UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Cancer Program of UNC-Chapel Hill & UNC Health Care Spring 2005
UNC
LINEBERGER COMPREHENSIVE
CANCER CENTER
Director’s
Message
5 Keeping
Relationships
Strong
6 Lineberger
Scrapbook
Collaboration Fosters Team Approach to
GI Cancer Prevention, Diagnosis and Care
A new five-year, $11. 5-million grant funding a Specialized
Program in Research Excellence (SPORE) focused on gastroin¬
testinal cancers supports UNC Lineberger members in trans¬
lating laboratory findings into new approaches for preventing,
detecting and treating Gl cancers — the second leading cause
of cancer death nationwide. Gl cancers include tumots of the
esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, colon and rectum.
This intensive research helps scientists take findings from
the basic research lab and put them to use in the clinic in
order to drive advances in prevention, diagnosis and manage¬
ment of the disease. Under the SPORE, each project is co¬
led by a basic scientist and a clinician to develop and test
tailored therapies designed specifically for different types of
cancers and patients. These treatments will improve patient
outcomes and quality of life.
“The Gl SPORE is designed to foster translational re¬
search,” says Joel Tepper, professor and chairman of the de¬
partment of radiation oncology, and principal investigator of
the Gl SPORE. “Our work goes between lab and clinic and
back again to try to learn as much as we can about these
cancers. It’s not just lab scientists working in Isolation. Their
findings are shared with clinicians who work directly with
patients. Their feedback then goes back to the lab where it
gets put back in the research stream."
The SPORE is comprised of jive major projects.
1. Prognostic and Predictive Factors in Outcomes of Patients
with Colorectal Cancer: A Population-Based Study, Robert
Sandler, MD, MPH, principal investigator; Temitope Keku, PhD,
co-principal investigator.
“In this study we will analyze tumor specimens to deter¬
mine if there are certain genetic changes that will influence
the prognosis of the patients or their responses to therapy,”
explains Robert Sandler, chief of the division of gastroenter¬
ology and hepatology. The project will help researchers iden¬
tify tumor characteristics that indicate poor prognosis and
could be used to develop specific treatments.
Tumor specimens were collected in the CanCORS (Can¬
cer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance) project. Can¬
CORS is a population-based study designed to determine
how patient, provider and treatment factors influence the
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NCI Director Visits UNC Lineberger
Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, director of the National Cancer
Institute, visited UNC Lineberger on March 3. He listened to
faculty presentations of new and ongoing research with lively dis¬
cussion following the presentations, met with UNC School of
Medicine Dean Bill Roper, and concluded his visit by giving a talk
about NCI programs and goals to faculty and staff. Pictured here,
left to right: Dr. Bill Roper, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, and Dr.
Shelley Earp.
Reconstructive Surgery:
Restoring Function and Appearance for Patients
Exc Mai IES Neck. Breast Recon & Transflap/Mast. Remove
Bil. Arch Bar. Trach.
That may be all Greek to you and me, but it’s all in a day’s
work for the reconstructive surgery team, all members of
UNC Lineberger. These are some of the procedures logged
on the daily roster of surgeries posted outside the operating
room.
“A multidisciplinary surgical oncology team allows each
member of the team to do what they do best,” says Mark
Weissler, professor of otolatyngology/head and neck surgery
and leader of the UNC Lineberger head and neck cancer
program. “Outside the operating room, surgeons, radiation
oncologists, medical oncologists, nurses, therapists and
social workers all work together to formulate a game plan.
The various team members work together on a daily basis
and communicate with each other in an environment that
encourages the exchange of important information.”
Working Together
“Curing cancer is the primary goal of surgical oncology, but
the surgeries can leave devastating problems,” says Carol
Shores, assistant professor of otolaryngology/head and neck
surgery. For instance, after surgery head and neck cancer
patients frequently have problems with swallowing and can
have significant alteration in their appearance. Or they are
missing parts of their ears, noses or cheeks.
That’s where the reconstruction team comes in. “I love
that what 1 do is all about the patient’s quality of life,” says
Clara Lee, assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive
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