Dr. Edward Hartsough

Edward Hartsough, Ph.D. received a post-doctoral fellowship from the National Cancer Center Organization ( http://www.nationalcancercenter.org/ ).  The fellowship grant is entitled “Next-Generation RAF Inhibitors in V600E BRAF Melanoma.”  Dr. Hartsough works in Dr. Andrew Aplin’s lab at the Kimmel Cancer Center.

The National Cancer Center was founded by Dr. J. Ernest Ayre in 1953 as a non-profit organization committed to research and education about cancer. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and its incidence is on the rise. BRAF mutations are found in half of melanomas and the funded work will study new mutant BRAF targeting agents in preclinical models.

Mika Harding, Richard Pestell, and Ruslan Banatskiy at this year's GYRIG race

Supporters of the Kimmel Cancer Center joined “Team Jefferson” for this year’s Get Your Rear in Gear 5K and 10K runs, 2 mile walk or a kids’ fun run.

Proceeds support cutting edge research in colorectal cancer and compassionate care.

Maria Grasso, founder and organizer of GYRIG Philadelphia, presented a check to Jefferson from last year’s event proceeds in the amount of $50,000 a week before the race.

A resident of Mount Laurel, N.J., Grasso lost her own father and grandfather to colon cancer.   Inspired by a desire to fight the diseases that claimed her loved ones, Grasso has grown the event from a few hundred participants to more than 4,000 as she approached the fifth year.

This annual race event is part of awareness and fund-raising efforts during March, National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

JMNMF President Greg Safko and Jefferson's Curtis Kugel

Curtis Kugel, a Thomas Jefferson University graduate student in the Department of Cancer Biology, was one of 10 students from leading cancer centers across the U.S. to receive a $10,000 “Research Scholar Award” (RSA) from the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation (JMNMF) for his exceptional research work.

JMNMF Chair, Regina Shannon Bodnar, and Board/RSA Committee member, Esther Hoffberg.  and JMNMF President Greg Safko, presented the award to Mr. Kugel at the Kimmel Cancer Center’s Bluemle Life Sciences Building on March 20.

Kugel was also accompanied by Dr. Richard Pestell, Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, and Andrew Aplin, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology.

Kugel’s research focuses on targeting receptor tyrosine kinases in an attempt to prevent resistance to RAF inhibitors in melanoma and improve the efficacy of those inhibitors.

“I am very excited to have been chosen to receive this award from the JMNMF for my work on melanoma research,” said Kugel. “With applicants working alongside some of the leading melanoma researchers and applying from some of the country’s top cancer centers, receiving this award is truly an honor.”

The JMNMF is a nonprofit public charity founded in January 2004 to foster melanoma education, advocacy and research. In just eight years, the Foundation has grown dramatically to become an influential voice in the melanoma community and is now established as a national, and international, “voice for melanoma prevention, detection, care and cure.”

The nationally competitive grants increased by nearly 11 percent in 2013 (following a 30 percent funding increase in 2011) to significantly enhance the potential for advancements in the melanoma cancer field and encourage a larger number of students to choose melanoma research as their professional career path.

The 2013 RSA applicant pool and cancer research centers represented grew to include 44 of the country’s most promising young melanoma researchers, and 28 prominent National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Centers.

As first in the U.S. to fund graduate student melanoma researchers, the JMNMF program is celebrating the program’s seventh anniversary.

According to Regina Shannon Bodnar, “Our Foundation’s ‘Research Scholar Awards’ are invaluable at the grassroots level, to specifically grow interest in melanoma research, at leading cancer research centers nationwide.  If we can attract the brightest young minds, that are considering or are already within the nation’s cancer research pipelines, to pursue a career in melanoma research – we’re that much closer to better understanding the disease, identifying the means for effective treatments and, most importantly, finding a cure for this deadly and increasingly prevalent disease.”

For more information about JMNMF, please visit: http://www.melanomaresource.org/

Standing left to right - Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr.; Dr. Robert L. Comis; Dr. Stanley R. Hamilton; Dr. Randall C. Morgan; Dr. Al B. Benson, III; Dr. Edith P. Mitchell. Seated – Dr. Jane Cooke Wright.

In February, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) announced the passing of Jane Cooke Wright, M.D., a true pioneer, mentor, and renowned researcher. Dr. Wright was one of seven founding members of ASCO – the only woman among the founders – and the Society’s first Secretary/Treasurer. She died on Tuesday, February 19 at the age of 93.

Pictured above, Dr. Edith Mitchell, a Clinical Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology in the Department of Medical Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, and Director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities, is joined by other ASCO members and physicians, with Dr. Wright seated.

Save The Date Announcement

April 12, 2013
8:00 PM to MIDNIGHT
The Waterfall Room
2015 S. Water Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148

Tickets $50.00
Includes buffet dinner, top-shelf open bar,
dancing, raffles, 50/50 and door prizes

Contact Mia Burgis or Nicole Ferroni
mia.burgis@jefferson.edu or nicole.riverso@yahoo.com

Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D.

Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D., FACP, an internationally renowned breast cancer researcher and clinician, has been appointed Director of the Jefferson Breast Care Center at the Kimmel Cancer Center (KCC) and Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals.

With more than 25 years of clinical, basic science and educational experience, Dr. Cristofanilli will also serve as Deputy Director of Translational Research at the KCC.

Prior to joining Jefferson, Dr. Cristofanilli served as chairman of the department of medical oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center and head of the center’s Inflammatory Breast Cancer Clinic. Before that, he founded and served as Executive Director of the Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program and Clinic at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Dr. Cristofanilli is a widely-recognized leader in the translational research and treatment of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), the rare and aggressive form of breast cancer in which cancer cells block lymph vessels in the skin of the breast. Moreover, he has recognized expertise in the development of novel diagnostic and prognostic markers in primary and metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

“Dr. Cristofanilli is a proven leader whose translational research expertise will fit in perfectly with the overall mission of the KCC to link our already excellent basic science in breast cancer with more patient-directed therapies in a time-efficient manner,” said Richard G. Pestell, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the KCC and Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology and Vice President for Oncology Services at Jefferson. “We look forward to tackling some of the most innovative questions in breast cancer precision oncomedicine with cutting edge research and the latest clinical trials.”

Dr. Cristofanilli’s research aims to improve personalized medicine for breast cancer patients, focusing on molecular targeted agents, biomarkers and gene therapies, and bridging the gap between the bench and bedside in a more practical and smarter way. A forte of Dr. Cristofanilli is his team-based and multidisciplinary approach to medicine.

His 2004 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine on circulating tumor cells (CTCs)—found to be a predictor of progression-free survival and overall survival in MBC patients—sparked a slew of subsequent preclinical and clinical investigations that continue to further our knowledge and molecular understanding of the metastatic process with the potential to impact the treatment and improve the prognosis of these patients affected by recurrent disease.

Recently, he presented a study at the 2012 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on commercially-available genomic tests and their ability to better classify tumor subtypes in breast cancer to help guide treatment plans.

“We’re proud that Jefferson is the new home for Dr. Cristofanilli, whose work in cancer research and in the clinic goes unmatched and whose passion to initiate and grow programs speaks for itself, particularly for aggressive forms of breast cancer,” said Neal Flomenberg, M.D., Chair of the Department of Medical Oncology at Jefferson. “We’re looking forward to this new chapter at the Jefferson Breast Care Center and the KCC, where his experience in compassionate clinical care and cutting edge research will better serve the institution and ultimately the patients in the region and beyond.”

Dr. Cristofanilli received his medical degree from the University of La Sapienza in Rome, Italy, where he also completed a fellowship in medical oncology.  He completed an internship at the Cabrini Medical Center in New York, as well as his residency in internal medicine. That was followed by a fellowship in medical oncology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Cristofanilli is Board Certified by the American Board of Medical Oncology and the European Society for Medical Oncology.

“Jefferson, as an institution, has a tradition, but at the same time is always projecting towards the future, forever expanding upon research and clinical programs, bringing innovative technologies into the lab and clinic, and attracting new physicians and patients,” said Dr. Cristofanilli. “I want to bring my vision to Jefferson and look forward to us to being able to grow together.”

The Jefferson Breast Care Center was founded in 2006 and is one of 466 centers in the nation accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. The Center gives the patient a comprehensive experience where surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, pathology risk assessment / genetics, social work and a breast care navigator are all working together with the patient at the center of care.

Nicole Simone, M.D.

Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center will begin a first-of-its-kind clinical trial that uses calorie restriction to help treat early stage breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.

Evidence suggests that reducing patients’ calorie intake could help shrink tumors and improve survival because it enhances the effectiveness of radiation therapy, the team explains in a recent review published in the Oncologist.

“In our research, we’ve seen a 30 percent reduction in tumor size in mice, and they live much longer than mice not on a diet,” said Nicole Simone, M.D., Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals. “The next step is to investigate if early stage breast cancer patients are able to adhere to caloric restriction while on radiation. This will then allow us to determine others benefits and factors, such as toxicity, recurrence, and survival.”

Until now, the use of calorie restriction to treat cancer or augment standard cancer treatment, such as radiation therapy, has received little attention, with few trials underway in the U.S. Jefferson’s trial, however, is the first in breast cancer patients.

The study is being partly funded by a donation from the Ladies of Port Richmond, a local breast cancer group that raises awareness and funds for research.

Caloric restriction has been shown to alter molecular pathways that make cancer cells more susceptible to radiation, enhancing its effectiveness and thus shrinking tumors and improving survival in mice. What’s more, clinical evidence over the last several decades has shown a link between cancer incidence and calorie restriction.

Beginning in February, Jefferson will begin enrolling 40 women on a calorie reduction diet (a 25 percent reduction of the patients typical total intake) while undergoing treatment. Stage 0 and I breast cancer patients who are not diabetic but who are candidates for breast conserving therapy will be given dietary counseling and guidance to carry out a liquid diet 36 hours prior to lumpectomy and then a calorie reduction of 25 percent will be done during radiation therapy.

Calorie restriction will start the week of radiation planning and continue for the six weeks of radiation, for a total of 10 weeks. Patients will keep a nutritional journal, have counseling in Jefferson’s own Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine to tailor the diet reduction for each individual patient and also meet with counselors during weekly visits.

For the trial, the feasibility of treating breast cancer patients with a calorie-restriction diet modification in conjunction with standard radiation will be assessed. Acute toxicity as per National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria, quality of life, local recurrence, progression-free survival, distant metastases and overall survival will be also assessed.

In the lab, calorie restriction has been used prior to implantation of tumor cells in mouse breast cancer models and has been shown to slow or even prevent tumor growth.

Dr. Simone’s laboratory has investigated calorie restriction as a treatment modality, implanting tumors in mice prior to initiation of the diet to mimic the use of a diet in a newly diagnosed patient. For the second approach, calorie restriction was administered with cytotoxic therapy to determine the value of calorie restriction as part of a combination therapy.

Preliminary data demonstrated that calorie restriction repressed tumor growth when administered concurrently with radiation in two types of breast cancer: triple negative breast cancer, which has a propensity for metastases and locally aggressive breast cancer.

Calorie restriction alters molecular pathways, including the insulin and AMP-kinase pathway, the researchers posit, leaving cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Both pathways have been shown to play a role in breast cancer cell proliferation and progression of disease.

Dr. Simone presented the work at the 2012 American Society for Radiation Oncology, and has published several studies on the topic in Cell Cycle and International Journal of Breast Cancer

“Dieting is likely an effective method to enhance the cytotoxicity of radiation therapy because of the overlapping induction of molecular profiles, and it may also provide a beneficial means of improving the overall health and metabolic profiles of patients,” said Dr. Simone. “This trial could provide evidence to implement calorie restriction into the care of cancer patients in treatment. What’s more, it may provide a cost-effective addition to current treatment modalities that enhances cancer therapy while minimizing side effects.”

Kosj Yamoah, M.D., Ph.D.

A new study published in January in the journal BMC Cancer, led by Kosj Yamoah, M.D., Ph.D., a resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital, takes aim at the issue by investigating prostate cancer diagnoses and treatment delivery in black men living in the West African region, in order to devise research strategies to help improve health outcomes.

Overall, many men are diagnosed at a later stage, with more than half opting out of treatment, they found. The researchers point to stigmas about cancer as a root of the problem.

“Cancer could eclipse infectious diseases as an epidemic if more awareness and intervention doesn’t come about,” said Dr. Yamoah, who grew up in Ghana until age 20, when he came to the United States. “Cancer can be very hush-hush because of cultural and financial issues and social stigmas associated with the disease. We need to bring awareness and address the needs of the population and barriers to care.”

“Cancer is still perceived as a death sentence,” he added. “People are scared to go to their doctor to find out if they have it, let alone to follow through with treatment.”

In a retrospective analysis of 379 patients referred for treatment at the National Center for Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) from 2003 to 2009, the team found that 33 percent were diagnosed with metastatic disease and 70 percent had a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) score four times higher than men in the United States or Europe at time of diagnosis.

PSA screening rates in Ghana are low, the authors explain, and many men opt out of radiation therapy and other therapies after diagnosis. Out of the 251 patients eligible for radiation therapy, only 141 patients actually received external beam radiation therapy.

Among patients with at least two years of follow up after external beam radiation therapy, three- and five-year PSA-failure free survival was 73.8 percent and 65.1 percent respectively. In the U.S., those percentages are 90 percent and 85 percent, respectively.

Reasons recognized by KBTH clinicians for patients declining radiation therapy included: the prohibitive cost of treatment, fear of radiation, and a state of denial based on their perception of disease originating solely from spiritual causes rather than biologic processes.

The data, which to date provides the largest source of published information on outcomes for prostate cancer treatment in the West African region, is a call to action, according to the authors.

The research team plans to develop treatment regimens tailored to the needs of Ghanaian men, which may differ from guidelines currently utilized in the Unites States and Europe in order to better address the disease burden and improve mortality rates in Ghana. That could mean more frequent PSA screening.

“There is controversy in the United States with PSA testing, but in a country like Ghana, there may be a role for PSA screening, even infrequent screening, because of all the late stage cancers we are finding,” said Dr. Yamoah.

The team has established collaboration between two institutions with the hope of improving prostate cancer treatment and plan to start more clinical trials to develop novel, shorter course treatments for locally-advanced prostate cancer.

“Based on these results, our group has proposed a plan for future research aimed at identifying an appropriate role for PSA screening in this population, developing radiation therapy treatment schedules that better fulfill the needs of Ghanaian prostate cancer patients, and contributing to understanding genetic factors associated with prostate cancer risk and treatment response,” the authors write.

Sarah E. Hegarty, a statistical analyst in the Department Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at Jefferson, and Terry Hyslop, Ph.D., also of the Department Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at Jefferson, were also part of the study.

Ronald Myers, Professor of Medical Oncology

A mailing or phone call to help patients get screened for colorectal cancer significantly increases their chances of actually getting tested, according to a study published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention by researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.

The research team, led by Ronald E. Myers, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Division of Population Science, Department of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, performed a randomized, controlled trial of 945 people aged 50-79 to test the impact of a new, preference-based navigation intervention, as opposed to standard mailing or usual care, on screening rates.

A third of the patients received a “tailored” phone call to encourage them to perform their preferred screening test (colonoscopy vs. at-home blood stool test), plus a mailing of preferred information; another third were sent information on colonoscopy and a stool blood test kit; while the last third received no intervention.

Patients who received a phone call and/or mailing were almost three times as likely to undergo screening six months later compared to those who had no intervention. However, there was no significant difference between the phone and mailed interventions versus mailings only on screening rates.

While colorectal cancer screening rates are increasing in the United States, rates lag behind those for breast and cervical cancer screening. Screening and early detection of colon and rectal cancer holds tremendous promise for reducing the toll of colon and rectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in this country with more than 140,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Late diagnoses will account for many of the colorectal cancer related deaths.

The study, which was conducted between 2007 and 2011, included 10 primary care practices affiliated with the Christiana Care Health System in Delaware that used a comment medical record system.

The research team searched for patients who had no prior diagnosis of colorectal neoplasia or inflammatory bowel diseases, had visited one of the participating practices within the previous two years, and were not compliant with American Cancer Society colorectal cancer screening guidelines.

For the study, 312 patients received a tailored intervention, where they were informed about both colonoscopy and blood stool tests and then were sent information on colonoscopy or the actual blood test performed, based on their preference. Another group, consisting of 316 patients, was mailed information about both colonoscopy and stool blood test performed.  The remaining 317 were sent no information or tests and did not receive any phone calls.

Overall screening adherence at six months was significantly higher in both invention groups compared to the control group, the researchers found. Thirty-eight percent of patients who received the tailored phone interventions and 33 percent of patients who received mailings completed screening tests. Only 12% of patients in the control group completed screening tests.

In terms of the intervention groups, the researchers found that preference-based navigation did not significantly boost overall adherence to a level that was significantly higher than that achieved by mail, but increased participant performance of their preferred screening test in comparison to the mailed intervention, especially colonoscopy use.

“The study showed that both strategies were superior to usual care, and that there is not a one-size fits all approach to screening,” said Dr. Myers. “The next step is to determine if an intervention strategy that maximizes screening test access, incorporates patient preference, and engages providers can achieve higher screening rates compared to just mailings.”