7 Ways Sylvester Has Impacted Policy
A look back at the center’s ongoing advocacy and efforts to help create and support meaningful cancer-related programs and policies nationally.
In recent years, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has played a pivotal role in advancing cancer-related policies and funding at the national level. Through the unwavering dedication of its physician-scientists, Sylvester has helped shape standards aimed at improving patient care, optimizing treatment outcomes and saving lives.
Sylvester plays a vital role in cancer research by collaborating with various federal programs and agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Researchers serve on non-profit boards as subject-matter experts and actively contribute to initiatives such as the White House Cancer Moonshot. The NCI-designated center facilitates meaningful changes in cancer programs and patient care through its expertise and advocacy.
Here are seven ways Sylvester has helped impact policy.
Minimal Residual Disease Recommendation to the FDA
In April, an advisory committee to the FDA voted in favor of a significant change in how the federal agency evaluates new treatments for multiple myeloma, following a presentation by Sylvester researcher C. Ola Landgren, M.D., Ph.D., director of Sylvester’s Myeloma Institute and chief of its Division of Myeloma, and his colleagues.
They presented their groundbreaking work focusing on measuring minimal residual disease, which could speed up the approval process for new therapies. This advancement could bring potential life-saving treatments to patients much faster.
“This is exactly what patients need and want,” said Dr. Landgren, who called the vote “a historic moment for the myeloma field.”
Oncology Nursing Society President
Prior to April, Sylvester had never had a nurse serve as president of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). That changed when Jessica MacIntyre, D.N.P., ARNP, Sylvester’s assistant vice president of advanced practice providers, assumed the role.
“I am honored to be the next president of the Oncology Nursing Society and look forward to contributing to this great organization that has supported me through the early stages of my career and beyond,” said MacIntyre.
MacIntyre sees this as a meaningful opportunity to advance cancer care and hopes her leadership will spotlight Sylvester, the only NCI-designated cancer center in South Florida.
The ONS represents 100,000 nurses and has 35,000 members, including nurses, nursing students, nurse practitioners, scientists and educators.
National Cancer Institute Survivorship Standards
In addition to her new ONS position, MacIntyre also joined Frank Penedo, Ph.D., associate director for population sciences and director of cancer survivorship and supportive care at Sylvester, to contribute to new national standards for cancer survivorship care developed by the NCI and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under the federal government’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.
The survivorship care standards aim to help health care systems and organizations evaluate and enhance the quality of survivorship services. Advances in early cancer detection and treatment have led to a rapid increase in the number of cancer survivors in the U.S., with the American Cancer Society projecting that this number will grow from 18 million to 22.5 million by 2032.
“Our research at Sylvester provides strong evidence that unmet supportive care needs are associated with a lower quality of life, along with increased hospitalizations and other challenges,” said Dr. Penedo. “Addressing these unmet needs in the primary care setting is crucial to improve outcomes, particularly in racial and ethnic minority populations, where the needs are greatest.”
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) appointed Sylvester oncologist, researcher and Associate Director for Clinical Research Peter Hosein, M.D., to its scientific and medical advisory board for a three-year term.
PanCAN is one of the country’s largest pancreatic cancer advocacy groups and has provided almost $200 million in research grants over the last two decades. Dr. Hosein, an associate professor of clinical oncology at the Miller School, feels privileged to be a part of the group and is ready to help make a difference.
“My appointment is a product of years of research success, and we believe we have the potential to make an even greater impact,” he said.
The board guides PanCAN’s research programs and plays a key role in the efforts to educate and support patients. This nomination strengthens the longstanding and fruitful relationship between PanCAN and the University of Miami, whose researchers have been recipients of several grants from the organization.
The board helps guide PanCAN’s research programs and plays a key role in the efforts to educate and support patients. This nomination strengthens the longstanding and fruitful relationship between PanCAN and the University of Miami, whose researchers have been recipients of several grants from the organization. Moreover, Dr. Hosein’s board membership brings national recognition to Sylvester for its work in pancreatic cancer. He joins Nipun Merchant, M.D., chief of the Division of Oncology Surgery and the founding director of the Sylvester Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute, as the second representative from Sylvester to serve on the board.
White House Roundtable Series
The White House Office of Public Engagement invited Brandon Mahal, M.D., associate professor of radiation oncology and vice chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Sylvester, to participate in its Health Equity Leaders Roundtable Series.
“The White House wants to learn about the best practices nationwide so they can use the lessons and themes to inform policy on the highest level,” said Dr. Mahal. “We have a voice directly in the White House and can express what we need to improve cancer outcomes in our own community.”
Twice each month, the roundtable gathers to offer perspectives on access to care and how to ensure all people get equitable health care regardless of such factors as race, insurance and immigration status.
Dr. Mahal is the only participant to represent oncology and the only one practicing in Florida.
National Minority Quality Forum Cancer Stage Shifting Initiative
Patricia Moreno, Ph.D., lead of evidence-based survivorship supportive care, serves on the scientific advisory board of the National Minority Quality Forum Cancer Stage Shifting Initiative. In her role, she took part in a White House Cancer Moonshot briefing focused on improving cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment in at-risk communities.
“I am thrilled to serve on the scientific advisory board of the National Minority Quality Forum Cancer Stage Shifting Initiative, an initiative designed to support and closely align with the goals of the Cancer Moonshot,” said Dr. Moreno, whose research seeks to optimize health outcomes and reduce disparities in cancer prevention and control among Hispanics.
Cancer Care Equity Worldwide
Sylvester researchers Sophia George, Ph.D., and Matthew Schlumbrecht, M.D., M.P.H., are making noteworthy contributions to ovarian cancer research. The pair have directed their efforts toward understanding the implications of African ancestry and ovarian cancer.
Their research includes a multicenter study evaluating the safety, tolerability and metabolic processes of the ovarian cancer therapeutic niraparib. This study is currently being conducted in the U.S. and the Caribbean. In July, they expanded their investigation to include Africa, thereby gaining access to data from historically underrepresented populations in this area of study.
This research initiative seeks to enhance understanding of health disparities, identify genetic traits specific to individuals of African descent and uncover environmental factors that may improve therapeutic outcomes for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The White House recognized the significance of this study, highlighting it in its fact sheet for the Cancer Moonshot initiative.
Tags: Cancer Moonshot, cancer research, Dr. Brandon Mahal, Dr. C. Ola Landgren, Dr. Frank Penedo, Dr. Matthew Schlumbrecht, Dr. Patricia Moreno, Dr. Peter Hosein, Dr. Sophia George, health policy, Jessica MacIntyre, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center