EXPERT ADVISORY: Cancer Clinical Trials Awareness Month

By Jenny Owen and John Wallace

News Directors: Broadcast access to VCU Massey experts can be arranged through the university’s VideoLink ReadyCam studio. ReadyCam transmits video and audio via fiber optics through a system that is routed to your newsroom. To schedule a live or taped interview, contact the VCU Massey Office of Communications and Public Relations, 804-628-2111 or 804-628-1550.

Elizabeth Edwards and Patrick Swayze died of it, and Michael Doulas is fighting it. In fact, one in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. The good news is that through decades of laboratory and clinical research, significant strides are being made in the fight against cancer. Virginia Commonwealth University has dedicated January as Cancer Clinical Trials Awareness Month to raise awareness of the vital significance of clinical trials in the discovery of new and improved ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. VCU Massey Cancer Center has a variety of experts available in surgical oncology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, hematology, internal medicine and palliative care to discuss the latest therapies and devices being researched and tested in clinical trials for better prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancers, from brain and breast to leukemia, pancreas, prostate and more.

Developing New Cancer Treatments through Clinical Trials
John Roberts, M.D., is associate director for clinical research at VCU Massey Cancer Center and professor of internal medicine and hematology, oncology & palliative care at the VCU School of Medicine. He can talk about the treatment of melanoma and urological cancers and the development of new agents and treatments through clinical trials for all types of cancers.

Discovering Cutting-edge Therapies for Breast Cancer
Harry D. Bear, M.D., Ph.D., is the Dr. Walter Lawrence, Jr. Chair in Surgical Oncology at VCU Massey Cancer Center, a professor of surgery and of microbiology and immunology at VCU School of Medicine and director of the Breast Health Center at VCU Health System. Bear is the lead investigator of clinical research trials in breast, colon and rectal cancers, and can talk about current trials assessing cutting-edge therapies for breast cancer. He can also discuss the treatment of breast, melanoma and gastrointestinal cancers; immunotherapy (using the patient’s own immune cells to treat cancers); and chemotherapy used prior to breast cancer surgery.

Finding New Uses for Existing Drugs to Fight Brain Cancer
Michael G. Chang, M.D., is assistant professor of radiation oncology at VCU Massey Cancer Center.  The lead investigator of clinical trials on prostate and central nervous system cancers, Chang can discuss a current trial researching new uses for existing drugs in treating brain cancer. He can also talk about stereotactic radiotherapy and IMRT (intensity modulated radiotherapy) as well as the treatment of central nervous system, thoracic, prostate and breast cancers.

Exploring Therapies to Reduce the Recurrence of Pancreatic Cancer
Brian J. Kaplan, M.D., is an associate professor of surgery at VCU Massey Cancer Center and the program director of General Surgery Residency at VCU School of Medicine. The lead investigator of clinical research trials on pancreatic cancer, he can talk about a current trial exploring therapies to reduce the recurrence of pancreatic cancer. He can also address minimally invasive approaches to cancer, as well as the treatment of cancers of the liver, pancreas, bile ducts, stomach, esophagus and colon as well as of melanomas and sarcomas.

Investigating Prostate Cancer Treatments with Reduced Side Effects
Mitchell S. Anscher, M.D., is Florence and Hyman Meyers Chair of Radiation Oncology at VCU Massey Cancer Center. The lead investigator of clinical research trials on brain metastases and cancers of the prostate and breast, Anscher can discuss current trials studying prostate cancer treatments with reduced side effects. An expert in all forms of radiation therapy, especially in the evaluation and management of patients who have experienced severe complications from radiation treatments, he can also talk about prevention and treatment of normal tissue injury after cancer therapy; external beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy; and the treatment of genitourinary malignancies, particularly prostate cancer.