Category Archives: In the News

HONY Series at MSK wraps up, Bacteria fighting Infections, Montvale Cancer Center, and More

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Almost three weeks ago Brandon Stanton began a series on his photoblog Humans of New York detailing the stories of MSK’s youngest patients, their families, those who care for them, and are trying to find the cures to save their lives. The fundraiser he started, “Lets Help Dr. O’Reilly Fight Pediatric Cancer” has raised nearly $4M in the process. Two-thirds of the money will be allocated to pediatric cancer research at MSK (including over $1M going toward helping Dr. Mark Souweidane in his research on DIPG in memory of Max). The other third will be used to provide emotional and social support for the kids and their families. Across the Internet, everyone was abuzz about this HONY series and Brandon’s fundraiser, the HuffingtonPost even called it the “most moving HONY series yet“.

Bacteria from the human microbiome is now being studied to prevent infections and graft-vs-host disease in patients treated with stem cell transplants, thanks to a new partnership between MSK and Seres Therapeutics. The two are seeking to to discover and develop microbiome cancer drugs for therapeutic use.

MSK patients in Bergen County will no longer have to trek to Manhattan for many outpatient treatments. On May 10th, MSK announced plans for its new Montvale Cancer Center, which will open in 2017. The center is already providing CT scans in a temporary unit on the property, but the complete facility will provide all outpatient treatments except surgery (chemo therapy, radiation, imaging, and support).

A recent physician-led quality improvement study at MSK showed that preoperative chemoprophylaxis prevents VTE in major oncology surgeries. Researchers compared data from the patients who underwent surgery after the intervention was implemented versus those before it was implemented and found that there was no statistically significant difference in the rate of major bleeding events, and those who were treated after the intervention was implemented had a lower rate of documented bleeding, a lower rate of any transfusion, and a lower rate of both DVT and PE.
Selby LV, et al. J Am Coll Surg. 2015;doi:10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2015.11.011.

Dr. Chau Dang, Chief of Medical Oncology at West Harrison, talks about her motivation in treating breast cancer patients and in giving people second chances, reflecting on her own roots in escaping from Saigon during the siege as a young child and given a second chance at life in America. Her patients are first and foremost, leaving paperwork and research to late nights and weekends. But it hasn’t stopped her from leading several large scale clinical trials, such as her current research in evaluating combination therapies that include anti-HER2 drugs with chemotherapy in treating patients with early-stage and metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.

Big Data in Cancer, Detecting Neuroendocrine Tumors and More…

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The Latest in the World of Cancer Research

  • A leading cancer expert, Professor Mark Lawler, from Queen’s University in Belfast recently published a paper where he advocates for the sharing of genetic information of millions of cancer patients in hopes of improving preventive methods and overall care. The paper was published in Nature Medicine.
  • A recent study published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine demonstrates that Ga-68 DOTATATE PET/CT scans are better suited than the current imaging standard for detecting neuroendocrine tumors and can significantly affect treatment management.
  • Researchers at the University of California Davis Health System have identified more than 43 genes associated with risk between autism and cancer, suggesting that common mechanisms underlying the functions of some of these genes could pave the way for the development of therapies for both conditions. The study results were published in Trends in Genetics.
  • After years of debate about the health risks of electronic cigarettes, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently assumed regulatory authority over e-cigarettes. In contrast to proposed FDA regulations, the Royal College of Physicians in the UK in a report acknowledges the need for proportionate regulation of e-cigarettes, but suggests that regulation should not be allowed significantly to inhibit the development and use of harm-reduction products by smokers. “This is two countries taking pretty much diametrically opposed positions,” said Kenneth E. Warner, a professor of public health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, in a recent New York Times article.

The FDA is Seeking to Regulate 3D Printing for Medical Devices

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3D printing of medical devices is becoming more commonplace in biomedical sciences. There has not been any official set of guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), however. As a result of this increase in 3D printing, the FDA just issued a draft guidance for 3D-printed medical devices (or additive manufactured [AM] devices). The FDA has so far approved nearly 100 applications for lower-risk 3D printed medical devices, but the organization is seeking to make the application process more efficient. How will this affect physicians who wish to 3D-print a medical device in his or her own workplace?

The draft guidance stems from a 2014 public workshop and was created to help medical device manufacturers follow the FDA’s views on 3D printing. The FDA’s guidance for manufacturers “outline[s] technical considerations associated with AM processes, and recommendations for testing and characterization for devices that include at least one AM fabrication step.” It outlines how manufacturers need to think about device design, the effects of imaging (MRIs, CT scans, etc.), software workflow, material controls, post-processing validation of the biomedical devices, quality control and testing, and cleaning and sterilization procedures.
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