Clinical Trials Communication

101+ Workshop

A bridge to a better way of life

When Willy Weber started experiencing painful symptoms related to his colon cancer, he and his wife Gwen became focused on finding relief and a higher quality of life.

They found what they wanted in Massey's Thomas Palliative Care program.  While palliative care is generally sought by patients with incurable illnesses, it can be provided simultaneously with other types of care at any time. "We look at palliative care as a bridge that connects advanced disease and pain with symptom relief and quality of life," says Patrick Coyne, the program's clinical director.

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Massey doctor helps write the book

"Advanced cancer is cancer that cannot be cured. It may be referred to as end-stage or terminal cancer. However, incurable does not mean untreatable. People with advanced cancer continue to have options for treatment and can maintain a good quality of life."

So begins a new, free patient booklet from The American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Thomas J. Smith, medical director of Massey's Thomas Palliative Care Unit, couldn't agree more. In fact, he helped develop the booklet, which is based on research he co-authored. 

"A more comprehensive approach to treating patients with incurable cancer means involving palliative care sooner," Dr. Smith argues. "There has been a concern among doctors that somehow planning for a good death might make it happen or hasten it. In medical facts, the exact opposite is true. People who use hospice actually live longer than those who don't."

"If you use palliative care alongside your usual oncology care you live at least as long if not up to three months longer," Smith continued. "In fact, we use palliative care right alongside bone marrow transplant where the goal is to cure the patient. Palliative care emphasizes honest communication, setting the possible medical goals, and expert symptom management. That is just good medicine and nursing." 

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Get screened: Early detection can save your life

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., 60 percent of which could be avoided by following proper screening guidelines.

Dr. Resa Jones investigates the barriers to cancer screening adherence, particularly colorectal cancer screening. "If detected early, colorectal cancer is usually treatable. It's very important that people over the age of 50 are getting screened regularly," she says. "There are several types of screenings, which can be confusing for patients. But the most important thing is to get screened. Have a conversation with your doctor and set a date."

Of note: There are currently 11 clinical trials open at Massey related to colorectal cancer.  To explore them, specify "colon" or "rectum" in the "disease site" field on the protocol search page.

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT 

Massey first to combine targeted agents to kill multiple myeloma cells

Massey scientists have developed a novel treatment strategy for multiple myeloma that pairs two targeted agents to kill cancer cells. The study's findings, published in a recent edition of the journal Blood, are the first to demonstrate the synergistic, anti-myeloma effects of this combination regimen in vivo and in vitro.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer involving antibody-producing cells in the bone marrow, and, in most cases, it is incurable. Targeted therapies work by interfering with biological and biochemical functions critical for cancer cell survival and proliferation. "By combining Chk1 inhibitors with another targeted agent, such as Src inhibitors, we were able to induce cell death in multiple myeloma cells while sparing healthy, normal cells," says the study's lead investigator, Dr. Steven Grant.

Of note: There are currently eight clinical trials open at Massey for patients with multiple myeloma. To explore them, specify "multiple myeloma" in the "disease site" field on the protocol search page. 

Massey researcher awarded NIH grant to study patient recruitment and consent in tissue donation

Dr. Laura Siminoff received $283,000 from the National Institutes of Health to support her contribution to the newly launched Genotype Tissue Expression Project. The Project will investigate how genetic variation may control gene activity and its relationship to cancer and other diseases.

Dr. Siminoff will serve as a principal investigator on the Project to examine the ethical, legal and social issues related to donor recruitment and consent. She and her team hope to determine how to consent families and patients in socially and ethically acceptable ways that will maximize the diversity of tissues in the Project's biobank repository, and still be sensitive to the cultural and ethical requirements for informed consent by biobank participants, including the need for privacy and confidentiality.  

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