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2015

Frontiers Winter 2015

This is an especially exciting period at both The Ohio State University and the OSUCCC – James.

Frontiers Winter 2015

    Our New Home

    This is an especially exciting period at both The Ohio State University and the OSUCCC – James.

    On Dec. 15, 2014, after a decade of planning and design and three years of construction, we officially opened our new Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute—a 21-story, 1.1-million-square-foot, 306-bed facility. It stands as a beacon of hope to all patients and families who turn to us for help after a cancer diagnosis.

    When I think of the incredible work that went into creating this hospital—not to mention a superbly orchestrated weekend move of some 220 inpatients from the original James to its transformational successor—I recall the feeling of working with elaborate laboratory equipment that was once state-of-the-art, then moving to the latest, far more powerful model, enabling us to accomplish so much more.

    The new James is doing that for us on a grand scale. There, clinicians and scientists work together closer than ever to translate research discoveries to innovative patient care. I asked the 500 volunteers who assisted with our inpatient move on Sunday, Dec. 14, to think not just of transporting patients in beds and wheelchairs into a new hospital, but across the threshold to a cancer-free world. That’s our vision, and I believe that world is within our grasp.

    Despite the work involved with opening and occupying our new home — now the nation’s third-largest cancer hospital — Ohio State cancer research did not miss a beat. This issue of Frontiers also examines some of our studies in immune therapy, one of today’s most promising areas of cancer research. You can also read about our Cell Therapy Laboratory located in the new James, which will open exciting avenues of research and treatment.

    The work of investigators at Ohio State and elsewhere, plus the promise of the new James, gives cancer patients more reason than ever to hope for a brighter future.

    View the complete issue in PDF format

    Three Perspectives

    The new James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute opened Dec. 15. Prior to the hospital’s opening, we invited an OSUCCC – James physician, a nurse and a clinical research coordinator to give their perspective on what they found most exciting about the new hospital.

    Evasive Action

    A molecule that helps cancer cells evade programmed self-destruction might also help malignant cells hide from another source of death: the immune system.

    Risk Potential

    The risk of developing cancer in a salivary gland might be higher in people with mutations in either of two genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer, a study at the OSUCCC – James suggests.

    Examining Erlotinib

    The drug erlotinib is highly effective in treating advanced-stage lung cancer patients whose tumors have a particular gene change, but when the same drug is used for patients with early-stage tumors with the same gene change, they fare worse than if they had taken nothing at all.

    Expanding Efficacy

    Giving low doses of a particular targeted agent with a cancer-killing virus might improve the effectiveness of the virus as a treatment for cancer, according to a study led by researchers at the OSUCCC – James.

    Influencing Outcome

    When it comes to specialized cancer surgery, it’s generally true that the more experienced the surgeon, the better the outcome. The same might be true for radiation therapy used to treat head and neck cancer, according to a study by researchers at the OSUCCC – James.

    Curbing Cost

    Angiogenesis inhibitors—drugs that block the formation of blood vessels in tumors—are used in the treatment of many forms of cancer. But currently used drugs are expensive and can cause serious side effects, precluding their use in some patients.

    Of Note

    A listing of the recent recognitions of OSUCCC – James physicians and researchers.

    Immune Boosters

    For more than 100 years doctors and researchers have poked, prodded and worked to coax the immune system into eliminating cancer. Then, in the last few years, scientists gained insights into the mechanisms of immune suppression. It was a breakthrough.