March 1, 2020:

Investigator Spotlight

Anita Turk, MD, Indiana University School of Medicine

Educational background

• MD: Indiana University School of Medicine
• Residency: University of Chicago
• Fellowship: University of Wisconsin

Research interests

I am a medical oncologist who treats gastrointestinal malignancies with a special focus on hepatobiliary cancers. My research focus is to develop targeted and immune-based therapies for my patients. Through Indiana University’s Precision Genomics Clinic, we have been able to sequence tumors to help us understand the biology and identify the best clinical trials within the Big Ten CRC for our patients. Read More

Feb. 26, 2020:

Results of a Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium study found that the combination of pembrolizumab and bevacizumab is safe and active in patients with metastatic kidney cancer and was published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on Feb. 25.

The multi-site phase Ib/II study of pembrolizumab with bevacizumab for metastatic renal cell carcinoma: Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium BTCRC-GU14-003, was led by Arkadiusz Z. Dudek, MD (pictured), a professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and medical oncologist at HealthPartners Regions Cancer Care Center in St. Paul, Minn.

“Our study demonstrated that pembrolizumab and bevacizumab can control metastatic kidney cancer for more than 20 months in the majority of patients treated,” Dr. Dudek said. “We think that pembrolizumab and bevacizumab could be an attractive alternative to the current standard combination of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitor. This will be especially important for patients who are elderly, have significant comorbidities, or do not tolerate front-line treatment using immune checkpoint inhibitors or tyrosine kinase inhibitors.” Read More

Feb. 14, 2020:

Monika Joshi, MD, MRCP, associate professor of medicine at Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, will present a poster that highlights early safety and efficacy data from the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium’s BTCRC-GU15-023 study during the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium on Feb. 14 in San Francisco, Calif.

The poster, titled, “Concurrent durvalumab and radiation therapy followed by adjuvant durvalumab in patients with locally advanced urothelial cancer of the bladder (DUART),” will be presented during Poster Session B: Prostate Cancer; Urothelial Carcinoma; Penile, Urethral, Testicular, and Adrenal Cancers, from 12:15-1:45 p.m. PT in the Moscone West Building at Poster J14 (Abstract 513). Read More

Jan. 27, 2020:

A new Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium phase II study will test the combination of gedatolisib and talazoparib in advanced triple-negative or BRCA 1/2-mutated HER2-negative breast cancer in men and women.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with more than 266,000 new cases in 2018. Breast cancer in men is less common, with more than 2,400 new cases annually. About 15 percent of all invasive breast cancers diagnosed in the United States each year are triple-negative. Triple-negative breast cancers don’t express the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2). Inherited gene mutations in BRCA1 or 2 are responsible for about 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers in the United States.

People with advanced triple-negative breast cancer have fewer treatment options and the primary treatment for triple-negative breast cancer is chemotherapy. Exploring non-chemotherapy options for treatment may uncover new ways to treat this disease.

The goal of the study, BTCRC-BRE18-337, “Phase 2 Trial with Safety Run-In of Gedatolisib Plus Talazoparib in Advanced Triple Negative or BRCA1/2 Positive, HER2 Negative Breast Cancers,” is to identify the safe doses for combining gedatolisib and talazoparib, and to assess the efficacy of the combination. Read More

Jan. 24, 2020:

Nataliya Uboha, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, presented a poster highlighting the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium’s BTCRC-GI18-149 study during the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco.

The poster, titled “Phase II study of the combination of abemaciclib and pembrolizumab in locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma” was presented during Trials in Progress Poster Session A on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. See abstract. Read More

Jan. 23, 2020:

Hirva Mamdani, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Thoracic Oncology and Phase I Therapeutics Program and a medical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University, will present a poster highlighting the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium’s BTCRC-ESO14-012 study during the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, Thursday, Jan. 23-25, from noon – 1:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 p.m. PT at the Moscone West Building in San Francisco, CA.

The poster, titled “Safety and efficacy of durvalumab following multimodality therapy for locally advanced esophageal and GEJ adenocarcinoma: Two-year follow-up results from Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium study,” will be presented during Poster Session A and located at Poster Board F15. See abstract. Read More

Jan. 22, 2020:

The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) has joined the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC). The Big Ten CRC was created in 2013 to transform the conduct of cancer research through collaborative, hypothesis-driven, highly translational oncology trials that leverage the scientific and clinical expertise of Big Ten universities. Its membership now includes the cancer centers of all Big Ten universities.

Located in Baltimore, Md., UMGCCC offers innovative approaches to diagnosing and treating all types of cancer, conducts cutting-edge research to bring the latest advances in cancer treatment directly to patients in Maryland and beyond, and provides cancer screening and patient education services. It is one of 51 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation, recognized for its excellence in patient care and multidisciplinary translational research program. Read More

Jan. 21, 2020:

In this month’s Across the Consortium, the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC) highlights the fact that cancer does not discriminate and can affect even the most active and fit individuals. We also recognize the hard work researchers are doing and the grants they are receiving to improve our understanding of cancer and how to treat it. Read More

Jan. 21, 2020:

Veronika Bachanova, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation at the University of Minnesota, has been appointed to represent the University of Minnesota on the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee is composed of one researcher from each Big Ten CRC member institution and meets on a regular basis to review activities of the consortium and decide matters of policy. The Steering Committee determines the criteria for approving concepts for development with the Big Ten CRC. Read More

Jan. 17, 2020:

Pictured from left: Sneha Phadke, DO, University of Iowa, co-investigator of BTCRC-BRE18-337; Oana Danciu, MD, University of Illinois at Chicago, sponsor-investigator of BTCRC-BRE15-016; Kari Wisinski, MD, University of Wisconsin, sponsor-investigator of BTCRC-BRE18-337 and co-investigator of BTCRC-BRE15-016.

In a poster session, investigators reported on safety results from BTCRC-BRE15-016, a phase 2 study of palbociclib in combination with Tamoxifen as first line therapy for metastatic hormone receptor positive breast cancer. Researchers concluded the combination of palbociclib and tamoxifen was well tolerated with expected toxicities, and neutropenia was the most frequently reported adverse event. Researchers noted this is one of the first trials to assess the safety of the combination of palbociclib with tamoxifen in metastatic hormone receptor positive breast cancer and has implications for the early stage setting. See abstract.

Study authors include: Read More