“With cancer comes recognition of the fact that death is real, that you only are blest with so many days, and you only have so much time. But you also realize that you get to make choices about how you spend this measured time. When my diagnosis came, I decided how I wanted to spend this time — I chose advocacy and art. That was where I want to be, what I want to do.” Finding beauty in the midst of pain. It is a rare ability, but one that is not uncommon among a certain group of determined individuals: patient advocates.

“It is the beauty,” says Teresa Altemeyer. “When you soulfully paint someone’s eyes, you are trying to look as deeply as possible into a person and capture them. Likewise, when you are working with somebody who is a patient, you are trying to capture their essence, to answer questions that are profound.”

[Teresa is pictured with her husband, Don Altemeyer, and daughter Dana Altemeyer]

Teresa Altemeyer is a pillar in the Hoosier patient advocacy community and is the current board chair of the Indiana Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). HCRN recently honored Altemeyer with the Terry Hoeppner Patient Advocacy Award, named in memory of beloved Indiana University football coach Terry Hoeppner, who died from brain cancer in 2007. The award honors individuals who exhibit Coach Hep’s spirit and determination to champion their cause.

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Hoosier Cancer Research Network honored four individuals for their outstanding contributions to clinical research and advocacy during its annual holiday and awards dinner Nov. 30 in Indianapolis. Read More

Investigators working on the HCRN LUN14-179 study, which involved the use of concurrent chemoradiation with consolidation pembrolizumab for unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer, anticipated that some patients would experience pneumonitis. But they did not know which of their patients might be more susceptible than others.

To learn more about the rates of pneumonitis among study participants, and whether biomarkers could be identified that might predict whether a patient might be more susceptible, researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center launched a retrospective analysis of the study data. Read More

Angela Alistar, MD, has long considered both the emotional and physical well-being of patients as mutually paramount. A medical oncologist with Atlantic Hematology Oncology, Atlantic Medical Group, and the medical director of GI Medical Oncology at Carol G. Simon Cancer Center at Morristown Medical Center, Dr. Alistar held this conviction even before she pursued a career in medicine.

“Throughout my training and my career I have gravitated towards trying to understand the impact that illness has on patients and their families,” Dr. Alistar said. “Oncology seemed the appropriate fit for me because patients with cancer have high emotional needs and require tremendous support from their families and from their doctors,” she reflects. “This is why oncology is my path in medicine.”

For Dr. Alistar, compassion walks hand-in-hand with scientific passion. Before assuming her current role, she developed a research portfolio for GI cancers at Wake Forest School of Medicine, including investigator-initiated studies and Phase I studies in pancreatic cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, and colon cancer.

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The Indiana University School of Medicine will host the Andrea Gianaris Pancreatic Cancer Symposium on Thursday, Nov. 16, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Walther Hall, room 203. The half-day symposium is free and provides 3.5 CME credit hours.

The symposium features the leading pancreatic surgeon in the country, Keith Lillemoe, MD, chief of surgery at Massachusetts General and the Harvard Medical School. He previously led the Department of Surgery at IU School of Medicine. Gabriela Chiorian, MD, is also returning to IU to present oncology advancements in the treatment of pancreatic cancer and the science driving new therapies. Read More

Mucosal melanoma is a rare form of cancer, constituting about 1 percent of all melanoma cases. The disease arises from the pigment-producing melanocytes present in the body’s mucosal tissue, and is most commonly found in the head and neck region, anorectal region, and female genital tract.

Unlike the far more common cutaneous melanomas, mucosal melanomas are not widely studied, and no accepted standard of care has been established. Recurrence rates, even for early-stage disease, approach 100 percent, underscoring the urgent need for effective therapies for this population.

A new study led by Robert R. McWilliams, MD, of Mayo Clinic, in collaboration with the Midwest Melanoma Partnership (MMP) and Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN), may provide valuable knowledge toward better understanding this disease. Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network recently honored Billye Lutane with the Terry Hoeppner Patient Advocacy Award. Lutane is a buyer for University Hospital, Riley Hospital, and the IU Simon Cancer Center. But more than that, she is a pillar within IU Health, having served for 35 years.

Like past recipients of the Hoeppner award, Lutane has demonstrated that patient advocacy is not simply something to do; it is a way to do everything. It is not so much a profession as a calling. It is a calling answered by people of all backgrounds and professions. Read More

The Bladder Cancer Genomics Consortium (BCGC) and Hoosier Cancer Research Network today announced the selection of Caris Life Sciences® to perform genomic profiling for UC-GENOME, a large-scale genomically driven bladder cancer study.

The study, also known as HCRN GU15-217, is the first project of the BCGC, a collaborative effort between the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network and major medical centers recognized for their expertise in bladder cancer. Bladder cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S., with more than 79,000 new cases and 16,800 deaths estimated in 2017. Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network is partnering with the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) to conduct a large-scale bladder cancer genomic analysis and biorepository research study.

Known as UC-GENOME (HCRN GU15-217), the research study is the first project of the Bladder Cancer Genomics Consortium (BCGC), a collaborative effort between BCAN and major medical centers. The BCGC’s goal is to develop an enriched understanding of the genomic profile of bladder cancer to facilitate the development of novel therapeutics.

The research study is open to accrual at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. Additional sites are expected to open soon. Read More

Researchers investigating many types of cancers have celebrated significant breakthroughs over the years. Yet, some cancers lag well behind these successes.

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most difficult to treat cancers. In 2016, about 53,000 new pancreatic cancer cases were diagnosed in the United States, and nearly 42,000 people died of their disease. Despite these statistics, there are glimmers of hope on the horizon.

Recent studies have shown that certain combination therapies can lead to improved outcomes over single agent therapy in pancreatic cancer. For example, a study of FOLFIRINOX (a combination of the drugs fluorouracil (5-FU), irinotecan, oxaliplatin, and leucovorin) was shown to improve one-year survival compared to gemcitabine alone.

As immunotherapies have gained prominence, pancreatic cancer researchers are now looking to take combination therapies to a new level. Read More

Cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer, is steadily rising in incidence worldwide. Symptoms often go undetected until the disease is far advanced. Surgical resection of tumors is considered the best approach toward attempting a cure, but less than half of patients whose tumors are surgically resected survive past five years, and those whose tumors are not surgically removed face a median survival time of just nine months.

A new Hoosier Cancer Research Network study may help researchers learn whether an investigational combination of immunotherapy drugs might lead to improvements in tumor response in cholangiocarcinoma patients who have received prior therapy for their cancer.

The study, known as HCRN GI16-263, is now open to accrual at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C. Additional sites will open the study in the near future.

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Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN) announces the opening of a study for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who have not received prior treatment for their kidney cancer.

The phase II clinical trial, known as HCRN GU16-260, involves front-line therapy with nivolumab and salvage therapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab. The study may help researchers determine the activity of nivolumab, an agent already approved for patients with previously treated kidney cancer, in patients who have not received prior treatment.

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A new Hoosier Cancer Research Network study may help researchers learn whether the order in which two drugs are given has any effect on progression-free survival — the length of time it takes for cancer to grow or spread.

The randomized phase II study, known as HCRN GU15-223, will compare overall progression-free survival for two groups of subjects with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer). One group will receive first-line sunitinib, an anti-angiogenic drug, followed by second-line avelumab, an investigational immunotherapy drug. The other group will receive first-line avelumab followed by second-line sunitinib. Patients will have an equal chance of being randomized to either group.

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The Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center hosted Doug Lowy, the acting director of the National Cancer Institute, for a full-day visit on June 28.

(Photo: Drs. Bryan Schneider (left) and Milan Radovich (middle) explain their work on the next generation of personalized medicine with Dr. Doug Lowy, acting director of the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Lowy visited the IU Simon Cancer Center on June 28. Photo credit: IU Simon Cancer Center)

In a series of small-group discussions in the morning, he met with cancer center members (members’ names appear in bold) and others to learn about:

• Pediatric genomics with D. Wade Clapp, MD, and Jamie Renbarger, MD, MS
• Breast cancer research program with Hari Nakshatri, PhD
• Komen Tissue Bank at IU Simon Cancer Center with Anna Maria Storniolo, MD
• Precision health with Bryan Schneider, MD, and Milan Radovich, PhD
• Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium and the Hoosier Cancer Research Network with Bert O’Neil, MD, Cynthia Burkhardt, RN, and Chris Fausel, PharmD
• Kenya and cancer with Patrick Loehrer, MD, Bob Einterz, MD, and Terry Vik, MD

In the afternoon, Dr. Lowy presented “NCI-supported Research: Concepts, Opportunities, and Applications” to cancer center members and others. Watch.

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The Sandra Turner Excellence in Clinical Research Award was established in 2002 by Dr. William B. Fisher through the George and Sarah Jane Fisher Fund to honor the memory of Sandra Turner, the first executive director of Hoosier Cancer Research Network. Each year the organization selects individuals for the award who exemplify the qualities Sandra possessed and respected in others, such as sustained professional commitment, contribution to the progress of oncology care, and the unflinching touch of compassion.

Stacey Richardson, RN, BSN, was honored as a recipient of the Sandra Turner Excellence in Clinical Research Award in 2016. Richardson is a clinical research coordinator with Community Health Network. Her story illustrates how a spark of compassion becomes a flame.

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Abstracts from three Hoosier Cancer Research Network studies were accepted to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2017 Annual Meeting, June 2-6 at the McCormick Place in Chicago. The studies include LUN14-179 (poster session and discussion), GU14-206 (poster session and discussion), and GI14-186 (poster session). Read More

Hoosier Cancer Research Network, formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group, recently honored Olumide Gbolahan, MD, as the 2016 recipient of the George and Sarah Jane Fisher Young Investigator Award.

Dr. Gbolahan grew up in Nigeria where his interest in medicine took root in high school. “My aptitude was really more toward the health sciences, biology core sciences,” he said. “I found myself moving in the direction of medicine. Once I found myself in medicine, I did not see that I could do anything else.” Read More

This spring, Hoosier Cancer Research Network Chairman Christopher A. Fausel, PharmD, invited friends and colleagues to join him in a unique challenge called Reps for Research. For the third consecutive year, Fausel added value to his participation in the Arnold Sports Festival’s 5K Pump and Run event, held March 5 in Columbus, Ohio, by inviting pledges in support of HCRN for every bench press repetition he completed.

Twenty-eight donors answered the challenge, contributing a total of $3,315 as Fausel successfully completed 30 repetitions during the event. Since 2015, Reps for Research has raised more than $8,000 toward innovative cancer research. This funding strengthens HCRN’s ability to support investigator-initiated clinical trials and correlative research that can lead to direct clinical benefit.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma is an aggressive cancer that is often difficult to treat due to the typical accompanying diagnosis of cirrhosis. For patients who qualify for curative treatment, surgery and liver transplant may be considered. However, most patients are not eligible for curative therapy, and instead may be offered liver-directed or systemic therapies that may extend overall survival, but outcomes remain poor for these patients.

A new Hoosier Cancer Research Network study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center will help determine whether adding an immunotherapy drug to standard local radiation therapy for patients with high-risk hepatocellular carcinoma could lead to further improvements in overall survival.

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The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) will honor Hoosier Cancer Research Network co-founder Patrick J. Loehrer, Sr., MD, FASCO, with the inaugural Allen S. Lichter Visionary Leader Award and Lecture during the ASCO annual meeting, June 2-6 in Chicago. ASCO created the award in 2016 to recognize members who have transformed the oncology field or significantly advanced the mission of ASCO, the Conquer Cancer Foundation, or CancerLinQ, LLC, through their leadership, vision, and ability to inspire.

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