Dear Friends, From the Director

Winter 2007/2008
New Bone Marrow Transplant
treatment saves lives at the
Kimmel Cancer Center
W
Warren, on his son Robert’s
wedding day, in April 2007,
after his treatment.
arren (Bud) Riegel is a well known
pharmacist at RiteAid. He is the loving
husband of Jacqueline, the father of three adult
children, Michael, Julie and Robert, and a
man of strong faith. This network of support,
along with a new technolog y being used at the
Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, carried
him safely through what was initially thought
to be untreatable.
Warren knew something was up with his body in February of 2006.
His chest felt heavy and he was having difficulty breathing. He was
admitted into Crozer Chester Medical Center three times in three
weeks, to remove fluid from his heart and lungs. He was diagnosed
with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML).
Leukemia is cancer in the blood forming system. Blood cells are
produced in the bone marrow. All blood cells begin life as stem cells.
They then become either myeloid or lyphoid cells. Myeloid cells go
on to become either platelets, red blood cells (to carry oxygen around
the body), or white blood cells (to fight infection). Chronic or Acute
refers to the rate at which the leukemia develops or gets worse. CML
patients may be stable for months or years without any symptoms or
complications.
For a few months, his CML was under control. His condition took
a turn for the worse on a family vacation in July. Warren started to
develop new symptoms. He was admitted back into hospital in ‘Blast
Crisis’, his leukemia cells had experienced a sudden growth spurt and
could be seen in the bone marrow and blood. He was informed that the
standard treatment could be tried but wasn’t expected to help him; his
prognosis was 30 days, 30 days to live.
Warren’s youngest son Robert found the Blood and Marrow Transplant
unit at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson to be the best hospital
for superior treatment for CML. He arranged an appointment with Dr.
( Continued on page 7...)
Warren with his family, his “strongest support and greatest joy”
From the Director
Richard G. Pestell M.B., B.S., Ph.D., F.R.A.C.P.
Dear Friends,
This winter issue of the Kimmel
Cancer Center at Jefferson Magazine
highlights several pioneering clinical
activities at the KCC.
Dr. Flomenberg describes important
advances at the Kimmel Cancer
Center with haplo-identical bone
marrow transplantation. Dr. Gomella welcomes new
faculty with unique expertise in robotic prostatectomy.
Dr. Yeo highlights the research accomplishments of his
department and Dr. Adam Dicker describes important new
developments with selective radiation treatment. Dr. Rao
highlights the federal funding and research discoveries in
Radiology, including a new unique radiological tracer to
improve cancer detection.
The Kimmel Cancer Center recently underwent a review of
its NCI-designation with a positive response. The NCI site
visitors have recommended five years of funding through
to 2013. This was very much due to the team effort of
cancer center researchers, clinicians, and educators.
The friends of the KCC have several exciting new events
planned including Carnivale at Le Bec-Fin. We thank
Chris Booker for coordinating “Tailgate for the Cure”.
I’m particularly grateful for the generous support the
Kimmel Cancer Center has received from the Landenberger
Research Foundation, the Hasumi Foundation and The
Ladies of Port Richmond. Our Concert for the Cure, evening
with the Olivia Newton John, was an extraordinary success
and a wonderful international collaboration in the search
for the cure for cancer.
In 2008, preparations will begin for the Kimmel Cancer
Center Ball. Email me to become a Friend of the Kimmel
Cancer Center and join with us in our fight, as cancer is
Understandable, Treatable and Beatable!!
Friends@kimmelcancercenter.org
To make a donation supporting
the Kimmel Cancer Center,
call
1-877-533-3443 or visit our website at
www.KimmelCancerCenter.org & click on the gift box.
KCC Member
Department Chairs
Director Kimmel Cancer Center
Chairman Cancer Biology
Richard G. Pestell, M.D., Ph.D.
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jeffrey Benovic, Ph.D.
Radiation Oncology
Adam Dicker, M.D., Ph.D
Medical Oncology
Neal Flomenberg, M.D.
Urology
Leonard G. Gomella, M.D.
Pathology
Fred Gorstein, M.D.
Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery
William M. Keane, M.D.
Microbiology & Immunology
Timothy Manser, Ph.D.
Health Policy
David B. Nash, M.D., M.B.A.
Radiology
Vijay Rao, M.D.
Neurosurgery
Robert H. Rosenwasser, M.D.
Dermatology & Cutaneous Biology
Jouni J. Uitto, M.D., Ph.D.
Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
Scott Waldman, M.D., Ph.D.
Family & Community Medicine
Richard C. Wender, M.D.
Surgery
Charles Yeo, M.D.
Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine
Daniel Monti, M.D.
From the Department of Medical Oncology
- Neal Flomenberg, M.D.
T
he Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program in our
department is engaged in some studies which have the potential
to change clinical practice. The traditional Allogeneic Transplantation
can be curative for a number of disorders of lymphohematopoiesis, if
a well matched donor is found, either in the patient’s family or from
a registry such as the National Marrow Donor Program. This, often time-consuming process
however, will only find a donor for about two thirds of patients. Minority patients, especially
African-Americans, are less likely to identify an unrelated donor than Caucasians. Patients of
mixed ethnic ancestry may be similarly disadvantaged.
One of the long term goals of the BMT community, has been to develop successful transplantation
using haploidentical (50% matched) donors. With haploidentical transplantation, every parentchild combination is now permissible and a sibling has a 75% chance, rather than a 25% chance
of being a potential donor.
To date, 11 patients have been treated. All have engrafted without any graft rejections seen.
Although a side effect called Graft Versus Host Disease, has occurred in 7 patients, it has been
steroid responsive in all but 1 case. Immunologic recovery has been rapid. Most importantly,
patients receiving haploidentical transplants are now surviving the transplant procedure at the
same rate as patients receiving matched sibling transplants. The long term outlook is now limited
only by the diagnosis and stage of the disease at the time of transplant, rather than the degree of
match.
The availability of this therapy has had a tremendous impact on minority patients. Of the 11
patients treated in this fashion, 6 have been from minority populations. In contrast only 1
minority patient was able to identify a matched unrelated donor in the same time frame.
Haploidentical transplants were first attempted in the early 1980’s. No widely available approach
solving this problem has been developed despite over 25 years of effort. The components of
this approach are within the reach of most centers performing allogeneic transplant. Thus the
potential is there to broadly change the field.
For an insight into a real case of haploidentical transplant see Warren Riegal’s story starting on the
front page.
From the Department of Urology
- Leonard Gomella M.D.
The Department of Urology and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson welcomed Dr. Gaurav Bandi as
Assistant Professor this fall. Dr. Bandi completed his surgical and urology training at the Detroit Medical
Center of Wayne State University. Last year he completed an Endourology Fellowship under Dr. Stephen
Nakada at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His training included all aspects of Endourology,
including laparoscopy and robotic surgery. Dr. Bandi has special expertise in laparoscopic management of
kidney tumors and has formally trained in robotic radical prostatectomy using the DaVinci system available
here at the Kimmel Cancer Center. Working with Drs. Demetrius Bagley and Scott Hubosky, he will expand
our capabilities and availability to treat upper tract tumors ureteroscopically. Dr. Bandi will see patients in
the Genitourinary Multidisciplinary Clinic of the Kimmel Cancer Center. Dr. Bandi’s wife, Dr. Neelam
Kataria, is currently serving as a resident in the Department of Anesthesiology at Jefferson.
2
From the Department of Surgery
- Charles J. Yeo, M.D.The Samuel D. Gross Professor
Many of the faculty of Surgery have been involved in presentations around the country and the globe.
Dr. Adam Berger has been working on databases for several cancers—esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, and
melanoma. This led to a presentation at the second annual Academic Surgical Congress entitled, “Prognostic
Significance of Lymph Node Metastases and Ratio in Esophageal Cancer”. Additionally, Dr. Berger has written a
Phase I clinical trial for esophageal cancer.
This year, Drs. Kristin Brill, Anne Rosenberg and Steven E. Copit have presented data at several national meetings, including the
American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American Society of Breast Disease and a video presentation at the American College of
Surgeons. Drs. Brill and Rosenberg are working with basic scientists, Judy Quong, Ph.D. and Andrew Quong, Ph.D. at the KCC to
identify serum markers for breast cancer and with scientists in Dr. Hallgeir Rui’s laboratory, investigating the role of prolactin in breast
cancer.
Drs. Jonathan Brody, Timothy Williams and Agnes Witkiewicz are presenting work on an enzyme called IDO and regulatory T cell
activity in metastatic pancreatic cancer at this year’s Southern Surgical Association meeting.
Dr. Gerald Isenberg delivered two recent lectures on cancer, “Challenges in the Treatment of Rectal Cancer” at the ACS Puerto Rico
Chapter Annual Meeting, and “Surgery for Colon Cancer 2007” at the Meet the Experts at the Kimmel Cancer Center.
Dr. Susan Lanza-Jacoby presented a paper entitled, “3, 3’- Diindolylmethane (DIM) enhances the cytotoxic effects of taxotere in
ErbB2 overexpressing breast cancer” at the American Institute of Cancer Research Annual Meeting.
Dr. Drew Shirley, working on breast cancer in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Pestell has recently presentated at the AACR Centennial
Conference on Translational Medicine in Singapore, on the DACH 1 gene that blocks breast cancer growth and metastasis. Women
who express the Dachhund gene in their breast cancer have a 3 year extended survival rate. Dr. Shirley will also present at the Academic
Surgical Conference in Huntington Beach CA, early in the new year.
Drs. Nicholas A. Tarola, Gary A. Tuma, Steven E. Copit, James Fox, and John H. Moore, Jr, presented their work entitled, “Use of
the TRAM vs. latissimus dorsi flaps for immediate autologous breast reconstruction: A 10-year institutional experience” at the recent
American Association of Plastic Surgery meeting.
On October 30th, Dr. Charles J. Yeo, hosted the second annual Pancreatic Cancer and Related Diseases Symposium in the Ballroom
at the Ben. Over 170 patients, family members and friends attended the event which highlighted oral and poster presentations by team
members of the newly created Jefferson Center for Pancreatic, Biliary and Related Cancers (www.jeffersonhospital.org/pancreas).
Speakers included Drs. Tom Kowalski, Adam Berger, Jonathan Brody, Ya-Ming Hou, Jeffrey Joseph, Theresa Yeo and our departmental
webmaster Jennifer Brumbaugh.
PAC 3 receives Exemplary Implementation Award from C-Change
Dr. Ronald Myers, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Medical Oncology
Associate Director for Population Science
T
3
he Pennsylvania Cancer Control Consortium (PAC )
recently received an Exemplary Implementation
Award from C-Change, for it’s success in forming
partnerships with individuals and organizations
throughout the state, to implement the first-ever
Pennsylvania Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan (Plan).
The Plan outlines specific goals using evidence-based
interventions that can have significant impact on reducing
cancer in Pennsylvania.
Former President George Bush and his wife Barbara (center) joined with
(Left to Right) Aaron Bleznak, Leslie Best, Ronald Myers, Kathy Stadler
and Ronald Herberman.
C-Change is a nationwide collaborative organization
comprised of cancer leaders from government, business and
non-profit sectors.
C-Change co-chairs, former President George Bush and
former First Lady Barbara Bush presented the award to Dr.
Ronald Myers, Ph.D., Chair of the PAC 3 Board of Directors,
at the organization’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in
October.
3
How Clinical Trials are
conducted at the KCC
Part II
Matthew Carabasi, M.D.
Associate Director
Investigations
for
Clinical
In my last column, I described the many steps involved in starting
and conducting a clinical trial for our patients here at the Kimmel
Cancer Center (KCC). While this process can be described in a
few paragraphs, actually doing it requires a dedicated individual
to keep the process moving forward smoothly. We are fortunate
to have such a person in Maureen A. Morgan, the Director of the
KCC Clinical Research Management Office (CRMO). Maureen
joined the KCC after a long career in the pharmaceutical industry,
where she was involved in many phases of drug development
and approval. She was recruited to the KCC in 2006 with over
30 years experience in the industry. Most recently, she worked
as an Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs for a major
pharmaceutical company involved in cancer treatment.
Tony Martell with Helen Lane KCC External Affairs and Dr. Richard Pestell KCC Director
The T.J. Martell Foundation plays a vital role in funding
innovative research for the treatment of Leukemia, Cancer
and AIDS. Tony Martell began the T.J. Martell foundation
in honor of his son, who lost his battle to leukemia at age
19. Tony who was an executive with Columbia Music, began
this annual fundraiser in the 70s.This year’s entertainment
included Stevie Wonder, Natasha Beddingfield and Boyz II
Men, just to name a few!
The KCC CRMO staff performs a myriad of functions to
ensure that clinical trials are conducted in compliance with all
regulations. The Clinical Research Coordinators work closely
with KCC investigators to screen patients to help determine
the best trial for them. They follow the patient during and after
completing the treatment, and assist in the assessment. They are
responsible for the Multidisciplinary Working Groups, who help
develop new treatments for different types of cancer patients.
Once a study is activated and patients are enrolled, the CRMO
data management staff begin the process of data collection via
frequent contact with the supervising KCC physician, the clinical
research coordinators and the trial sponsors (if appropriate).
All cancer centers log the results from treatments in a specific
data base, to evaluate their effectiveness. Maureen works with the
Data Base Manager at the KCC Informatics facility to ensure that
data programs are created to record all necessary information for
the generation of essential reports.
Maureen has a strong interest in education.
She has an MS in Bacteriology and Public
Health from Wagner College. In addition
to her educational activities within the
KCC, she also teaches at a number of local
universities (Temple University, Villanova
University, and West Chester University).
As you can see, Maureen is a vital part of our ongoing effort to
develop more effective treatments for cancer patients. Next time
I will introduce you to some of the people she supervises.
4
From the Department of Radiation Oncology
- Adam Dicker M.D., Ph.D.
R
adiation oncologists and urologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have begun using a realtime system to implant radiation-emitting seeds in prostate cancer patients. While the system, made
by Nucletron, is only being used for imaging and planning purposes so far, it ultimately will help with the
actual placement of the seeds. “The device is a step above the traditional technique because it’s sophisticated approach allows
for a coordinated, real-time image-based implantation of seeds,” says Richard Valicenti, M.D., Associate Professor of Radiation
Oncolog y.
P
atients have two treatment options for localized, low-risk prostate cancer: surgery or radiation therapy. In brachytherapy,
one type of radiation therapy, tiny pellets – seeds – about the size of a grain of rice, blanket the prostate giving off
radiation that travels only a few millimeters to kill nearby cancer cells. Brachytherapy has been proven to be very effective and
safe, providing a good alternative to surgical removal of the prostate, while reducing the risk of certain long-term side effects,
such as impotence.
“This new approach is automated, so what normally takes us many steps to do we can do very quickly,”
Dr. Valicenti says. It collects the imaging information – the dimensions of the patient’s prostate – and
downloads it into a computer system, where it is rapidly processed. The doctors and radiation physicists can
then specify the parameters of treatment.
“Up until recently, we would produce a plan in the outpatient setting that we hoped to recapitulate in the
operating room,” explains Adam Dicker, M.D. Ph.D., Professor of Radiation Oncolog y at the Jefferson
Medical College. “But there was always the concern that what we saw initially might not match the situation later.” Because
the device enables real-time planning in the operating room, he says, “If an area is under-dosed, you can find out right away
and make corrections.” The system provides a multidimensional view of the prostate and the “ability to process and accumulate
precise information, constantly updating and readjusting the treatment plan.”
T
he multidisciplinary team of urologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists and radiation physicists involved in using the
device are confident that the new FDA-approved technolog y will make an already good system; even better, adding
scientific precision to a treatment that currently relies on physician experience and skill. To date, Jefferson is the first medical
center in the Delaware Valley to begin employing the new system.
Congratulations to....
Dr. Anthony J. DiMarino Jr.
received the Achievement Award in
Medicine, at the Jefferson Gala on
October 11th, 2007.
Honored often, he has been named “ Top
Doc” by Philadelphia Magazine and
chosen “Physician of the Year” by the
Delaware Valley Chapter of the Crohn’s
& Colitis Foundation of America . Caste
Connolly Medical Ltd. selected him in America’s “Best
Doctors”.
Dr. DiMarino’s research interests have primarily been in the
areas of esophageal, gastric and small intestinal motility ;
inflammator y bowel disease ; celiac disease ; and the safety of
gastrointestinal endoscopy. He is the author of more than 90
publications including the “ White Paper”, still considered
the standard for reprocessing endoscopic gastrointestinal
instr uments to prote ct pati ent safet y b e t we en pro c e dures .
Dr. DiMarino directs the GI clinical program and is responsible
for gastroenterolog y/hepatolog y education at Jefferson.
5
Mathew Thakur Ph.D. ha s b e en ch o s en a s
the re cipient of the Ca ssen Prize for 2008, by
the S o ciet y of Nuclear Me d icine Education and
R esearch Fo undation .
Dr. Tha kur, the Dire ctor of R a d iopharma ceutica l
R esearch and Professor of R ad iolo g y and R ad iation
Onc o l o g y at th e K imm e l Can c er C enter, re c e i ve s
th is award for h is sig n ificant contributi ons to the
science and practice of Nuclear Me d icine.
The Ca ss en Prize is a presti g ious award name d
in honor of the late Nuclear
Me d i c in e Phy s i c i st B en e d i c t e
Ca ssen, the inventor of the
R e ctil l inear S canner. It is
c o ns i d ere d th e “ No b e l Pri z e ”
of Nuclear Me d icine, awarde d
on ly once e ver y t wo years .
From the
Department of Radiology
– Vijay M. Rao, M.D.
elected New Grant Funding
(Shown as annualized amount)
The field of radiology has been revolutionized
by technological advances in imaging
modalities such as PET, CT, MRI and
Ultrasound. These modalities present the
faculty with innovative preclinical, translational and clinical
research capabilities for studying the delivery of targeted therapies
and monitoring response to novel therapies in cancer.
Rene Daniel M.D., Ph.D. received $155,574 for Cellular
response to Retroviral DNA Integration.
Laurence C. Eisenlohr V.M.D., Ph.D. received $232,500
for Dissecting 3 Processing Pathways that generate Class 2
Restricted Fly Epitopes.
Terry Hyslop Ph.D. received $246,211 for Nonlinear models
of mRNA expression in Cancer by RT-PCR.
Established in 2004, the Small Animal Imaging Core Facility
directed by Mathew Thakur, PhD, Professor of Radiology, has
continued to provide imaging services for researchers from a
range of disciplines. Drs. Flemming Forsberg and Mathew Thakur
continue their federally funded research on methods for early
breast cancer detection with contrast-enhanced ultrasound and
Cu-64 PET imaging, respectively, while Dr. Barry Goldberg,
worked on his NIH-funded grant using ultrasound contrast agents
for imaging lymphatic channels and sentinal lymph nodes.
Renato V. Iozzo M.D. received $327,881 for The Biology of
Perlecan in cancer and angiogenesis.
Michael Lisanti M.D., Ph.D. received $135,000 for Cav1 in
Estrogen Dependent breast cancer.
Richard G. Pestell M.D., Ph.D. received $5,200,000 for
Translation Research in Cancer (Cancer Center Support
Grant).
Federica Sotgia Ph.D. received $200,000 for Cav1 gene
inactivation in hormone sensitive and resistant breast cancers.
Drs. Kevin Sullivan and David Eschelman, continue their
collaboration with Dr. Sato in medical oncology, on his NIHfunded trial of immunoembolization of uveal melanoma metastatic
to liver. They have been invited to present at both the annual
meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology and the World
Conference on Interventional Oncology.
Yuri Sykulev M.D., Ph.D. received $280,000 for Immune
receptor on cytotoxic lymphocytes and target cells.
Ya Wang M.D., Ph.D. received $116,250 for A new target for
preventing cancer metastasis to bone.
Kongming Wu M.D., Ph.D. received $150,000 for The
Dachshund Breast Cancer Tumor Suppressor: New Targets for
Therapy.
Dr. Ethan Halpern works with the Department of Urology in the
Jefferson Prostate Diagnostic Center to provide state-of-the-art
diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer.
The new Friends of the
Kimmel Cancer Center
Georges Perrier and Liliane Nino
Present
Dr. Song Lai worked with Dr. David Andrews investigating novel
MR imaging techniques that provide a new, non-invasive approach
to evaluate characteristics and functioning of brain tumors.
Dr. Charles Intenzo has been selected to lead the only site in the
United States for a Phase I study of a new PET tracer (FLT).
Fluorothymidine (FLT) has been shown to be definitely superior
to FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) in situations where the proliferation
rate has prognostic significance.
Dr. Donald Mitchell, Chair of the Gynecologic Disease Site
Committee of ACRIN (American College of Radiology Imaging
Network) and a member of the NCI Gynecologic Cancer
Steering Committee, has begun working with the division of
gastroenterology on an NIH grant that includes rapid MRI for
noninvasive monitoring of fatty liver and mesenteric fat.
C arnivale at Le Bec-Fin
May, 2008
An enchanted evening at Le Bec-Fin will
include a dinner prepared exclusively by
Georges Perrier, fine wines, exquisite music
and entertainment and your very own
Carnivale Mask.
Dr. Adam Flanders continued his work on two grants funded by
the NIH for cross-institutional access to cancer imaging data and
an integrated biomedical informatics infrastructure for cancer
research imaging.
The faculty in the Department of Radiology looks forward to
expanding our research and clinical interests and continuing to
explore opportunities for collaborations with faculty throughout
the Jefferson system.
Carnivale at Le Bec Fin
will benefit the
Dr. Hilary Koprowski Endowed Chair
at the Kimmel Cancer Center.
For further information and tickets
please contact
215-503-5692
Friends@kimmelcancercenter.org
6
(....continued from page 1)
Matthew Carabasi. Jefferson had an investigational therapy
that was suitable for Warren. Warren was in the hospital for
two months at that time. He was readmitted twice, when
finally he was advised that his leukemia was now Acute
rather than Chronic. Acute Myelogenous Leukemia requires
a bone marrow transplant for survival.
Dr. Carabasi had informed Warren and his family of the
new investigational treatment ‘Haploidentical Bone Marrow
Transplant’. This new therapy accepts bone marrow from
a 50% matched donor, with a two part infusion process.
Although still in the experimental phase, it was Warren’s best
option. His youngest son Robert was the strongest match,
and was happy to be able to donate part of his blood to his
father.
The haploidentical bone marrow transplant, developed
by Dr. Flomenberg at the KCC at Jefferson is an involved
process. Robert, the donor, gave himself bone marrow
stimulating shots to over produce his own bone marrow for
four days. Although this made his joints a little achy, he was
still able to go to work. At this time, Warren was given full
body radiation. His lungs and kidneys were shielded from
the radiation. This therapy kills all of the white cells in his
blood. In this critical phase, his body is unable to fight any
infection. Robert’s T-Lymphocytes were then harvested. To
donate, a needle or blood
line is put into one arm,
blood is drawn and spun
in a machine to siphon
only the T-lymphocytes,
and then the rest of the
blood is returned into his other arm. This process took six
hours each day for two days. The procedure was relatively
painless but Robert suffered side effects such as headaches
and bone aches.
Warren received his son’s T-lymphocytes in mid December
2006 and his bone marrow several days later. It was a little
bag , attached to his IV. “It was so small; it was over in 20
minutes. I was so surprised it wasn’t a long and painful
process at all!” Warren persuaded Dr. Wagner to let him
keep the little bag as a souvenir, the greatest gift he had ever
received.
On January 3rd, Dr. Flomenberg
discharged Warren from hospital.
“It was a scary time for me. The
Jefferson Hospital had become my
home over the last few months;
my family knew the staff very well.
We had a personal connection, it
was difficult to leave the environment where I was being
monitored hourly, that was sterile and safe, to be released
into the world, where there were germs lurking”. At home,
Warren had an IV nutritional infusion every night while he
Warren was able to join his family who participated in the Light The
Night activities, in his honor, as the “Bud Light’s”
slept. “It helped build my strength and immune system back
up”. Anyone who visited his family at home wore a mask that
served as a precaution to prevent any little infection. By April,
Warren had started physical rehabilitation therapy.
By July and August of 2007, Warren was on a beach vacation
with his family, life was, as it was meant to be. “I have a
wonderful family, I have a lot to live for”.
Landenberger Professorship Established at
the Kimmel Cancer Center
Left to right, William R. Levy, Gariela Mustafavi, Dr. Michael Lisanti,
Gale Gillespie and Dr. Richard Pestell.
The Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation of Palm Beach,
FL, and Philadelphia, has established the Margaret Q. Landenberger
Professorship in Breast Cancer Research at the Kimmel Cancer
Center at Jefferson and the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas
Jefferson University.
Cell biologist Michael P. Lisanti, M.D., Ph.D., has been named the
first Landenberger Professor.
A recipient of many awards and honors, Dr. Lisanti is the 13th most
cited scientist in biochemistry and biology in scientific literature in
the world.
Dr. Lisanti, is an expert in the field of caveolae and caveolin proteins.
These proteins, are involved in the development of a number of
diseases and conditions, such as cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes,
Alzheimer’s disease and muscular dystrophy. His work provides
the best evidence to date that caveolin-1 blocks the development of
tumors - in mammalian cells and mice.
Dr. Lisanti was recruited by Dr. Richard Pestell to Jefferson in 2005
from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where
he was professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Medicine.
The Brown Brothers Harriman Trust Company, N.A., which
serves as the Corporate Trustee for the foundation, established the
professorship.
7
EveryBuddy Needs
SomeBuddy!
Program, I really wanted to give something back”. Sandy
completed her one day training program and has been a
buddy to about 6 people since she began.
I
t takes a strong person to be a buddy; it is like the role
of a friend, nurse and counselor all rolled into one. The
buddies are given the support of social workers, if they
feel that at any time they need some help or perspective.
“I would highly recommend the Buddy Program to anyone
with cancer, and to those who have made it through their
treatment alive and well. It feels great to be a strength to
patients, especially because I know exactly what they are
going through and all the feelings and questions associated
with a cancer diagnosis, because not too long ago, it was
me.”
T
he Patient Advocacy Committee can be thanked for the
idea that emerged from one of their earliest meetings.
As the name suggests, these former patients of the KCC at
Jefferson, were asked to form an advisory committee giving
a unique perspective on cancer treatment at Jefferson. They
bought the idea of the “Buddy” program, to life.
S
andy Fingerman was given the devastating news, in
July 2000, that she had cancer. Jefferson had been
recommended to her as the best place to be treated, and
Sandy agrees. “Everyone I had contact with was wonderful,
helpful and kind, from the parking lot attendant to my
physicians”.
T
lena would call Sandy once a week to see how she
was fairing. Sandy would ask her questions about her
treatment, her experience, and her side effects. “Is this
normal?’ “When will my hair fall out?” “When will I feel
better?” “What did you do to stop the mouth ulcers?’ Elena
would give her reassurance and advice “Yes, that is normal”
and could prepare her for what to expect next. Patients learn
a lot from each other, tips to cope with certain aspects of
treatment, for example how to stop the nausea.
he Buddy Program, now in it’s 8th year, matches
newly diagnosed cancer patients with cancer survivors,
Buddies, who provide short-term support and guidance
over the telephone. The Buddies are individuals who were
treated at Jefferson for a wide variety of cancers, and were
recommended by their physician, nurse, social worker, or
self referred like Sandy,
to be a good support
for newly diagnosed
patients.
After
volunteer
training,
Buddies are matched
to a patient. Besides
helping
them
cope
with
their
diagnosis, treatment
and
symptoms
management, Buddies are a helpful resource with knowledge
about social workers, accessing further information, tips and
guidance to prepare patients who may find it difficult to
inform their family and friends and may find understanding
and interacting with the medical team challenging.
P
B
S
andy’s husband had seen the poster in the doctor’s
waiting room for the Buddy Program and urged her to
call. Sandy spoke to a social worker who coordinated the
Buddy Program and was asked specific questions related to
her diagnosis, treatment, age group, family, and lifestyle.
This enabled the Buddy Program coordinator to find her a
match. Elena Sheehan was of similar age to Sandy and had
also been a school teacher. Like Sandy, she had sons. She
had been diagnosed with the same cancer, had been through
the same treatment that Sandy was to have, and she had
recovered.
E
uddy phone calls are not meant to replace conversations
with doctors, nurses and social workers but to provide
patients with emotional support from someone who has
“walked in their shoes”.
eople who have not had cancer, who have not had to
experience it first hand, cannot fully comprehend the
fear you live with each day. When you are confronted with
your own mortality in a real way, it can unleash all sorts of
emotions, even depression. Sandy, fortunately, has a very
supportive husband, children and friends, but she felt she
could be very honest with her buddy and could tell her things
she didn’t want to say to her family that may cause them to
worry. Talking on the phone gave her a level of anonymity
that at the time was comforting. She did not meet Elena face
to face for almost a year.
T
his year the Patient Advocacy Committee expanded
the Buddy Program to provide on-site Buddies in the
waiting and treatment areas. This new program aptly dubbed
“Buddy-on-the-Spot”, trains current Buddies, to provide
face-to-face support to cancer patients during daytime
hours at Jefferson. The Buddy-on-the-Spot volunteers are
scheduled for 3 hour shifts and provide on-site support,
guidance and information to ensure that the patient has a
smooth experience during a very taxing time.
“
Your buddy is such a positive influence; because they have
been matched to you by diagnosis; they are there to say
“It’s ok. You can make it. I made it through. It is possible”.
They give you peace of mind; they answer all the nagging
questions that you forgot to ask the doctor, but above all else
they give you hope”.
S
andy, who is now also a Buddy-on-the-Spot volunteer,
said that some people find it difficult to return to
the place they were treated for cancer, “the smells and
surroundings bring back the feelings you had when you were
being treated, it can be quite daunting, but the gift you give
to the patients and the relief they feel, because you’re there,
make it all worthwhile”.
S
andy is now in remission. Not long after her treatment
she gave the social worker at the Buddy Program another
call. She wanted to become a buddy. “It was such a positive
part of my life at that time. I was so grateful to all the people
that had helped me at Jefferson, especially to the Buddy
I
8
f you would like to find out more information or volunteer,
please call 215-955-8370.
KCC Scientists Uncover Key Pathway, Potential Drug Targets
in Autoinflammatory Disease and Cancer
These proteins are now potential therapeutic targets, Dr.
Reporting in the journal Molecular
Alnemri says. There is a synthetic analog of the IL-1 receptor
Cell, Emad Alnemri, Ph.D., Professor
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
at the Jefferson Medical College and his
co-workers describe how two proteins
called PSTPIP1 and pyrin interact to
cause autoinflammatory diseases.
According to Dr. Alnemri, defects in pyrin, have been
linked to familial Mediterranean fever, a sometimes fatal
disease found in the Mediterranean, Middle East and
Europe. Defects in PSTPIP1 have been linked to a rare,
auto-inflammatory disease called PAPA syndrome.
They found that mutant forms of PSTPIP1 found in
patients with a rare autoinflammatory disease can turn
on pyrin, which eventually leads to activating a potent
inflammation-causing protein, IL-1 beta. Once activated,
IL-1 beta can cause inflammation, fever and the production
of other related substances.
“antagonist” called Anakinra that has been successfully
used in clinical trials to treat autoinflammatory diseases,
including PAPA syndrome and familial Mediterranean fever,
in addition to other chronic inflammatory diseases such as
rheumatoid arthritis.
Chronic inflammation has been linked to the development
of cancer, Dr. Alnemri points out. “IL-1 beta appears to play
a major role in tumor growth. Elevated concentrations of
IL-1 beta have been found in aggressive forms of colon,
breast and lung cancers. It’s not clear how IL-1 beta promotes
cancer growth, but the data suggests that in addition to its
ability to stimulate the production of inflammatory factors,
it also stimulates cells to produce angiogenic factors to
enhance angiogenesis, or the development of tumor-growth
promoting blood vessels.” Dr. Alnemri adds that “IL-1 beta
antagonists are being tested on cancer in animal models with
notable success.
New Discovery:
Key regulator of Hormone signaling in Breast Cancer
The protein Jak1 plays a key role in prolactin signaling in breast
cancer and could represent a new drug target for treating breast
cancer.
Dr. Rui’s laboratory is seeking to determine the role of Jak1 in
breast cancer cell growth, survival, and invasion, which will be
important for establishing the potential usefulness of Jak1 as a
new drug target for patients. Receptors for prolactin are present
on a majority of breast cancers. Prolactin levels in blood are
relatively unaffected by menopause, and breast cancer patients are
exposed to the hormone across all age groups.
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and
the Department of Defense.
Dr. Hallgeir Rui M.D., Ph.D. at the KCC
and his co-workers have discovered new
molecular evidence of the role of the
hormone prolactin in breast cancer. They
have found that prolactin, a pituitary
hormone that normally stimulates breast
development and milk production,
initiates a new “signaling pathway” that may regulate the growth
and survival of breast cancer cells.
Published in the Molecular Endocrinology Journal, evidence
shows that prolactin activates Jak1 in breast cancer; a mechanism
in cancer cells that further promotes tumor cell growth.
R e c e n t l y pu b l i s hed A r ti cl es b y S c i e n t i s t s a t t h e K C C
A randomized controlled trial of the impact of targeted and tailored interventions on colorectal cancer screening. Cancer. Myers R., Sifri R.,
Hyslop T., Rosenthal M., Vernon S.W., Cocroft J., Wolf T., Andrel J., Wender R.
COX-2 expression predicts prostate-cancer outcome: analysis of data from the RTOG 92-02 trial. Lancet Oncology. Khor L.Y., Bae K., Pollack A.,
Hammond M.E., Grignon D.J., Venkatesan V.M., Rosenthal S.A., Ritter M.A., Sandler H.M., Hanks G.E., Shipley W.U., Dicker A.P.
Distinct roles of E2F proteins in vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and intimal hyperplasia. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, USA. Giangrande P.H., Zhang J., Tanner A., Eckhart A.D., Rempel R.E., Andrechek E.R., Layzer J.M., Keys J.R., Hagen P.O.,
Nevins J.R., Koch W.J., Sullenger B.A.
High levels of the BCR/ABL oncoprotein are required for the MAPK-hnRNP-E2 dependent suppression of C/EDPalpha-driven myeloid
differentiation. Blood. Chang J.S., Santhanam R., Trotta R., Neviani P., Eiring A.M., Briercheck E., Ronchetti M., Roy D.C., Calabretta B.,
Caligiuri M.A., Perrotti D.
Transcription Factor Stat5 Synergizes with Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cancer Cells. Cancer Research. Tan S.H., Dagvadorj A., Shen F., Gu
L., Liao Z., Abdulghani J., Zhang Y., Gelmann E.P., Zellweger T., Culig Z., Visakorpi T., Bubendorf L., Kirken R.A., Karras J., Nevalainen
M.T.
9
Introducing our latest
Friends of the Kimmel Cancer Center initiative:
“Friend to Friend” Real Estate Partnership Plan
When buying , selling or renting a home you will be benefiting
the Kimmel Cancer Center by utilizing the KCC “Friend to
Friend” Real Estate Partnership Plan with Coldwell Banker
Realty Corp initiated by our new Friend Connie Schaffer, VP of
Corporate and Relocation Services. (pictured below)
The most exciting component of this program is that 10% of the
received commission from each closed real estate transaction
will be contributed to the Kimmel Cancer Center to facilitate
the translation of basic research discoveries into meaningful
advances in patient treatment and care. All employees, staff and
“Friends” of Kimmel Cancer Center are eligible: this service is
available anywhere in the US.
To take advantage of this wonderful Friend to
Friend partnership, please email
KCCfriends@cbrca.com
or visit our website at
www. kimmelcancercenter. org/kcc/kccne w/ab out/friends/
The KCC supports the Hematologic
Malignancy Luncheon
T
he K i mme l Ca n ce r Ce n t e r a t Je ffe r son w as t h e
chose n b e n e fi ci a r y for t he p roce e ds fro m “ T h e
Ta i l g a t e for t he Cu re” a t Ci t i ze n Ba n k Park o n
Se p t e mb e r 1 3 t h. Chr i s Book e r, of t he Q 1 0 2 B o o k e r
Show, a s a Fr i e n d of t he K i mme l Ca n ce r C e n t e r,
or g a n i ze d t he V I P p re - g a me re ce p t i on wi t h Mi c h ae l
Ha r r i s t he Ma rk e t i n g Di re ct or of t he Phi l ad e l ph i a
Phi l l i e s. A t ot a l of $ 1 5 ,4 2 7 wa s r a i se d f o r t h e
K i mme l Ca n ce r Ce n t e r.
Adam Thode, Friend of the Kimmel
Cancer Center, and Jefferson student
was instrumental in organizing the
u r i n g t he fi ft h i n n i n g Dr. R i cha rd Pes t e l l , t h e
Light The Night activities that raised
Di re ct or of t he K i mme l Ca n ce r Ce nt e r, al o n g
money for Leukemia research.
wi t h R a di a t i on On col og i st Dr. R i cha rd Val i c e n t i ,
He mobilized Kimmel Cancer
a n d re n own e d b re a st ca n ce r re se a rche r Dr. Mi c h ae l
Center ’s Light the Night Team
L i sa n t i , we re re cog n i ze d on ce n t e r fi e l d f o r t h e i r
to walk the 2 mile course that
con t r i b u t i on t o ca n ce r ca re a n d re se a rc h by t h e
attracted over 100 participants.
4 2 ,0 0 0 sp e ct a t or s, a ccomp a n i e d by t he e n e rg e t i c
Dr. Pestell was invited to speak at
Phi l l i e s Pha n a t i c dre sse d a s a Doct or, a nd Sm i l e y
the Hematological Malignancies
t he Pi g , from Ha t fi e l d Qu a l i t y Me a t s.
Luncheon along with Dr. Neal
Flomenberg and Dr. Joanne
Filicko. Attendees were informed of the Blood and Marrow Transplant program at Jefferson
by Jeff physicians while enjoying a luncheon sponsored by the Kimmel Cancer Center.
Adam also arranged a “Marrow Typing Drive” as part of the National Marrow Donor
Registry program, and organised a fundraiser at Doc Watson’s bar. It was a successful
week of events that educated participants while they were having fun.
D
Dr. Hilary Koprowski honored with two new awards
Hilary Koprowski was born and raised in Warsaw, Poland. He has recently received an Honorary Citizen
Award from the city of his birth. In addition, Hilary Koprowski received the very honorable award, the
GRAND CROSS OF THE ORDER OF POLONIA RESTITUTA in Washington, D.C. on Friday, October
12, 2007. The Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Mr. Janusz Reiter, presented the award on behalf
of the President of Poland. Dr. Koprowski received this distinction for
his activities in the Polish Republic for organizing, during 1960’s, the
immunization of 9 million children with his oral polio vaccine to stop the
epidemic of polio in Poland.
Over many years, Dr. Koprowski has accepted for training, a number of Polish scientists
(more than 40 in total), who now occupy prominent positions in the Polish scientific world.
He has also recently established The Koprowski Foundation in Poland, enabling Poland to
retain it’s talented scientists.
10
Concert for the Cure
An Evening with Olivia
The inaugural Concert for the Cure, an
Evening with Olivia Newton-John made
November 11th, a night to remember!
An intimate cocktail reception on the
first tier of the Kimmel Performing Arts
center, gave guests the opportunity to meet
Olivia. KCC Advisory Board member and
Australian Ambassador, Dennis Richardson
and wife Betty, praised the evening as “a
wonderfully enjoyable evening for both
the US and Australia. Tonight we are
underlining the fact that health issues are
borderless and have no boundaries. Only
through international collaboration can we
get the ‘best of the best’ working together
for common cures” he said.
Guests enjoyed an elegant dinner in
the Commonwealth Plaza, followed by
Olivia in concert. And what a concert it
was! Olivia pleased the audience with old
favorites, “Hopelessly devoted to you” and
an acoustic version of “Let’s get Physical”.
She donned a black leather jacket for the
Grease medley, and calmed the room with
“Pearls on a chain” from her new album.
Olivia was thrilled to be involved with
the Concert for the Cure. A breast cancer
survivor herself, Olivia is establishing a
comprehensive cancer center in Australia
that heals the Body, Mind and Spirit.
The Kimmel Cancer Center’s collaboration
with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Center
in Australia was made possible through our
Australian Director, Dr. Richard Pestell. “It
was a wonderful evening and celebration of the research collaborations that the Kimmel Cancer Center has already established internationally”
he said. “Our quest for a cancer cure means we need to work together, pooling our resources means we get the best results”. Dr. Pestell joined the
Kimmel Cancer Center in 2005. He is internationally recognized within the academic community as a leading breast cancer physician-scientist,
with over 400 published works. His expertise means the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson is leading the way forward in cancer research in
this country and beyond.
The Ladies of Port Richmond
Above - Dr. Pestell and Joy
Soleiman with Mary-Lou Leuters,
below - with Marie Contino.
The founder of the Ladies of Port Richmond, Mary-Lou Leuters, is a two-time breast cancer survivor who
was treated at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. She began this grass roots neighborhood group in
2005, around her kitchen table with her friends and neighbors. The group quickly grew to over 14 members
who have all been touched by cancer in some way. The group holds a number of annual events including a
Breast Cancer Walk, Community Breakfasts, a Comedy Night, Casino trips and raffles galore.
The Ladies of Port Richmond, held their Third Annual Community Breakfast on Sunday October 7th at
St. Adalbert’s Parish Hall. Marie Contino, a board member and spokeswomen for the Ladies, praised Larry
and Deb Ammons and ShopRite for their generous support of the Ladies of Port Richmond.
On October 24, 2007, The Ladies of Port Richmond
presented Dr. Richard Pestell, KCC Director and Joy
Soleiman, Clinical Administrator a check for $42,500
raised for breast cancer research. The Ladies of Port
Richmond have donated a total of $117,500 over the
last three years! Thank you Ladies of Port Richmond for
your support.
11
2008 Save the date!
January
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JANUARY
24 Man to Man “Managing Incontinence” presented by Patrick Shenot MD, Dept. of
Urolog y. 12-1.30pm KCC Bodine - Rm G312
29 Nuclear Receptors : Co-Activators and Co-Repressors, an international meeting
organized by Dr. C. Wang and Dr. R . Pestell at the National Constitution Center in
Philadelphia from 9-5pm
FEBRUARY
7Current Topics “Health Insurance Law” Jamie C. Ray Esq. 12-1.30pm KCC Bodine
Rm G312
9PET/CT Oncolog y Symposium 7.30-12.30pm Loews Philadelphia Hotel
11 Look Good....Feel Better 1.30-3.30pm Gibbon Bldg 2nd Flr Rm 2135.
29 Scientific and Clinical Update on Colorectal Cancer Symposium. Hosted by KCC
and Jefferson Cancer Network. 8-4.30pm Bluemle Life Science Building Rm 101.
MARCH
6Facing Breast Cancer “Estrogen and Breast Cancer” Dr. Kirstin L. Brill MD FACS,
Dept. of Surgery. 12-1.30pm KCC Bodine Rm G312.
13 Current Topics “New Treatment Advances and Improved Survivorship” Colorectal
Cancer Awareness Month, Edith Mitchell MD, FACP, Dept. of Medical Oncolog y
and Gerald Isenberg MD Dept. of Surgery. 12-1.30pm KCC Bodine Rm G312.
Man to Man “Erectile Dysfunction” Irvin Hirsch MD Dept. of Urolog y 12-1.30pm
27 KCC Bodine - Rm G312
Mark your Calendar well in advance for ~
April 02 - 4pm - Survivors Conference - A patient and family conference on all issues relating to cancer survivorship.
June 11 - Celebration of Life - The Kimmel Cancer Center joins with communities across the country to celebrate National Cancer
Survivors Day. This celebration honors the lives and accomplishments of all cancer survivors with an art exhibit, an interactive
health fair and inspirational speakers!
Bluemle Life Science Building
233 S. 10th Street, Suite 1050
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Non Profit Org.
US Postage
PAID
Philadelphia, PA
Permit #276