Leading The Way
How DFCI research affects women beyond our doors
By Dawn Stapleton
Nestled in the bustling Longwood Medical Area, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute stands among some of the finest medical institutions in the world. Though its research on women's cancers is carried out in Boston, Dana-Farber findings influence the lives of women across the U.S. and in many other countries.
DFCI is committed to controlling major forms of cancer in the next decade. The leaders of the Women's Cancers Program (WCP) believe that collaborating and communicating beyond the Institute's doors will accomplish this goal more quickly.
However, venues for physicianscientists to discuss research and results are surprisingly limited. Leaders of the WCP recognized this need and met it by organizing roundtable discussions for the 10 recipient institutions of the Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant to study breast cancer. This led to the formation of the Breast Cancer Research Consortium. The group's discussions were so successful at promoting collaborations among the institutions that the National Cancer Institute, which awards SPORE grants, took over the planning process and now funds annual breast cancer SPORE roundtables. (Related story: Banding together.)
"Collaborations like the consortium increase efficiency in coming up with novel therapies necessary to conquer cancer," says J. Dirk Iglehart, MD, director of the Women's Cancers Program at DFCI and chief of Surgical Oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "The benefits of communicating with those in the cancer community are the relationships that it creates. Communication makes research and patient care better, reduces duplication of research efforts, and speeds the rate at which information comes out."
In addition to the consortium, Dana-Farber sponsors several clinical conferences in women's cancers. Each July, it hosts an international symposium titled "Breast Cancer: Current Controversies and New Horizons." The meeting has been directed by Drs. Jay Harris, Judy Garber, Barbara Smith, and Eric Winer, and over the past four years, it has grown considerably. Physician-scientists come from across the nation and the world to learn about cutting-edge topics and discuss them with their peers.
In 2005, nearly 15 percent of attendees were from other countries, including Australia, Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, El Salvador, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, and South Africa. They take knowledge back to their hospitals and use it to improve patient care and outcomes or inspire new investigations.
Locally, DFCI spearheaded a collaborative effort among Harvard affiliates by creating the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) Breast Cancer Symposium. It is the only meeting of its kind for breast cancer researchers within the DF/HCC, many of whom work at different sites. The annual conference provides a chance for investigators to hear about each other's work in clinical, basic, and translational research, as well as learn about "core" resources such as cell manipulation and pathology services available to all DF/HCC breast cancer researchers.
"There are few other opportunities for all the breast cancer researchers at the Harvard institutions to meet to discuss their investigations and exchange ideas," says Candace Lowe, ScD, administrative director of the WCP. "This annual symposium is an important forum for fostering partners in research. We have seen a number of collaborations result from this gathering."
Dana-Farber is also reaching out to the community by providing education and increasing access to care for women in medically underserved populations. Through this effort, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center doctors, using interpreters when necessary, lecture on breast and/or gynecological cancer. Then, Dana-Farber Mammography Van staff give a presentation on the screening and services it offers. Attendees can sign up for an exam appointment. (Related story: What every woman should know.)
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