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Division of Surgical Oncology

Surgical Oncology Research

The Division of Surgical Oncology at the OSUCCC – James features some of the brightest minds in cancer research.

Surgical Oncology Research

    The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) has five highly interactive cancer research programs. More than 300 scientists from 11 of the 15 colleges at The Ohio State University are members of one or more of these research programs. Most of the research in the Division of Surgical Oncology is translational, in which ideas and hypotheses from the laboratory are incorporated into clinical evaluation through the clinical trial mechanism.

    Through the OSUCCC five programs, the work of members includes basic laboratory studies, translational research and clinical trials. While each program focuses on a different area of cancer research, the comprehensive cancer center promotes a strong culture of collaboration. Interprogrammatic collaborations, collaborations with researchers in these Ohio State colleges and collaborations with researchers at other cancer centers and institutions are encouraged. As a result, researchers can tackle complex and important questions that require broad, interdisciplinary expertise.

    The research programs continue to grow in scientific and clinical strength through recruitment and retention of some of the world’s brightest minds in cancer research. The clear focus on collaborative and translational research and the availability of state-of-the-art technologies and expertise provided by 20 cores and shared resources, enables OSUCCC researchers to conduct high-quality research that leads to world-class discoveries, changes in clinical practice and improvements in patient care.

    Selected Research in Surgical Oncology

    Agnese, Doreen Marie. OSU-14184: A prospective, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled, phase IIb trial of an autologous tumor lysate (TL) + yeast cell wall particles (YCWP) + dendritic cells (DC) vaccine vs unloaded YCWP + DC in stage III and stage IV (resected) melanoma to prevent recurrence. Cancer Insight, LLC. 3/23/2015 – 3/23/2019.

    Agnese, Doreen Marie. OSU-05127: Multicenter selective lymphadenectomy trial II (MSLT-II): A phase III multicenter randomized trial of sentinel lymphadenectomy and complete lymph node dissection versus sentinel lymphadenectomy alone in cutaneous melanoma patients with evidence of metastases in the sentinel node. John Wayne Cancer Institute. 9/1/2011 – 8/31/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Year 4: Project 1: Scientific Leadership - UM1 supplement for early therapeutic trials with phase 2 intent. National Cancer Institute. 3/1/2018 – 2/28/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Year 4: Project 2: Case Management - UM1 supplement for early therapeutic trials with phase 2 intent. National Cancer Institute. 3/1/2018 – 2/28/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Year 4: Project 3: Case CCF SubK - UM1 supplement for early therapeutic trials with phase 2 intent. National Cancer Institute. 3/1/2018 – 2/28/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Year 4: Project 4: UK SubK - UM1 supplement for early therapeutic trials with phase 2 intent. National Cancer Institute. 3/1/2018 – 2/28/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Year 4 Phase II: Scientific Leadership. National Cancer Institute. 3/1/2018 – 2/28/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Year 4 Phase II: Case Management. National Cancer Institute. 3/1/2018 – 2/28/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Year 4 Phase II: Case CCF SubK. National Cancer Institute. 3/1/2018 – 2/28/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Year 4 Phase II: UK SubK. National Cancer Institute. 3/1/2018 – 2/28/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Optimizing RNA nanoparticles size and shape for enhancing cancer targeting and treatment. National Cancer Institute. 9/26/2016 – 8/31/2019.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Elucidation of human natural killer cell development. National Cancer Institute. 2/1/2017 – 1/31/2020.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Phi29 motor nanopore for single molecule sensing. National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. 5/1/2016 – 2/29/2020.

    Carson III, William Edgar. Breast cancer prevention through nutrition program. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 10/1/2018 – 9/30/2019.

    Dillhoff, Mary Elizabeth. Molecular beacon based extracellular mRNA and protein detection for early cancer diagnosis. National Cancer Institute. 9/30/2017 – 8/31/2020.

    Farrar, William Blair. OSU-15211: Circadian thermal sensing for the detection of breast disease as a supplemental cancer screening system. Cyrcadia Health. 3/16/2016 – 3/16/2020.

    Farrar, William Blair. Protocol No. M14-011; NSABP B-56-I. NSABP Foundation Inc. 12/1/2015 – 11/30/2019.

    Farrar, William Blair. Protocol B-54-I (Penelope)/ GBG 78/ BIG 1-13 (0053-001). NSABP Foundation Inc. 10/9/2015 – 9/30/2019.

    Farrar, William Blair. Breast and bowel treatment protocols agreement. NSABP Foundation Inc. 2/1/1999 – 2/28/2020.

    Hu, Zhiwei. (Hu [Year 4 - 2018 Cohort]) Ohio I-Corps Program. Ohio Dept of Higher Education. 4/1/2018 – 3/30/2019.

    Hu, Zhiwei. Targeting tissue factor as a novel oncotarget for immunotherapy of triple negative breast cancer. National Cancer Institute. 9/6/2018 – 8/31/2019.

    Phay, John Edward. Year 5: Core A: The Ohio State University and MD Anderson Cancer Center Thyroid Cancer SPORE. National Cancer Institute. 8/1/2017 – 7/31/2019.

    Phay, John Edward. Core A: Genetic and signaling pathways in epithelial thyroid cancer. National Cancer Institute. 4/1/2016 – 3/31/2019.

    Pollock, Raphael Etomar. The role of the tumor microenvironment in S45F desmoid tumor chemotherapeutic resistance. Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation. 7/25/2018 – 7/24/2019.

    Clinical Research

    Learn more about our clinical research by cancer type:

    Clinical Trials

    The OSUCCC – James has hundreds of open clinical trials at any given time, with some of the world’s latest discoveries available to clinical trial patients right here in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, patients have access to more cancer clinical trials here than at nearly any other hospital in the region, as well as access to some of the most advanced, targeted treatments and drugs available.

    The OSUCCC – James is one of only a few U.S. cancer centers funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to conduct phase I and phase II clinical trials on novel anti-cancer drugs. These trials go only to centers that demonstrate an exemplary capacity for research and clinical care, as well as the expertise to deliver the latest in treatments, and the infrastructure to interpret and track treatment results.