Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly Hoosier Oncology Group) was founded in 1984 by a small group of community-based oncologists and faculty members at the Indiana University Cancer Center. Together, our founders had a vision to bring academic and community physicians together to develop cancer trials tailored to community needs.

R. Prasad Mantravadi, MD, FACR, FACRO, a radiation oncologist based in Fort Wayne, Ind., was among this group of visionaries. His unique perspective, professional journey, and character are an important part of the organization’s history. For Dr. Mantravadi, the story begins in India.

“I was doing my first doctoral degree in India because it’s a combined degree so I got to see the diagnostic part of it as well as the oncology part of it,” he said. “I’ve seen fairly advanced cases considering the situation in India — the socioeconomic status and everything else — and it’s always interesting to me how the patients are managed, how some of them are cured and some not. That was really my trigger to join radiation oncology.”

Dr. Mantravadi completed his residency at the University of Illinois in Chicago and joined the faculty there. He served in that capacity until 1983, at which time he brought his passion for patients and research to the newly established Radiation Oncology Associates in Fort Wayne. The practice was established to provide professional radiation oncology services in northeast Indiana, and has greatly expanded over its more than 30-year history.

Today, Radiation Oncology Associates provides a wide range of services, including Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), High-Dose Brachytherapy (HDR), Low-Dose Brachytherapy (LDR), Intraoperative Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer (IORT), Robotic Stereotactic Radiosurgery (CyberKnife) and Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT).

“There isn’t anything that we cannot do. All of the technology is available,” Dr. Mantravadi said. “We are one of the few groups in the country that has exclusive radiation oncology. In fact we’re one of the few centers in the country that does intraoperative radiation therapy. The patient population that we see has grown significantly. Once people recognized all the technologies that we have and the ability to do quality work the volume has increased. Our colleagues at Indiana University recognize that if a patient from Fort Wayne goes there and wants to be treated in Fort Wayne, they can have just as good a treatment in Fort Wayne.”

Dr. Mantravadi’s connection to Hoosier Cancer Research Research Network began not long after his move to the community setting.

“A few months after I came to Fort Wayne, Dr. Larry Einhorn at Indiana University called me,” he said. “At that time, Dr. Einhorn, the late Dr. Steve Williams, Dr. Patrick Loehrer, and a few others were thinking about a community oncology program. They called me at that point, so I joined up with them.”

The early meetings of the young organization were filled with thought-provoking discussions centered around mission, goals, and opportunities for collaboration. “The sessions usually lasted anywhere from an hour-and-a-half to two hours, and as the time went by the sessions started to last a little longer, Dr. Mantravadi recalls. “Once we were able to get things off the ground, then we formed a separate clinical trials committee where the ideas that were brought to the session were discussed.”

The collegial environment established by the founders’ personal relationships became the cornerstone of the future Hoosier Cancer Research Network, and the key to its success. “One of the great things about the Hoosier Cancer Research Network was the ease with which the clinical trials are put into place, from concept to execution, because of less bureaucracy at the higher level,” Dr. Mantravadi said. “That was the major achievement for the Hoosier Cancer Research Network, and that became a model for the country. Many institutions joined up with the Hoosier Cancer Research Network because of the ease with which an idea can be brought to execution.”

The relationship between Radiation Oncology Associates and Indiana University also provides training and mentorship opportunities for that a new generation of radiation oncologists. “The Radiation Oncology Associates facility is recognized by the IU School of Medicine as a facility for the medical students to do their electives,” Dr. Mantravadi said. “We teach them that cancer is a curable disease, we do cure about two-thirds of people; and when we can’t cure them, we can help them.”

Perhaps the most meaningful lesson Dr. Mantravadi continues to pass down to his mentees is his heart for patients. “We are there from Day 1 for years to come, so there is a rapport with the patient and the family members,” he said. “We can teach them how to talk to the patients, how to look straight in the eye, sit down in the chair, and not stand and walk away. It’s communication and empathy. Touch has gone out of fashion nowadays, so I want the students to see it is okay to hold a hand, it’s okay to give a hug. They need to feel that you are someone they can rely on.”

As much as he has given to his patients over the years, Dr. Mantravadi also acknowledges thatpatients and their families have been among his greatest teachers. “Patients have been my teachers for years, from the beginning,” he said. “The interaction between the family members and the patient, how they interact, how they support each other, how they deal with circumstances; that’s a growing experience. I’ve learned a lot more from the patients and their families than what I gave to them.

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has initiated more than 150 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 300 publications. More than 4,600 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.