Public Forum - 2017 Annual Retreat on Cancer Research in NJ

The Annual Retreat on Cancer Research in New Jersey is hosted by the Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ and the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research. The event includes poster sessions and mini-symposium on research by expert NJ researchers.

The day also includes a Public Forum. I have been lucky to have attended a few of the public sessions over the past few years. Last year's public forum topic was Survivorship. This year, the topic is Precision Medicine.

The topics of discussion will be:
The Promise and Practice of Precision Oncology
Capturing the Spectrum of Hereditary Cancers: A Moving Target in the Setting of Targeted Therapy
Ethical Issues in Precision Oncology.

This years event will take place on May 25, 2017  (8:30-10:00 am) at the Rutgers College Avenue Student Center.

Registration is free.
Please register on the following website: http://www.mpi-evv.com/2017NJCR/2017PFReg.asp

I've already registered for the event. How many of my fellow advocates and survivors will join me?

 See you on the 25th!

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!

NJ Cancer Research

Every year there is an Annual Retreat on Cancer Research in New Jersey. This year's Retreat was held at the Student Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. The Retreat brings together researchers from across the state to share their study results and also includes a Public Forum portion,  focus sessions and a poster session. I'll give a short review on the Public Forum, the Keynote Speech and 3 posters related to ovarian cancer.

This year the Public Forum theme was Cancer Survivors:Advancing Care through Research.
 Public Forum. The Keynote Lecture for the Public Forum was given by Alred Neugut MD ,PhD, Columbia University . He spoke on research related to screening tests and public health issues, emphasizing the need for guidelines for tests,colonoscopy and mammography in particular,  being based on good data.

Dr Sharon Manne spoke on Couple-Focused Group Therapy for Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Spousal support is the most important support a women diagnosed with breast cancer can have. Support groups are also very important but outcomes depend on the moderator. In a trial of Couple Enhanced Support Groups ( education and topic driven) vs regular support group  the participants in the support group reported less distress than those in the Enhanced Support Group.

Dr Shawna Hudson spoke on Prostate Cancer Follow-Up:Promoting Self-Care After Cancer Treatment Ends. In one study when asked when follow-up care should be provided by the primary care physician(PCP),  prostate cancer survivors responded that a return to the PCP should be later in the timeline. There is a  new NCSRC Primary Care Toolkit for breast /prostate /colon cancer .

Dr Brian Gonzalez spoke on A Vision For Personalized Care in Cancer Survivorship with a focus on the cognitive function and hot flashes in prostate cancer and the use of androgen deprivation treatment. He found that those men with a GG allele showed a worsening of their cognitive function and an increase in hot flashes when using ADT.

 Keynote Speaker - Jeffrey Engelman, MD,PhD  Harvard Medical School

Dr Engleman's talk Evolution of Resistance to Targeted Therapies focused on lung cancer - specifically those with EGFR mutations and ALK translocations. Most cancers do not have a single target. Recurrence will occur if 1) pathways are reactivated 2)the target is amplified or 3) lineage changes occur. Research on early vs late T790M mutation development showed that cells with late T790M showed the same expression profile as drug tolerant cells.

Posters

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Ovarian Cancer Treatment and Survival - E. Bandera
(800 women diagnosed with OC  between 2000-2013)
"African-American(AA)  women were more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease ( 26%), to have hypertension (73.9%) and renal disease ( 50%),  not have surgery and have an elevated post-treatment CA-125. Both AA and Hispanic women had high prevalence of obesity.
...  Our study shows that disparities in OC treatment and survival in AA persisted in a setting of equal access to care and after taking into account treatment and other clinical characteristics."

Dietary Quality and Ovarian Cancer Risk in African-American(AA)  Women - K.Pawlish
(415 OC cases and 629 age/site controls of AA decent evaluated three indexed-based dietary patterns. "Adherence to an overall healthy dietary pattern may reduce ovarian cancer risk in AA women, particularly among postmenopausal AA women"   

Identifying Gene/Protein Expression and Single -Nucleotide Polymorhism profiles (SNP ) in Tumor Samples Isolated from Patients with Ovarian Cancer - J.Sapiezynski
"A strong positive correlation between the resistance of cells and expression level of MDR1 gene was revealed. A strong correlation between resistance and the BCL2 gene was found in cells with the wild type of TOP2A genotype."


I am so pleased to see many different research groups working together on these important projects.

Dee
Every Day is a Blessing! 

Eliminating the NJ Commission on Cancer Research

I received an e-mail yesterday telling me some disturbing news. On July 1, 2010, the Governor is planning to eliminate the NJ Commission on Cancer Research the only state body that awards cancer research dollars. Their mission is To ensure that the citizens of New Jersey receive the fullest benefit of our nation’s fight against cancer through the promotion and funding of research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of cancer.

Some facts-

• The NJCCR was founded in 1983.
• This program has been so successful it was cited by the President's Cancer Advisory Board in 1989 as an ideal model to bring research to communities.
• In 1995 a law was signed which provided the inclusion of the check off box on the state's income tax form dedicating funding for the Breast Cancer Research Fund
• In 1999 the NJCCR with dedicated health professionals had reached the first of its kind agreement with health insurers who agreed voluntarily to pay for routine care in all phases of cancer clinical trials.
  
• In 2007, an intensive and independent evaluation found that NJCCR funded cancer researchers leveraged over $10 back to NJ laboratories for every $1 awarded, with more than $350 million in research dollars returned to NJ laboratories over the years.
• In 2009, NJCCR & CINJ co-hosted the NJ Summit on Cancer Survivorship. Participants are in the process of developing a 5 year statewide action plan to enhance survivorship in NJ.
• NJCCR receives revenue from dedicated funding sources like the Tobacco Tax, voluntary income tax donations and the Conquer Cancer License plates, it performs its mission at no cost to the general taxpayer.

NJCCR has touched my life in a number of ways.After my diagnosis in 2005, I received a copy of the “Resource Book for Cancer Patients in NJ” published by the NJCCR from the Wellness Community. I found support services that I could use and shared information provided in the book with others diagnosed with cancer.I participated in a clinical trial at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and continue to be treated there. One of my gynecological oncologists, Dr. Lorna Rodriguez has received grants from the NJCCR for ovarian cancer research. And last November, I was a participant in the NJ Summit on Cancer Survivorship. It is essential that the money be restored to NJCCR so that New Jersey’s progress in the war against cancer can continue and the plan developed at the Summit can be implemented.

You can read more about the Commission in their Annual report.

I will send a letter to the Governor to ask him to not eliminate the program. Will you join me?

The governor's address is:

The Honorable Chris Christie

Office of the Governor

P.O. Box 001

Trenton, NJ 08625


Dee
Every Day is a Blessing!