"This is a milestone event in the care of patients with cancer in New England," said Abe Lopman, Executive Director of Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven.
The integration would not have been possible without the enormous effort and dedication of the YCC, YNHH, and YMG staff, as well as the staff of the former MOH offices. A command center was established on the 5th floor of Smilow and staffed by physicians, nurses, and IT and administrative support to ensure the integration went smoothly this week. I am proud to report that patient care continued on schedule at all six locations, using Yale scheduling, ordering, and billing systems. The team was also able to successfully bring oncology pharmacy practice into the community setting, enhancing patient care and safety.
"Oncology nursing welcomed 25 new nurses, 2 APRNs, and 11 PCAs to the division. These professionals are very skilled and experienced staff, and the practices enjoy high levels of patient satisfaction. We are fortunate to have them as part of our team," said Catherine Lyons, RN, Clinical Program Director, Smilow Cancer Hospital.
Approximately 15,000 patients were treated in 2011 by MOH oncologists.
"This practice transition is a major first step in achieving our multi-year goal of bringing comprehensive cancer care to local communities," said Art Lemay, Executive Director, Smilow Cancer Network.
Please welcome the following faculty members to our group:
Yale Cancer Center announced the 2011-2012 round of Pilot Funding supported by the Swebelius Trust, the Seery Trust, the Kelly Family Foundation, Closer to Free Fund, and the Cancer Center Core Grant.
This year's pilot funding recipients include:
Susan Baserga
Targeting the Nucleolus for Cancer Therapy
Marcus Bosenberg
Targeting DNA Methyltransferase 3b in Malignant Melanoma
David Carlson
Non-invasive Imaging of Tumor Hypoxia in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Undergoing Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy
Craig Crews
In Vivo Validation of Antitumor and Antimetastatic PhosphoPROTACs
Donald M. Engelman
Therapeutic pHLIP Tumor Delivery of PNAs Targeting Oncogenic microRNAs
Susan Kaech
Regulatory Macrophages: A New Therapeutic Target in Melanoma
Stephanie O'Malley
Understanding Alcohol's Paradoxical Effect on Cancer Risk & Health
Divya Patel
Oncological and Obstetric Outcomes of Excisional Treatment for Cervical Cancer Precursors in Reproductive Age Women
Faye Rogers
Novel Therapeutic Strategy for the Treatment of Herceptin-Resistant Breast Cancers
Mark Shlomchik
TALEN Endonuclease-based Gene Targeting to Generate Mice with Conditional Antigenic Peptide Expression for GVHD and Immunotherapy
Derek Toomre
Dynamic Regulation of Invadopodia by the Exocyst Complex
MOH Oncologists Join Yale
I am delighted to announce that after extensive planning the physicians and staff of Medical Oncology & Hematology, P.C. (MOH) have integrated into Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven and joined the faculty of Yale Cancer Center, effective January 1, 2012.
Notables
Governor Dannel P. Malloy has appointed Edward Snyder as Chairperson of the Connecticut Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Board.
Don Nguyen has been awarded a Young Investigator Research Grant from the National Lung Cancer Partnership.
Tian Xu and Ruslan Medzhitov were elected 2011 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science There are 17 YCC members who are fellows of the AAAS.
Peter Lamothe, Director of Development for Yale Cancer Center, has been elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers (NACCDO). Peter has attended the group's national conference the last 4 years. In 2012, along with Sue Frankenbach, Peter will be giving a presentation on the formation of the Closer to Free Fund.
In the News
Yale Scientists Identify Gene that Controls the Spread of Melanoma
Yale Cancer Center researchers have identified a gene in melanoma that can dramatically affect the spread of the disease. The study, published in the journal Cancer Cell, provides new insight into how melanoma metastasizes in patients with advanced disease, and which organs are most likely to be affected. These findings could potentially lead to new drug treatments.
Malignant melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer, accounting for 80 percent of all skin cancer deaths. Nearly all melanoma deaths are a result of metastasis, which can occur early in the course of tumor growth in the skin.
The gene beta catenin is mutated in 5 to 10 percent of melanomas, but until now its underlying role in metastasis has been poorly understood. Working with genetically altered mice, the Yale researchers changed the level of beta catenin protein in melanomas. They found that increased beta catenin resulted in increased metastasis, but reduced beta catenin levels nearly eliminated metastasis, and survival was extended.
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Tanning Linked to Skin Cancer in Young People
The first rigorous study of an increasingly common form of skin cancer in young people has linked indoor tanning with risk. This new study, by Yale Cancer Center researchers, finds that people who used indoor tanning beds are at a significantly higher risk of developing basal cell carcinoma (BCC) before the age of 40 than people who never used indoor tanning beds. BCC is an extremely common type of skin cancer, more frequent than all other cancers combined. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Led by researchers from the Yale School of Public Health, the research team determined that young people who had tanned indoors had a 69 percent increased risk of early-onset BCC. The association was strongest among women and the risk increased with years of indoor tanning use.
Read More >>
Smilow Update
Interventional Endoscopy
Phone number: (203) 200-5083
Fax: (203) 200-2235
Priya Jamidar, MD
Uzma Siddiqui, MD
Harold Aslanian, MD
APRN - GI Interventionalist Hillary Drumm, APRN
Employee Profile:Denise Armstrong
The Employee Profile recognizes the diverse contributions made by Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital staff have to meet our patient care, research, education, and outreach goals. The staff profiled are examples of the great work being done here, and the dedication and values we possess. To suggest someone to be profiled, please contact Emily Fenton.
As an Oncology Social Worker for the Radiation Department at Smilow Cancer Hospital, Denise Armstrong communicates with and is there for patients, from their initial visit to their final day of treatment. She provides emotional support to patients and families as they cope with a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
"I try to explain the different roles that the social worker has, and that we are there to support them and their family and help them cope. We also offer assistance with any outside resources they may require," Denise said.
Denise co-facilitates three different support groups at Yale. One is for men with prostate cancer, another is for patients receiving radiation therapy treatment, and a general patient and family support group that takes place at the Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center. She also does outreach with community groups if there is a patient having housing or financial issues and needs someone to talk with.
Bonnie Indeck, LCSW, Manager of Oncology Social Work at Smilow Cancer Hospital, and Denise's manager, commented, "Denise exemplifies service excellence and demonstrates high quality clinical skills. She is always available and goes above and beyond to make sure that patients and families get what they need."
Funding Opportunities
NCI Administrative Supplement to Enhance Collaborations with Chinese Scientists
The National Cancer Institute is participating in an NIH initiative to enhance ongoing research efforts through collaborations with Chinese scientists under the new U.S.-China Program for Biomedical Research Cooperation. This Administrative Supplement opportunity is available only to active research projects that are supported by specified NIH funding mechanisms. All the requests for supplemental funding must be based on collaborations involving eligible awardees and qualifying Chinese investigators.
AACR-Genentech BioOncology Career Development Award for Cancer Research on the HER Family Pathway
The AACR-Genentech BioOncology Career Development Award for Cancer Research on the HER Family Pathway is open to junior faculty in their first full-time faculty appointment. Proposed research projects must have direct applicability to the HER Family Pathway (basic, translational, clinical, or epidemiological cancer research).
This $50,000 one-year non-renewable grant will support post-doctoral training to individuals who have completed at least one year of training in any field of oncology and have at least one year of training remaining at an AACI member institution.
BRAF Inhibitors for the Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma: Clinical Trials and Mechanisms of Resistance.
Alcalá AM, Flaherty KT.
Clin Cancer Res. 2012 Jan 1;18(1):33-9.
Read More >>
Employment experience of cancer survivors 2 years post-diagnosis in the Study of Cancer Survivors-I.
Yu M, Ferrucci LM, McCorkle R, Ercolano E, Smith T, Stein KD, Cartmel B.
J Cancer Surviv. 2012 Jan 5.
Read More >>
Prominent CD56 expression by damaged and regenerating muscle fibers in the skin.
McKay K, McNiff J, Subtil A.
J Cutan Pathol. 2011 Dec 29.
Read More >>
The melanoma 'epidemic': lessons from prostate cancer.
Glusac EJ.
J Cutan Pathol. 2012 Jan;39(1):17-20.
Read More >>
P75 Nerve Growth Factor Receptor as a Useful Marker to Distinguish Spindle Cell Melanoma From Other Spindle Cell Neoplasms of Sun-Damaged Skin.
Sigal AC, Keenan M, Lazova R.
Am J Dermatopathol. 2011 Dec 29.
Read More >>
Hair dye use and risk of human cancer.
Zhang Y, Kim C, Zheng T.
Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2012 Jan 1;4:516-28.
Read More >>
Imaging Mass Spectrometry-A New and Promising Method to Differentiate Spitz Nevi From Spitzoid Malignant Melanomas.
Lazova R, Seeley EH, Keenan M, Gueorguieva R, Caprioli RM.
Am J Dermatopathol. 2011 Dec 22.
Read More >>
β-Catenin Signaling Controls Metastasis in Braf-Activated Pten-Deficient Melanomas.
Damsky WE, Curley DP, Santhanakrishnan M, Rosenbaum LE, Platt JT, Gould Rothberg BE, Taketo MM, Dankort D, Rimm DL, McMahon M, Bosenberg M.
Cancer Cell. 2011 Dec 13;20(6):741-54.
Read More >>
Cigarette-Smoke-Induced Dysregulation of MicroRNA Expression and Its Role in Lung Carcinogenesis.
Russ R, Slack FJ.
Pulm Med. 2012;2012:791234. Epub 2011 Dec 1.
Read More >>
KRAS alleles: The LCS6 3'UTR variant and KRAS coding sequence mutations in the NCI-60 panel.
Kundu ST, Nallur S, Paranjape T, Boeke M, Weidhaas JB, Slack FJ.
Cell Cycle. 2012 Jan 15;11(2).
Read More >>
Clear cell cancer of the uterine corpus: the association of clinicopathologic parameters and treatment on disease progression.
Varughese J, Hui P, Lu L, Yu H, Schwartz PE.
J Oncol. 2011;2011:628084. Epub 2011 Nov 30.
Read More >>
Optimal Surgical Management of Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Arising in Struma Ovarii: A Series of 4 Patients and a Review of 53 Reported Cases.
Marti JL, Clark VE, Harper H, Chhieng DC, Sosa JA, Roman SA.
Thyroid. 2011 Dec 19.
Read More >>
Outcomes of small bowel obstruction in patients with previous gynecologic malignancies.
Mirensky TL, Schuster KM, Ali UA, Reddy V, Schwartz PE, Longo WE. Am J Surg. 2011 Dec 13.
Read More >>
Meat consumption and the risk of incident distal colon and rectal adenoma.
Ferrucci LM, Sinha R, Huang WY, Berndt SI, Katki HA, Schoen RE, Hayes RB, Cross AJ.
Br J Cancer. 2011 Dec 13.
Read More >>
Countdown to the CCSG Submission
263 days until our CCSG
grant is due on
September 25, 2012.
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Research in Progress
Video presentations from Yale Cancer Center faculty on current research projects are now available online.
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Yale Cancer Center Grand Rounds
Video presentations from Yale Cancer Center members are now available online.
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