As reported in this issue and previous issues of
TCI Connections,
there is a lot going on at TCI. Our faculty members are producing outstanding publications, presiding over important conferences, securing grant funding, and overseeing outreach activities geared to the communities we serve. They are frequently tapped to weigh in as experts on cancer issues in the news. We are continually improving access to patient care services—a new state-of-the art facility in Huntington is evidence of that.
While TCI never stops searching for innovative therapies that bring hope and promise to patients, I encourage everyone within our TCI community to take time to enjoy the summer, recharge, and refresh. In the same vein,
TCI Communications
will take a break in August and resume in September.
With thanks and gratitude,
Director, Mount Sinai Cancer
|
|
National Cancer Institute Merit Award
|
Amaia Lujambio, PhD
,
was recently awarded an R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)—Tumor-intrinsic signaling pathways restrict anti-tumor immunity in hepatocellular carcinoma—which is eligible for conversion into an NCI MERIT (R37) award, increasing the years of funding from five to seven.
The central hypothesis of the project is that specific oncogenic signaling pathways activated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) amplify the mechanisms of immune evasion and thereby impair the response to anti-
PD-1
therapy. By combining a novel mouse model of HCC immune surveillance, human HCC samples, and transcriptional and immune profilings, Dr. Lujambio and her research team will establish the signaling pathways that promote immune escape in HCC, the underlying mechanisms of immune escape, and their effects on response to anti-PD-1 therapy.
|
Pictured, from left:
Verónica Miguela, Pedro Molina, Amaia Lujambio, Elizabeth Bitterman, Erin Bresnahan, Marina Ruiz de Galarreta.
|
|
Julie B. Schnur, PhD
,
was invited by her alma mater, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, to be this year’s commencement speaker. Dr. Schnur received her PhD in clinical psychology from St. John’s.
Dr. Schnur is Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health Science and Policy. She is a member of the Center for Behavioral Oncology and co-director of the Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
In her address, Dr. Schnur emphasized how every step of her research in behavioral oncology has been guided by patients’ stories and the importance of sensitive practice skills for working with cancer patients.
|
|
AACR Cancer Dormancy and Residual Disease
|
Highlights from presentations:
- Profiling of dormant disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in the bone marrow or lymph nodes of melanoma and breast cancer patients identified founder cells of genetically related metastatic cells years later in progression.
- Single cell sequencing is important for proper lineage reconstruction in metastasis and DTC biology.
- Blocking specific integrin signaling rendered dormant DTCs sensitive to chemotherapy, leading to their eradication.
- Targeting PERK signaling could selectively kill dormant DTCs, preventing metastasis.
- Microenvironmental and epigenetic control of cancer dormancy was compared to the behavior of dormant HIV reservoirs that depend on the epigenetic state of the quiescent T-cells they infected.
- The liver has distinct microenvironments in which natural killer cells induce dormancy of DTCs.
- Lipopolysaccharide in cigarette smoke and inflammation may be responsible for awakening dormant DTCs in lungs.
William Oh, MD
, presented the design of the first dormancy clinical trial based on mechanistic understanding of cancer dormancy. Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso presented clinical trial data on how NR2F1, a dormancy marker in DTCs in mouse models, informs on the fate of breast cancer patients, and he presented data on the phenotypes adopted by dormant early DTCs in lungs using single cell sequencing.
|
Image: Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Positive (HER2+) Disseminated Tumor Cells
|
|
Goals of Care Discussions: Findings Presented at ASCO
|
|
Aaron M. Etra, MD, has joined the
Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation Program
as Assistant Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology. Dr. Etra completed fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at Mount Sinai, serving as co-chief Fellow for the 2016-2017 academic year, and residency in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center/Mount Sinai Beth Israel. During fellowship, he conducted research related to treatment practices for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) with
James L. Ferrara, MD
,
John E. Levine, MD
, and the
Mount Sinai Acute GVHD International Consortium
(MAGIC). Dr. Etra earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
|
|
New Facility In Huntington
|
Mount Sinai’s Hematology and Medical Oncology service in Huntington—part of
Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island
,
a 70-plus physician multi-specialty practice—has a new home.
An
80,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility
houses 26 medical and surgical specialties, as well as radiology and clinical laboratory services, and features an infusion center with 12 bays/rooms for chemotherapy and therapeutic infusions. Located at 5 Cuba Hill Road in Greenlawn, the facility replaces three former practice sites in Huntington.
Mount Sinai Doctors Long Island serves patients throughout Huntington, Nesconset, Commack, Bay Shore, and the surrounding communities
.
|
|
|
|
Ajai Chari, MD
, on the Subgroup Analysis of MMY1001 in Multiple Myeloma
|
|
In
Clinical Imaging
from the Department of Radiology
Clin Imaging
. 2018 Jul – Aug; 50:243-245
PMID: 29689480
The benefits of early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer have well been established. Thoracic CT, which is being performed with increased frequency for lung cancer screening, can diagnose breast cancer earlier than might be possible clinically. There is concern that changing the field of view to include breast parenchyma might have negative effects on the evaluation of the lung parenchyma.
We advocate for inclusion of the entire breast on the soft tissue series of the Chest CT as it exposes the patient to no additional radiation and has the potential to diagnose malignant breast lesions.
In
Nature
from the Department of Oncological Sciences
Nature.
2018 Jun 13;
558:460-464
PMID: 29899453
This study uncovers a key event in transcription, the first step in gene expression whereby information encoded in DNA is converted to RNA. A switch consisting of two opposing enzymes—the protein kinase Cdk9 and the phosphatase PP1—controls the activity of a conserved elongation factor to determine where the transcribed RNA is terminated.
In
Blood Advances
from the Multiple Myeloma Program
Blood Adv.
2018 Jun 26;2(12):1470-1479
PMID: 29945937
In this study of 273 patients with smoldering multiple myeloma treated at Mount Sinai, a technique known as group based trajectory modeling (GBTM) was employed to look not simply at the presence of biomarkers at the time of initial SMM diagnosis but rather at the evolution of biomarkers over the subsequent year. Findings, if confirmed with pooled multi-institutional data, would allow a standardized risk stratification, avoid the inadvertent initiation of treatment of patients who may remain asymptomatic for long periods, and ensure appropriately powered prospective therapeutic studies because of a better understanding of expected rates of progression without intervention. Also, reproducible identification of a clinically defined ultra-high-risk group is essential to guide translational research efforts in identifying the best targets for early intervention.
In
Urologic Oncology
from the Department of Urology
Urol Oncol
. 20018 Jun 7
PMID:
29887240
This is a comprehensive review of the various studies addressing intra-tumor heterogeneity in prostate cancer and in the context of that seen in other solid tumors. The authors discuss the impact of heterogeneity on clinical decision-making in treating both primary and metastatic lesions and how an understanding of this heterogeneity might help in developing better diagnostic tools and biomarkers and in guiding the selection of better therapeutic strategies.
|
|
Record Number of Outreach Events
Twenty-five community outreach events (e.g., health fairs, educational programs), sponsored by TCI and reaching thousands of people in the five boroughs of New York City, were held in June—the highest number to date. Twenty-six events are scheduled in July with many more to follow in August.
Mammography Van
The new mammography van is expected to be operational in early fall. Screening dates are already being scheduled, with the goal of 240 screening sessions in a 12-month period, reaching more than 3,000 women.
TCI’s outreach team will promote the mammography van at a
Mobile Health Association Fair
, organized by the New York City Coalition of the Mobile Healthcare Association, on
August 18
at 115th Street in East Harlem. The annual event draws more than a dozen mobile health vans.
For more information about outreach activities and the mammography van, contact
Lina
Jandorf, MA
,
Director, Office of Community Engagement, at
Lina.Jandorf@mssm.edu
or 212-659-5506.
|
|
TCI is proud to sponsor
28
th
annual conference for cancer patients, their loved ones, and health care professionals
Saturday, July 28, 9:15 am to 3:30 pm
Calvary Hospital in Bronx
Registration and Information: 212-712-8368
Free of charge
|
|
|
EVENTS AND SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
|
|
Status of Cancer Annual Report
The
Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer
, Part I: National Cancer Statistics provides updates on rates of new cases and deaths for different types of cancers. The main conclusions from the report include: the rate of new cases of cancer continued to decrease for men but remained stable among women; significant declines in cancer death rates continue among both men and women; differences in rates and trends by race and ethnic group remain; progress in reducing cancer mortality has not occurred for all sites, with the most notable exceptions being liver cancer and uterus cancer; early cancer detection and treatment are associated with potential benefits; and continued monitoring of national statistics identifies areas for potential intervention and control to reduce the burden of cancer in the U.S. population
.
|
|
|
NCDB
is a clinical oncology database sourced from hospital registry data that are collected in more than 1,500 Commission on Cancer (CoC)-accredited facilities. Data represent more than 70 percent of newly diagnosed cancer cases nationwide and more than 34 million historical records.
TCI Biostatistics Shared Resource Facility
(BSRF) has successfully utilized this database to boost our collaborators’ productivity, resulting in more than 15 publications in leading peer-reviewed journals. We apply novel statistical methods to address research questions ranging from treatment effectiveness to patterns of care.
To create a collaboration contract with a BSRF core member, contact managing director,
Erin Moshier.
|
|
Frontiers in Basic Immunology: 2018 conference September 27-28
5th NCI Pancreatic Cancer Symposium October 2-3
2nd NCI Symposium on Cancer Health Disparities October 25-26
|
|
Microscopy CoRE Seminar Series
Thomas R. Cox, PhD
Friday, July 27, 2018
10-11am
Hess Center 5th Floor, Room 10
|
|
Mark your calendar for the next
TCI Frontiers in Oncology presentation:
Robert G. Roeder, PhD
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Rockefeller University
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
12-1pm
Icahn 1st Floor, Goldwurm Auditorium
|
|
For More Information About TCI Events
|
|
MOUNT SINAI CANCER IN THE NEWS
|
|
My Palm Beach Post – June 12
MedCity News – June 13
Nature – June 15
Orthopedics This Week – June 21
Cure Today – June 22
The Wall Street Journal – June 24
The ASCO Post – June 25
HealthDay – June 26
CNN – June 18
OncLive – June 29
OncLive – June 29
News Medical & Life Sciences – July 4
OncLive – July 5
Health Imaging – July 5
MedCity News – July 12
HealthCare Business Daily News – July 13
|
|
Be sure to "like" and "retweet"
|
|
Do you have news for the next issue of
TCI Connections
?
Remember to share
breaking news
and
high impact news
that might be appropriate for media coverage with Marlene Naanes in the Press Office. This may include pending FDA drug/device approvals, studies/trial results being published in high-impact journals, and patient stories. The more lead time you can give Marlene, the better—ideally, four weeks or when a paper is accepted by the journal. Embargoes will always be honored and news will only be released with your approval. Please also remember to send ASCO abstracts when they are approved.
|
|
Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD, TCI Director
Co-editors: Janet Aronson and Rhaisili Rosario
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
