The American Cancer Society Awards More Than $2.1 Million to Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center to Support Cancer Research, Enhance Clinical Care and Tackle Inequities

The American Cancer Society (ACS) has awarded Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center (MECC) more than $2.1 million to support cancer research and reduce individual and systemic barriers that can prevent people from accessing cancer care.

The largest grants support research by Haiying Cheng, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Oncology and Medicine and Thoracic Medical Oncologist, MECC, and Kira Gritsman, MD, PhD, Professor of Oncology, Medicine and Cell Biology and Co-Leader, Stem Cell and Cancer Biology Program, MECC.

Dr. Cheng’s research focuses on people with lung cancer, the majority of whom develop metastatic disease. The grant will help her laboratory determine if lung cancer metastases can be treated or prevented by targeting a specific gene called RICTOR, which she found was amplified in patients with a high risk of lung cancer spreading to the brain.

Research by Dr. Gritsman shows that crizotinib, a drug approved for treating lung cancer, is also effective in people with a type of blood cancer called myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). The grant will help her laboratory determine if the drug also prevents out-of-control blood cell division in mouse models of MPN, with the goal of moving the drug swiftly into clinical trials.

The ACS also has awarded a $300,000 grant to Brendon M. Stiles, MD, and Vikas Mehta, MD, MPH, FACS, for the Building Reliable Oncology Navigation, Centered Around Neoadjuvant Therapy (BRONx-CAN) Project. Dr. Stiles is Professor, Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery, Oncology and Medicine; Chief, Thoracic Surgery and Surgical Oncology, Montefiore Einstein; and Associate Director for Surgical Services, MECC. Dr. Mehta is Vice Chair and Associate Professor, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Montefiore Einstein, and Director, Quality Improvement, MECC. BRONx-CAN is an innovative patient navigation program to coordinate patients with locally advanced, nonmetastatic lung cancer and certain gastrointestinal cancers, such as esophageal, gastric, pancreatic and rectal cancers, who are undergoing neoadjuvant therapy (NAT).

NAT is a combined modality approach that is intended to shrink tumors prior to surgery. This program is designed to improve patient outcomes and provide support for underrepresented groups in our Bronx community who may experience increased barriers to accessing care. It will enable MECC to streamline appointments for those who may benefit from NAT, as this treatment approach requires patients to adhere to a complex regimen of coordinated surgical, medical and radiation oncologic care and involves multiple outpatient clinic visits that include scans and tests. In the Bronx, only 60% of MECC’s patients complete all intended NAT visits, and up to 40% miss at least one visit due to treatment toxicity or socioeconomic factors.

With support from the American Cancer Society grant, MECC will develop a streamlined navigational pathway centered on Stage 2/3 patients with locally advanced cancer who are identified as appropriate candidates for NAT. The new pathway will be built upon the base of two other existing MECC programs—the Oncology Nurse Navigator Program and the Bronx Oncology Living Daily (BOLD) Buddy Program (a peer navigation program)—as each provides assistance and guidance for many of the cancer patients seen at MECC.

“By deepening our partnership with the ACS, we are advancing our ability to recognize infrastructural biases, identify new treatments relevant to our community, and provide the very best support and care to our patients and their families,” said Dr. Chu.

Funding from the American Cancer Society also includes $15,000 to help MECC tackle transportation barriers, which are strongly associated with no-show visits. This fund will greatly enhance patient transportation services, such as taxis and buses, as well as help cover the cost of gasoline.

The ACS grants also will support additional, free cancer screenings in the community as well as continuing education courses for doctors and nurses that aim to improve access to care for historically underrepresented communities. Increasing access to cancer care is particularly important in the Bronx, as a higher number of residents are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages of the disease, compared to the national average.