biology to attack research questions in a coordinated way. Mechanisms to foster collaborations within and among the Dream Teams will be employed - an approach that promotes the sharing of information and a goal-oriented focus on measurable milestones of progress. SU2C believes that this unique Dream Team model will advance scientific research in the interests of both today's cancer patients and those who may develop cancer in the future.
Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation-AACR Grant
Deadline: Dec 13
The
Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation-AACR Grant represents a joint effort to promote and support innovative cancer research. This grant is available to independent junior and senior investigators to develop and study new ideas and innovative approaches that have direct application and relevance to neuroendocrine tumors. Proposed research may be in any discipline of basic, translational, clinical, or epidemiological cancer research.
Applications are invited from researchers currently in the field as well as investigators with experience in other areas of cancer or biomedical research who have promising ideas and approaches that can be applied to neuroendocrine tumor research.
AACR-AstraZeneca Fellowship in Ovarian Cancer Research
Deadline: Dec 14
The AACR-AstraZeneca Fellowship in Ovarian Cancer Research represents a joint effort to encourage and support a postdoctoral or clinical research fellow to conduct ovarian cancer research and to establish a successful career path in this field. The research proposed for funding must have direct applicability to ovarian cancer with a specific focus on DNA damage repair pathways and may be basic, translational, clinical, or epidemiological in nature. Any proposals that address topics unrelated to DNA damage repair pathways in ovarian cancer will NOT be accepted.
AACR-Ocular Melanoma Foundation Fellowship
Deadline: Dec 21
The AACR-Ocular Melanoma Foundation Fellowship represents a joint effort to encourage and support a postdoctoral or clinical research fellow to conduct ocular/uveal melanoma research and to establish a successful career path in ophthalmology, ocular oncology, uveal melanoma biology, or a similar field. The research proposed for funding must be translational or clinical in nature and must have direct, primary applicability and relevance to ocular/uveal melanoma.
Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards for Translational Breast Cancer Research
Deadline: Dec 21
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards for Translational Breast Cancer Research represent a joint effort to promote and support innovative research designed to accelerate the discovery, development, and application of new agents to treat breast cancer and/or for pre-clinical research with direct therapeutic intent. Eligibility is limited to junior faculty who, at the start of the grant term, will have completed their most recent doctoral degree or medical residency within the past 11 years. The research proposed for funding must be translational in nature and must have direct applicability and relevance to breast cancer.
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Limited Submission: National Comprehensive Cancer Network- NCCN Foundation 2017 Young Investigator Award
Through its
Young Investigator Award (YIA) Program the NCCN Foundation invites proposals from young investigators with innovative ideas and an interest in improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of care provided to cancer patients. A primary focus of the NCCN Foundation YIA is to identify and fund top investigators in the early stages of their careers, interested in participating and contributing to cancer care research and/or elucidating how the NCCN Guidelines are implemented in practice. The NCCN Foundation also recognizes the growing need for evidence-based research in the areas of clinical treatment and management (including new diagnostics and molecular markers), health systems and delivery of care, quality of life for cancer patients, and patient education.
Eligibility Criteria
The award is open to physicians, scientists, nurses and others working in an oncology laboratory, clinical research or clinical setting, or cancer control program in one of NCCN's 27 Member Institutions (CWRU, UH, Cleveland Clinic), who:
- Have a first full-time appointment as an Assistant Professor, Instructor, or an equivalent level, and
- Are MDs, PhDs or, for nurses and others, have an advanced degree.
Nomination Process
Each NCCN Member Institution can nominate up to TWO applicants who may submit research applications.
To be considered for the nomination, submit a letter of interest to
[email protected]
and cc Neal Meropol (
[email protected]
) and Matt Kalaycio (
[email protected]
) by Friday, November 11. LOI should be no more than one-half page, and include applicant name, title, phone, email, study title, brief background, and aims.
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Friday, November 11 at 5p ET
Nomination Deadline: Friday, November 18 at 5p ET
Application Deadline: Friday, January 16, 2017 at 5p ET
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Request for Proposals for Case CCC Funding for Pilot/Phase I Clinical Trials
Deadline: Open
The Case CCC is encouraging investigators to submit Letters of Intent (LOI) for
Early Phase Clinical Research Support (EPCRS) funding. These in-house funds are available for the conduct of early phase clinical trials of relatively short duration. Priority will be given to trials which are developed jointly between UH and CCF with planned accrual at both institutions.
The proposals are being accepted on a rolling basis subject to availability of funds.
Please direct any questions and/or submit LOIs to Katarzyna Karelus, Case CCC Clinical Research Office,
[email protected], 216.844.4176.
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NIH BULLETIN- Notices and Funding Opportunities
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FOLLOW US
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Thurs, Nov 10
Cellular and Molecular Medicine Guest Speaker
Garret A. FitzGerald, MD, FRS
McNeil Professor in Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Pharmacology
University of Pennsylvania
"Prostaglandins and their inhibitors"
10a NE1-205 Cleveland Clinic
Molecular Biology and Microbiology Seminar
Alan Levine, PhD
Professor, Pharmacology
CWRU
"What is a leaky gut, and why should we care?"
and
Nga Le
Popkin Lab
CWRU
"Cross-talk between intestinal epithelial cells and T cells"
1p W203 Rottman Seminar Rm
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Fri, Nov 11
Hem/Onc Fellows
8a Breen Conf Rm
Immunology Promotion Seminar
Anna Valujskikh, PhD
Associate Staff, Immunology
Cleveland Clinic
"Total recall: Reshaping T cell memory with lymphoablation"
9a NE1-205 Cleveland Clinic
Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Guest Speaker
Max Nieuwdorp, MD, Professor, Internal Medicine, AMC, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
"Using FMT to study causality of intestinal microbiota in cardiometabolic disease"
10a NC1-202 Cleveland Clinic
Cancer Center Seminar Series
Lawrence Recht, MD
Professor of Neurology
Stanford University Medical Center
12p BRB 105
Cancer Center Research in Progress Seminar
4p WRB 3-136
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Mon, Nov 14
Genomic Medicine Institute
Kenneth Nephew, PhD
Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology Medical Sciences Program
Indiana University School of Medicine
IU Simon Cancer Center
"Targeting the cancer epigenome and cancer stem cells"
12:30p NE1-205 Cleveland Clinic
DPB Seminar
Sameer Varma, PhD
Assistant Professor, Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology
University of South Florida
"Design principles for selective ion transport across membranes"
4p SOM / Robbins Building, E-501
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Tues, Nov 15
Cancer Biology Seminar
Peter Scacheri, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
"Enhancer dysfunction in cancer"
2p NC1-202 Cleveland Clinic
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Wed, Nov 16
Hem/Onc Div Res Conf
8a Lerner B-151
Immunology Seminar Series
Trine Jorgensen, PhD
Immunology
Cleveland Clinic
12p NC1-202 Cleveland Clinic
CDDRCC Seminar
Massimo Pinzani, MD, PhD
Professor, Medicine
Director, UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health
Sheila Sherlock Chair of Hepatology
University of London
12p WRB 1-1413
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Thurs, Nov 17
Molecular Biology and Microbiology Thesis Defense
Chun-lun Ni
MBIO Student, Tarakoff Lab
CWRU
"Polyglutamine tract expansion increases protein S-Nitrosylation"
1p W203 (Rottman Seminar Room)
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Fri, Nov 18
HemOnc Fellows
8a Breen Conf Rm
TCI Grand Rounds
Swapna Thota, MD
Cleveland Clinic
"Role of cohesins in myeloid malignancies and novel targeted therapies in bone marrow failure conditions"
8a R3/002-003 Cleveland Clinic
Cancer Center Seminar Series
8a BRB 105
Cancer Center Research in Progress
Hong Qiu, PhD
Post Doctoral Scholar,Bedogni lab, Biochemistry
CWRU
"Notch1 dependent immune suppressive functions in melanoma"
4p WRB 3-136
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ADDITIONAL UPCOMING SYMPOSIUMS & EVENTS
16th Annual Multidisciplinary Genitourinary Oncology Course
Nov 10
InterContinental Hotel
Best of Radiation Oncology
Nov 12
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Independence
NCCN 22nd Annual Conference: Improving the Quality, Effectiveness, and Efficiency of Cancer Care™
Mar 23-25, 2017
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PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED OPPORTUNITIES
Internal Deadline: Nov 11
External Deadline: Feb 10, 2017
LOI Internal Deadline: Nov 11
LOI External Deadline: Dec 9
Application Deadline: Jan 20, 2017
Application Deadline:
Nov 15
Deadline:
Dec 1
Deadline: Jan 13, 2017
LOI Deadline: Feb 1, 2017
Invited Full Proposal Deadline: Mar 15, 2017
LOI Deadline:
Feb 1, 2017
Deadline: Open
Deadline: Open
Deadline: Open
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