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Henry Ford Cancer Institute receives grant to create pancreatic cancer center
The Henry Ford Cancer Institute received a $20 million grant to fund the creation of a new multi-institutional pancreatic cancer research consortium.
The grant came from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
The Henry Ford Pancreatic Cancer Center to assemble experts from around the globe to collaborate in their efforts to develop and synthesize cross-institutional scientific research aimed at diagnosing pancreatic cancer earlier, according to David Kwon, MD, director of surgical oncology at the cancer institute and director of the multidisciplinary pancreas clinic at Henry Ford Hospital.
HemOnc Today spoke with Kwon about what the center will offer and the benefits it may provide to patients.
Question: What will this center be designed to do?
Answer: Pancreatic cancer has a grim prognosis. Three people in the donor’s workplace and family have been affected by this devastating disease. Through those experiences, the donor realized the prognosis ultimately was fatal and wanted to find a means to detect pancreas cancer earlier so patients have a fighting chance. Typically, 80% of patients with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed too late for curative intent. The donor wants to change the paradigm so that 80% are diagnosed early enough to receive effective treatment.
On that premise, the donor made a transformational donation that will allow us to approach the research in a novel way that brings the best ideas from various fields of research toward the goal of early detection. Two early areas of interest will be big data analysis and identifying early biomarkers. We want to define and connect variables across multiple data sets — electronic medical records, serologic data, radiologic data and genomic data — utilizing artificial intelligence methodologies to uncover new clinically meaningful associations. We believe this is untapped potential. We will combine the results from big data and clinically promising biomarkers to develop meaningful algorithms that unlock answers to early detection. We then hope to leverage Henry Ford Health System’s diverse patient population for retrospective and prospective analysis. We also will collaborate domestically and internationally to gather patient data and samples that can be used to validate our findings.
Q: How many clinicians, researchers and lab personnel will be involved?
A: We are finalizing our partnerships with multiple institutions. We will be partnering with many experts who will focus on generating novel ideas and translating them quickly into clinical relevance. We are excited about formally announcing our consortium in the near future.
Q: Can others in the field get involved?
A: We are always excited about the possibility of collaboration. Our approach has been to find and assemble best-in-class collaborators and synthesize cross-institutional research. We intend to establish partnerships with those who have aligned goals and complementary strengths and expertise.
Q: Will experts have the ability to pitch new ideas that don’t necessarily fit the big data and biomarkers model?
A: One tenet of our center is to relentlessly focus on fulfilling our purpose: diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier so patients live longer. So, if we see an opportunity that could be impactful, we want to be nimble enough to explore any valid possibility.
Q: Which do you envision will yield more impactful results first : big data or the biomarkers?
A: They are both evolving at the same time, and although they are separate focus areas, the potential is in viewing them as inextricably linked. These two silos of information have not been well integrated. I think we may find significant information in both silos. The challenge will be to integrate them.
Q: Does this mean three teams will be required? One team to look over big data, one team to look over biomarkers, and one team to oversee the project and figure out where the two silos can be integrated?
A: That’s one way to look at it. To add another layer of complexity, we’ll also need teams to identify whether all of this information translates into better patient outcomes. – by Rob Volansky
For more information:
David Kwon, MD, can be reached at Henry Ford Cancer Institute, Henry Ford Hospital, 2799 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202; email: dkwon1@hfhs.org.
Disclosure: Kwon reports a consultant role with Ethicon.