Dr. Sergio Giralt presented at the 2017 BMT Tandem Meetings about new treatments for preventing relapse in blood cancers. One of those treatments is lomab-B, a radiolabeled antibody drug targeted against CD45. The way lomab-B works is by helping to prepare patients for hematopoietic stem cell transplants, by conditioning the body and increasing the antitumor effect of the transplant.

An article in Nature (February 22) by Dr. Sadelain and his team, found that using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing creates more powerful CAR T cells. Sadelain and team showed that CRISPR can deliver the CAR gene to a specific location within the T cell genome, thus the CAR T cells are more powerful and can work longer.

Recent research conducted at UCSF, found that imbalances in mutated KRAS could be one of the reasons why certain individuals are more vulnerable or resistant to specific drugs. Computational Biologist, Dr. Barry Taylor, led the genetic analysis of the various advanced cancers in the study. He developed algorithms and software to analyze the relative amounts of normal and mutant KRAS in tumor cells from biopsy samples.

Laura Dohrmann of Crockett, California participated at the San Francisco Cycle for Survival event last month. Dohrmann was diagnosed with an extremely rare soft-tissue cancer, leimysarcoma (LMS) in 2012. After seeing more than 20 doctors and specialists, she flew to MSK to receive treatment. After having most of her thigh removed, and several rounds of chemo and radiation, today she is learning to walk again and has no evidence of disease. She proudly raised a few thousand dollars this year for Cycle for Survival, and plans to return next year as a team captain. While she was unable to ride this year as her legs weren’t strong enough, she’s eagerly waiting for 2018. “This is life-changing for my journey,” said Dohrmann. “I’ll be riding for those who can’t. I’ll be riding for them because I can.”

Dr. Victoria Blinder recently led a study that followed 267 breast cancer patients at MSK throughout their treatment. Dr. Blinder’s team found that between 20 and 30 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer will eventually lose their job due to their diagnosis. But what was even more troubling is that poor women were four times more likely to be jobless by the end of treatment. The biggest factor in this difference is workplace accommodations for women with higher-paid, salaried jobs, where low-income women are half as likely to have accommodating work environments.
Blinder V, et al. Women with breast cancer who work for accommodating employers more likely to retain jobs after treatment. Health Affairs. 2017 Feb 1;36(2):274-81.

“Watson for Oncology” is coming to the US! IBM’s partnership with MSK will go live at it’s first use in a US community hospital. Florida’s Jupiter Medical Center will be deploying this new artificial intelligence clinical decision support tool. Currently Watson can assist clinicians with six different cancer types, and IBM and MSK are working to add an additional seven types in 2017. Watson for Oncology has already been in use in hospitals in Thailand, South Korea, and India.

The future of precision medicine was outlined in a report in Cell by MSK doctors David Hyman, Barry Taylor and José Baselga. According to the authors, this report is a roadmap for future efforts in cancer care. One of the hurdles the team addressed is that of a “engineering problem” which limits information sharing between the two vital role players, the researchers, and the clinicians.
Hyman, David M. et al. Implementing Genome-Driven Oncology. Cell 2017 Feb 9; 168(4):584-99

A new prediction tool developed by an Interventional Radiologist team led by Dr. F. Edward Boas helps surgeons determine where and how long to position probes during cryoablation. The searchable database uses simulations to identify the best probe spacing and ablation time for different tissues and tumors. View the Prediction Tool here.
Boas, F.E., Srimathveeravalli, G., Durack, J.C. et al. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol (2017). doi:10.1007/s00270-016-1562-4

Dr. Howard Scher joins forces with Seven Bridges biomedical data analysis company and Dr. Geoff Otto of the Foundation Center to present an update to their Cancer Moonshot project, the Blood Profiling Atlas, at the Precision Medicine World Congress in Silicon Valley. Blood profiling allows for identifying changes at the genetic level using a simple blood test instead of invasive tissue biospies. And the atlas provides access to enormous amounts of data to further research in identifying the most effective therapies for individual patients based on their blood.

Dr. Peter Bach makes the bold argument that the U.S. government should buy Gilead, the maker of the hepatitis C drugs that can cost upwards of $42,000 for a curative treatment course. By buying the company, the U.S. government can provide affordable therapy to quickly treat and cure the 2.7 million Americans who suffer from hepatitis C. This will save money in the long term, thanks to the drug’s ability to stop, and in some cases even reverse, liver damage.

Last week at the Critical Care Congress in Honolulu, Dr. Stephen Pastores moderated a session on the high risk of burnout for critical care clinicians.  Best practices were discussed during the session, including shortening the length of rotations and modifying weekend call schedules. According to Dr. Pastores, “data show that if a physician takes care of 12 or more patients or a nurse takes care of more than 2.5 to 3 patients,” the rate of burnout can increase. Providing a supportive work environment is essential, prioritizing staff self-care. MSK provides clinicians with reflection time, afternoon tea, and a meditation room to combat burnout.