March 25, 2019:

In this month’s Across the Consortium, the Big Ten CRC highlights research to detect cancer cells early in their development, and other advances from our member institutions. We also congratulate those who received hard-earned grants and leadership positions.

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March 8, 2019:

A phase I Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium study for adult patients with relapsed or refractory Classical Hodgkin lymphoma is open for accrual at Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota; the University of Illinois Cancer Center; the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center; and the University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. The study, BTCRC-HEM15-027, will help determine the safety (maximum tolerated dose) and efficacy of ruxolitinib, which blocks the main pathway dysregulated in Hodgkin lymphoma, when combined with the immunotherapy drug nivolumab. Read More

March 1, 2019:

Investigator Spotlight

Shihuan Kuang, PhD, Purdue University Center for Cancer Research

Educational background

• PhD in Physiology and Cell Biology: University of Alberta

Research interests

My lab mainly aims to understand the molecular regulation of stem cells in the adult skeletal muscle and adipose tissues, and how deregulation of certain signaling pathways underlie diseases including cancer. Read More

Feb. 19, 2019:

In this month’s Across the Consortium, the Big Ten CRC features the health initiatives our members are pursuing to reach communities at greatest risk of fatal cancer due to educational and health disparities; we celebrate some of the newest advances in cancer research at Big Ten universities; and we highlight our members’ engagement with state and local leaders.

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Feb. 5, 2019:

Borys Hrinczenko, MD, PhD, a lung cancer specialist at the Michigan State University Breslin Cancer Center, has been appointed to the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium’s steering committee.

As such, Dr. Hrinczenko, who has more than 20 years of experience in cancer research, will represent Michigan State University and help establish research priorities for the 12 member institutions of the Big Ten CRC. He currently is a member of the consortium’s Thoracic Clinical Trial Working Group.

Dr. Hrinczenko called his appointment to the consortium’s steering committee “a wonderful opportunity.

“I’m excited for this chance to contribute to this outstanding organization,” he said. “It’s one thing to do my own research. It’s another to help guide the research of a whole group.”

Dr. Hrinczenko earned his medical degree from the SUNY Downstate College of Medicine in Brooklyn, N.Y. He completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medical Education in Rochester, Minn., followed by a combined fellowship in hematology and oncology at the National Institutes of Health.

He recently was named one of America’s top doctors by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., which rates physicians who are nominated by their peers and pass an extensive screening of their medical education, training and other professional history.

Dr. Hrinczenko’s research focuses on finding new therapies for lung cancer, including checkpoint inhibitors. At the Breslin Cancer Center, he is overseeing a Phase I study of checkpoint inhibitors to harness the body’s immune system against lung cancer, one of more than 10 clinical trials he is leading.

In the course of his career, Dr. Hrinczenko said he has seen great strides in the treatment of many types of cancer, including lung cancer.

“Twenty years ago, there was no immunotherapy and there were only a few limited treatments for cancer,” he said. “Currently, the field has leaped into a new generation of drugs. It’s a revolution in terms of treatments.

“Specifically in lung cancer, in the past there were several not very effective treatments,” said Dr. Hrinczenko, whose father died of the disease. “We have more options now than we ever did before.”

He recalled a patient with advanced lung cancer who had not responded to any other treatments until he prescribed one of the new immunotherapies. Four and a half years later, the patient is cancer free.

“I’d never seen anything like that before in lung cancer,” Dr. Hrinczenko said. “It blew me away.”

He vowed to continue searching for even more-effective treatments.

“I’ll do my best to see that we get more clinical trials to help cancer patients,” he said.

— By Pat Shellenbarger, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

About the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium: The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium 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. The goal of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium is to create a unique team-research culture to drive science rapidly from ideas to new approaches to cancer treatment. Within this innovative environment, today’s research leaders collaborate with and mentor the research leaders of tomorrow with the unified goal of improving the lives of all patients with cancer.

About the Big Ten Conference: The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to almost 9,500 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse since 2013. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.

Feb. 1, 2019:

Thought Leader Perspectives: Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rapidly progressive form of blood cancer that can occur at any age but mostly presents in patients age 60 and older, represents the most common cause of leukemia-related mortality in the United States and accounts for approximately 21,000 new cases and 10,000 deaths per year.

For decades, the therapeutic progress in AML has been slower than in other cancers, which is in part due to the enormous genomic heterogeneity of the disease. Although the approval of several targeted agents by the FDA since April 2017 inaugurated an exciting new era in AML therapy, only a subset of patients are expected to benefit from these tailored treatment options. The great progress in understanding the pathophysiology of leukemia as well as the related discovery of potential new drug targets, in concert with recent advances in immunotherapy, has sparked a wave of innovative combinatorial treatment strategies that await to be tested in clinical trials. The successful implementation of such trials, however, demands new concepts of cooperative research, including the closer cooperation between clinical and research centers with the goal to harmonize and align research efforts.

The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium’s Myeloid Malignancies Clinical Trial Working Group was formed approximately three years ago and is composed of a multidisciplinary team of physicians and scientists in various fields of leukemia research (e.g., clinical trials methodology, biomarker discovery, molecular genetics and diagnostics, etc.). The leukemia research laboratories within the consortium have a long-standing experience, reputation and collaborative working relationship that is critical to drive the success of the Big Ten CRC. To date, the working group’s productive collaboration has resulted in two clinical trials that are expected to open in the first quarter of 2019. Additional concepts are currently under review. Read More

Jan. 23, 2019:

Big Ten investigators presented early efficacy results of the BTCRC-ESO14-012 study during the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, Jan. 17-19 in San Francisco. Read More

Jan. 20, 2019:

In this month’s Across the Consortium, we highlight a variety of research initiatives — from genetic testing for quicker diagnosis to new projects that help us better understand biology in order to prevent and kill cancer faster — and we remember those who recently passed away and had a profound influence in cancer research and advocacy.

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Jan. 10, 2019:

The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC) recently named Thomas G. Sors, PhD, assistant director of the Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease (PI4D), to the Big Ten CRC Steering Committee, representing the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research.

The Big Ten CRC Steering Committee comprises one representative from each member institution and meets regularly to review activities and guide policies for the consortium. Read More

Dec. 20, 2018:

In this month’s Across the Consortium, we are inspired by Big Ten cancer researchers making significant discoveries in improving treatment and quality of life for cancer patients. We also recognize those who have received grants for their work.

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