The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC) was established in 2013 to provide new opportunities for collaborative, investigator-initiated research at Big Ten cancer centers. Faculty at Big Ten CRC member institutions have been actively involved throughout the consortium’s development, resulting in the achievement of many milestones for the Big Ten CRC. The Big Ten CRC opened its first clinical trial recently, and numerous other trials and concepts are in the pipeline. Read More
A conversation with Douglas Yee, MD, director, and Jeffrey Miller, MD, deputy director, of the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, which is a member of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC):
Q: How do you think cancer research will change in the next 10-20 years?
Douglas Yee, MD (DY): In the coming years, patients will see more precise and personalized therapies due to targeted tumor profiling. Personalized medicine is the wave of the future, and we’re excited to have some incredibly strong researchers in areas like bone marrow transplant, NK cell research, and cell products.
Jeff Miller, MD (JM): Here at the Masonic Cancer Center, we are addressing this shift by investing resources into space, equipment and most importantly, recruitment of talent for a new Translational Genomics in GI Tract Cancer (TGG) team. By creating a transdisciplinary team focused on a common goal, backed by extensive support and infrastructure, we plan to be intentional about finding answers to therapy resistance, for example. Read More
This month, we draw attention to significant milestones and achievements at Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC) member institutions: From the launch of the Big Ten CRC’s first clinical trial at the University of Illinois, to Dr. Max Wicha’s appointment to the National Cancer Advisory Board by President Obama; from significant funding to Big Ten CRC institutions by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the American Cancer Society, to the University of Nebraska’s partnership with IBM on the Watson Genomic Analytics program. We celebrate the groundbreaking of the Michigan State University Grand Rapids Research Center, and we highlight advances in research Across the Consortium. Read More
Ruth M. O’Regan, MD, has joined the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Steering Committee, representing the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. The committee, composed of one researcher from each member institution, meets on a regular basis to review activities of the consortium and decide matters of policy. The committee determines the criteria for approving concepts for development with the Big Ten CRC. Read More
A conversation with Kenneth H. Cowan, MD, PhD, director of Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center (University of Nebraska), which is a member of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium (Big Ten CRC):
Q: How do you think cancer research will change in the next 10 or 20 years?
Cancer research will move toward precision cancer medicine. Using genomics and other new diagnostic tools, we will be able to employ precision medicine to customize therapies, care for each cancer patient individually, and ultimately improve outcomes. We are investing more efforts into personalized treatments including a partnership with IBM to conduct early testing and feedback for IBM’s Watson Genomic Analytics program. In minutes, the program identifies relevant mutations and potential drugs that may be considered in a treatment regime – all based on the patient’s genomic profile and the specific mutations. The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center is one of 14 leading cancer institutes to partner on the project. We’re really proud to have this program as part of our research and treatment planning options. Read More
The study, known as BTCRC-GU14-003, involves a combination of pembrolizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, with bevacizumab, a therapy that targets blood vessel formation in tumors, for the treatment of patients with metastatic kidney cancer.
The study is now open at the University of Illinois Cancer Center in Chicago. Additional member sites within the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium will open the trial in the coming months.
Arkadiusz Dudek, MD, PhD, professor of medicine in hematology/oncology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine is the study’s sponsor-investigator.
Pembrolizumab, one of a new class of drugs called PD-1 inhibitors, works by targeting the PD-1 (programmed cell death-1) receptor on the surface of T cells. This receptor inhibits immune responses in normal physiologic function.
“Unfortunately, in the context of cancer, this inhibition is not desirable, because it causes the immune system to not recognize the tumor and causes tumor progression,” said Dr. Dudek. “With the use of this antibody, we remove the blockade, and therefore the immune response can be activated.”
This study consists of two parts, Phase Ib and Phase II.
The main goal for Phase Ib is to determine the maximum safe dose of pembrolizumab in combination with bevacizumab that can be given to patients whose cancer has grown or returned after receiving at least one prior type of treatment for metastatic clear cell kidney cancer.
The main goal for Phase II is to determine what effects pembrolizumab in combination with bevacizumab has on patients who have not received prior therapy for metastatic kidney cancer.
More information, including full eligibility criteria, is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov, using clinical trial # 02348008.
About the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium: The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium creates a unique team-research culture to drive science rapidly from ideas to treatment-changing paradigms. 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.
During National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month, Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium member institutions are helping to raise awareness of skin cancers while advancing scientific knowledge through research that is making a difference in the lives of patients.
Carrie Best is one of those patients. Diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare cancer (only 2,000 cases were diagnosed in the U.S. in 2014), Best was determined to learn all she could about the disease and her options for treatment. She contacted physicians and researchers worldwide, and soon began treatment in Ohio. However, early in her treatment, Best learned that her cancer was not responding, and she was told her odds of recovery were less than one percent. Read More
Q: How do you think cancer research will change in the next 10 or 20 years?
Over the last 20 years, the development of powerful new technologies was instrumental in what we have come to understand about the complexity and heterogeneity of cancer, from the role of genetic mutations to the behavior of our immune systems.
The accomplishments of the last 20 years, more than any other period in cancer research, have set the stage for remarkably accelerated progress over the next 20 years, by teams that push the limits of what we imagined “multidisciplinary” could mean. Precision medicine teams that are working to create combination therapies to target the multiple genetic mutations in any individual cancer patient include physicists, mathematicians, and computer scientists. The challenges we face in understanding large-scale outcomes of such targeted therapies will require cooperation among research, clinical care, government, and insurance institutions. As our understanding of the biology of cancer and the human genome continues to evolve, our ability to create tailored treatments for patients and prevention strategies for well populations will improve dramatically. Read More
Each month, the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium highlights advances in research and treatment led by our member institutions. Following are recent developments across the consortium:
Q: What kind of impact do you see the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium having on cancer clinical trials?
Conquering cancer requires impactful research that is efficiently implemented and evaluated in clinical trials that are timely, appropriately designed, and skillfully performed and analyzed. This requires team effort.
Collaborating with other institutions allows for a broader and deeper brain trust while allowing the efficient testing of novel concepts and approaches in a more representative patient population. The synergist interactions, the collaboration, the implementation — all are aimed at one ultimate goal: Making a real difference for patients and their families. Read More
A conversation with Douglas Yee, MD, director, and Jeffrey Miller, MD, deputy director, of the 
Ruth M. O’Regan, MD, has joined the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Steering Committee, representing the 
A conversation with Robert S. DiPaola, MD, director of 
A conversation with Maha Hussain, MD, FACP, FASCO, associate director of clinical research at the 
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