In the fight against breast cancer, collaboration is key. At The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James), an innovative “neighborhood” approach is bringing together diverse experts to accelerate breakthroughs in breast cancer research and treatment.
Daniel Stover, MD, director of translational breast cancer research at the OSUCCC – James, is spearheading this novel initiative. “Cancer is not just one disease or one problem,” Dr. Stover explains. “The old idea of scientists shutting themselves in their laboratories and slaving over a microscope — that’s not how we’re going to solve the challenges of breast cancer.”
Instead, Dr. Stoverʼs program is creating “neighborhoods” — specialized teams of researchers and clinicians focused on specific breast cancer challenges. These neighborhoods bring together multidisciplinary experts, from medical oncologists and surgeons to biomedical engineers and computer scientists.
“We’re breaking down walls,” Dr. Stover says. “Surgeons think about surgery, radiation doctors think about radiation, scientists think about cells and mouse models, medical oncologists think about medical treatments. That’s how we did breast cancer research for 50 years. But how we’re going to make the next leap is finding solutions together through team science-based approaches.”
The program currently has several key neighborhoods, each tackling critical areas of need:
- Central Nervous System: Focused on breast cancer that has spread to the brain, historically an area with few treatment options.
- Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Addressing this rare but aggressive form of breast cancer that makes up only 1-5% of cases.
- Lobular Breast Cancer: Studying this subtype that tends to spread early and remain dormant before reactivating years later.
- Bone Metastasis: Investigating breast cancer’s frequent spread to bones, which can significantly impact quality of life.
- Cardio-Oncology: Examining how cancer treatments affect heart health.
- Innate Immunity: Understanding how patients’ own immune system can take on breast cancer.
One of the program’s standout successes is the Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) Rapid Access Program. This initiative has created a standardized approach to quickly identify and treat patients with inflammatory breast cancer, a fast-moving form of the disease where prompt intervention is crucial.
“We now have what is called our IBC Rapid Access Program,” Dr. Stover explains. “If a patient has the potential of having inflammatory breast cancer, it activates a whole team of people that speeds them in to be seen and treated.”
The program’s impact is measurable: patients are being seen faster, starting treatment sooner and word is spreading in the community. Critical to the success of these initiatives is the support of community partners and donors. The Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center, named for the late Stefanie Spielman, has been instrumental in advancing breast cancer research at Ohio State. The center houses the Stefanie Spielman Breast Bank, a repository for patient-donated specimens that fuel leading-edge research.
“We feel like the marriage of community support, along with the infrastructure that translational breast cancer research provides, is a great example of how we can make progress,” Dr. Stover notes.
Donor support is particularly vital for funding high-risk, high-reward projects that might not yet receive traditional government funding. “Several Stefanie Spielman Breast Cancer Research Fund supported projects have taken on some of those higher risk, higher reward opportunities,” Dr. Stover says. “That initial seed funding helps get innovative projects over the hump from idea to proof of concept that can then work towards bigger types of grants.”
The impact of these collaborations extends beyond the lab. By bringing together diverse experts, the program can translate discoveries from basic science into tangible benefits for patients. For instance, researchers working on lobular breast cancer are partnering with engineers to develop tools for capturing disseminated cancer cells in the bloodstream, potentially leading to new diagnostic and treatment approaches.
As translational breast cancer research continues to grow, it enables community members to make a direct impact on breast cancer research and treatment in their local area. “Our research is work that is going on right here in central Ohio,” Dr. Stover emphasizes, “and that first level of impact will be right here in the patients that are treated in our system and our region.”
Through its innovative neighborhood approach, the unwavering support of donors and the collaborative spirit of researchers across disciplines, Ohio State is pioneering the future of breast cancer research. As Dr. Stover and his team continue to push boundaries and forge new paths, hope grows for more effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure.