Those who follow the trends in modern cancer research know we have entered a new era of discovery. The old strategy of indiscriminately attacking the body to rid it of cancerous cells is giving way to more targeted approaches to treating disease.

E. Gabriela Chiorean, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and recipient of the 2014 Danny Danielson Translational Innovation Award, has been steadily gathering tumor samples and blood through clinical studies she has conducted. Biospecimens such as these, collected from consenting patients, are crucial for investigators to learn more about the biomarkers that fuel the development of specific cancers.

Correlative studies built around these biospecimens can help scientists learn why some patients respond to treatment while others do not, and in turn, better predict which patients will be good candidates for specific therapies. Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network, a nonprofit cancer research organization in Indianapolis, recently welcomed Annette Moore, MD, as a member of its board of directors.

A medical oncologist/hematologist at Community Howard Regional Health in Kokomo, Ind., Moore earned her medical degree from the University of Mississippi and completed her internal medicine residency and fellowship in hematology/oncology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network is accepting donations in memory of Joseph Patrick Breen, who died Sunday, May 31, 2015, at the age of 87.

Give in memory of Joseph Patrick Breen.

Breen was born in Indianapolis on February 25, 1928 to John F. and Nora C. (Mulrine) Breen. Joseph was a 1947 graduate of Howe High School. He worked as a salesman for Stark & Wetzel, Co. and retired from the USAF. He coached CYO baseball and enjoyed watching the St. Louis Cardinals. Read More

Abstracts from four Hoosier Cancer Research Network studies have been accepted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for the 2015 Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 29 – June 2. The studies include GU10-148 (poster discussion), BRE09-146 (poster), GI05-102 (poster), and QL12-153 (publication-only abstract). Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network recently welcomed Richard C. Zellars, MD, as a member of the Board of Directors.

Dr. Zellars joined the Indiana University School of Medicine in January as professor and chair of radiation oncology, and is a researcher at the IU Simon Cancer Center. Prior to this, he was associate professor of radiation oncology and assistant director of clinical trial accrual at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. His research is focused on the safety and efficacy of radiation for the treatment of breast cancer.

As a radiation oncologist, Dr. Zellars enjoys the technological aspects of his work; but it’s the personal contact with patients that he loves the most. Read More

This spring, Hoosier Cancer Research Network Chairman Christopher A. Fausel, PharmD, offered a unique challenge to friends and supporters of HCRN. Combining his interest in strength training and his passion for investigator-initiated research, Fausel invited pledges for every bench-press “rep” he could complete at the Arnold Sports Festival’s 5K Pump and Run event in Columbus, Ohio.

Twenty individuals responded with pledges of support for the Reps for Research challenge. Fausel reached his goal of 30 reps during the event (see video), and HCRN received donations totaling more than $1,800 for investigator-initiated research.
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The Research Advocacy Network is seeking lung cancer survivors who have received chemotherapy to share their experience about certain side effects in an online survey.

Individuals diagnosed with lung cancer who have received chemotherapy are invited to begin the survey at http://bit.ly/1yXAfFr. Participants will first be asked about certain characteristics of their experience. Participants who are invited to take the full survey and complete all the responses will be offered an incentive for their participation. The full survey will take about 20 minutes to complete. Responses are anonymous. The survey will help doctors and nurses improve patient care. Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network mourns the loss of Donald C. “Danny” Danielson, who died this morning at his home in New Castle, Ind., at the age of 95.

“Danny Danielson was a remarkable man whose visionary leadership transformed organizations in the State of Indiana and beyond,” said HCRN Chairman Christopher A. Fausel, PharmD. “We are deeply grateful for Danny’s long service on the Board of Directors of the Walther Cancer Foundation, and for his generous support to the Hoosier Cancer Research Network through the Foundation.” Read More

Gregory A. Durm, MD, a hematology/oncology fellow at the Indiana University School of Medicine, is helping to break new ground in the fight against cancer by studying circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in lung cancer.

CTCs are cells that have broken away from primary tumors and have entered into the bloodstream. CTCs that survive the bloodstream’s assault could migrate to distant parts of the body where they can become the seeds of metastatic disease. Technologies to detect CTCs have improved in recent years, in part through collaborative multi-institutional efforts such as a parallel flow micro-aperture chip system developed and tested by Purdue University engineers and investigators at the IU Simon Cancer Center. Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network is pleased to announce the opening of a cancer clinical trial for patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer at select sites throughout the United States.

The study, known as LUN14-179, seeks to determine if the use of an investigational drug, Pembrolizumab, following standard chemoradiation treatment, improves the time to death or distant metastatic disease in patients with inoperable or unresectable stage IIIA or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer. The FDA has approved Pembrolizumab for the treatment of melanoma but it has not yet approved the drug to treat lung cancer. Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network welcomed new and familiar faces during an open house on Thursday, January 22, at the company’s new offices at 500 N. Meridian Street in Indianapolis.

The new facility brings together all departments of the organization, and includes several offices, conference rooms, a board room, a protocol development room, and a biorepository large enough to accommodate HCRN’s expanding involvement in personalized medicine and correlatives.

Highlights from the open house are pictured below. Thank you to all who joined us for this special occasion. Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network recently honored two investigators with awards for their contributions to clinical cancer research.

Gabriela Chiorean, MD, received the 2014 Danny Danielson Translational Innovation Award. The award was created in 2013 by Donald C. “Danny” Danielson and is granted twice each year through the Walther Cancer Foundation to investigators working in partnership with Hoosier Cancer Research Network. The award supports the correlative components of clinical trial protocols when financial support is not otherwise available. Read More

2014 was a year of rapid fire change and accomplishment for the Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN). It’s all in a name … the Hoosier Oncology Group Board of Directors voted to change the name of the organization to the Hoosier Cancer Research Network in the spring of 2014. The decision was based on the increasing reach and scope of clinical trials conducted by HCRN. While HCRN is based in Indiana and is fiercely proud of its Hoosier roots, the organization has evolved over 30 years to become a nationally recognized not-for-profit cancer research organization with more than 150 clinical trial sites, including some outside the United States. The new name maintains the well-established ties to our Hoosier lineage while accurately describing what it is that we do: we facilitate the development of clinical trials through a Cancer Research Network. Read More

As I reflect on what we have accomplished during the past year, let me say how much I have enjoyed my new position as chief scientific officer of Hoosier Cancer Research Network. Getting to know the leadership and the staff has been a wonderful experience, and I have been very impressed with how HCRN operates. What an amazing group of people. As it was my first year, it is hard for me to compare this to other years, but as I understand it, I have come to HCRN in a time of tremendous change and opportunity. I would like to focus on a couple of highlights from the past year: Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network chairman Christopher A. Fausel, PharmD, is putting his “rep” on the line March 8 at the Arnold Sports Festival 2015 Pump & Run 5K in Columbus, Ohio.

Fausel has participated in the annual strength and endurance event in the past, but this year is raising the bar(bells) by inviting pledges in support of Hoosier Cancer Research Network.

Here’s how it works: Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network co-founder Kenneth L. Pennington, MD, recently retired from the IU Health Goshen Center for Cancer Care after 34 years of practice in medical oncology. As a founding member of HCRN (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group), Dr. Pennington shared the vision to bring innovative cancer research to communities throughout Indiana and beyond.

Dr. Pennington attended medical school at the Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. He served as an investigator for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project.

We thank Dr. Pennington for his long partnership with HCRN and for the difference he has made in the lives of countless patients over the years.

Dr. Pennington reflected on his career in the following interview with HCRN, part of a series of conversations with our co-founders. Read More

The Hoosier Cancer Research Network administrative office will be closed Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The office will re-open on Tuesday, January 20 at 8 a.m. ET. Read More

The Hoosier Cancer Research Network administrative office will be closed beginning Wednesday, December 24 through Friday, December 26 in observance of the Christmas holiday. The office will re-open on Monday, December 29 at 8 a.m. ET.

In addition, the office will be closed on Thursday, January 1, in observance of the New Year’s holiday. The office will re-open on Friday, January 2 at 8 a.m. ET.

Please do NOT send correlative samples for delivery during these time periods.

Our best wishes for safe and happy holidays! Read More

Whatever each day brings, no matter how she feels at any given moment, Deneise Francis, RN, BSN, OCN, CCRP, always brings a smile and a sense of humor to the patients under her care.

Compelled by compassion and an awareness that “my problems are nothing compared to theirs,” she strives to be fully present with her patients. This comes easily for Francis, who is by nature a “people person.” But there was a time when she didn’t know if she could handle the burden of cancer care.

Francis was one of two recipients of the 2014 Sandra Turner Excellence in Clinical Research Award, presented by Hoosier Cancer Research Network in June. Read More

As Hoosier Cancer Research Network celebrates our 30th anniversary, we acknowledge another significant milestone: the 40th anniversary of the discovery of the cure for testicular cancer by HCRN co-founder and board member, Lawrence H. Einhorn, MD.

Dr. Einhorn joined the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1973, just one year before his groundbreaking discovery testing the platinum-based drug Cisplatin with two additional drugs. He continues to serve as Distinguished Professor and Livestrong Foundation Professor of Oncology at the IU School of Medicine.

The following conversation with Dr. Einhorn introduces a new series of interviews with HCRN co-founders, who share their perspectives on the organization’s founding, development, and history, and on advances in cancer research. We thank each of our co-founders for their vision to create a vibrant academic-community partnership to advance cancer research in the State of Indiana and beyond. Read More