How Team Science at Sylvester is Changing Brain Cancer Care
At Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, specialists across surgery, neuro-oncology, radiation oncology, pathology and data science collaborate to personalize brain cancer care and move research discoveries into clinical evaluation.
Key Takeaways
- Multidisciplinary teams at Sylvester integrate care, research and data science to improve outcomes in complex brain cancers.
- The Sylvester Brain Tumor Institute accelerates translation from discovery to personalized treatment and clinical trials.
- The Kenneth C. Griffin Cancer Research Building brings research and clinical teams together under one roof.
The brain is one of the most difficult places in the body to treat cancer. Tumors often evolve rapidly, and preserving cognition and quality of life remains a constant challenge.
At Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth—University of Miami Health System and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, specialists, scientists and physician-researchers work together to personalize care and advance new therapies.
For advanced brain and central nervous system cancers, the national five-year survival rate is 33%, according to the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program.
For patients diagnosed with malignant brain and other nervous system cancers from 2016 through 2022, Sylvester’s Tumor Registry estimated a five-year relative survival rate of 42.9%, which is 10 percentage points higher than the 32.9% population-based estimate reported by the National Cancer Institute’s SEER program for the same period. While the patient populations are not identical and the comparison is not risk-adjusted, the results provide an encouraging benchmark for Sylvester’s outcomes against national SEER data.
Physicians who treat brain cancer say these gains are difficult to achieve. They reflect years of scientific discovery, clinical collaboration and continuous refinement. Even modest improvements in long-term survival can represent meaningful advances.
“With brain tumors, progress is rarely dramatic or immediate,” said Macarena de la Fuente, M.D., co-director of the Sylvester Brain Tumor Institute (SBTI) and chief of neuro-oncology at Sylvester. “What matters is that each improvement represents more time for patients and more opportunity for science to advance.”
Team Science Drives Care
Neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, physician scientists and data scientists regularly review cases and align treatment strategies.
Surgical decisions can influence molecular testing, genomic findings can shape clinical trial opportunities and radiation strategies can be refined based on tumor biology.
“Surgery is often just the first step,” said Ricardo Komotar, M.D., co-director of SBTI and professor of clinical neurological surgery at the Miller School. “What makes a difference is how surgical decisions connect to molecular analysis, radiation planning and research-driven therapies.”
Close integration between research and clinical care helps move discoveries into clinical evaluation faster while patient outcomes inform new research questions.
Precision Medicine and Clinical Trials
Precision medicine is central to Sylvester’s approach. Tumors are analyzed at the molecular and genetic levels to help tailor treatment.
“Brain tumors are not all the same, even when they share a diagnosis,” said Antonio Iavarone, M.D., director of SBTI and deputy director of Sylvester. Dr. Iavarone is a professor of neurological surgery and biochemistry and molecular biology at the Miller School. “Understanding the biology of each tumor helps us choose therapies with greater intent.”
Sylvester researchers are investigating why tumors become aggressive, resist treatment and evade the immune system. These discoveries are shaping new therapies evaluated through investigator-initiated and early-phase clinical trials.
One example is vorasidenib, which was studied at Sylvester for a decade before receiving FDA approval in August 2024. Sylvester is currently enrolling patients in more than a dozen neuro-oncology clinical trials.
The Kenneth C. Griffin Cancer Research Building strengthens this model by bringing research and clinical teams together under one roof.
Questions About Team-Based Brain Cancer Care
Why does brain cancer care require a multidisciplinary team?
Decisions about surgery, molecular testing, radiation and clinical trials can affect one another. A multidisciplinary team allows specialists to review these factors together and coordinate a treatment strategy.
How does precision medicine help guide brain tumor treatment?
Specialists analyze the molecular and genetic characteristics of a tumor to better understand its biology, help tailor treatment and identify potential clinical trial opportunities.
How do research and clinical care inform one another?
Research discoveries can move into clinical evaluation, while observations and outcomes from patient care can generate new research questions.
More Precise Treatment
Radiation therapy remains a cornerstone of brain tumor treatment. Using sophisticated imaging, adaptive planning and biologically informed dosing, radiation oncologists can focus treatment on tumors while minimizing exposure to healthy brain tissue.
“Precision in radiation is about balance,” said Markus Bredel, M.D., Ph.D., chairman and Sylvester professor of radiation oncology at the Miller School. He is a physician-scientist who focuses clinically and scientifically on central nervous system (CNS) tumors and movement and other functional disorders of the brain. “We want to treat the tumor effectively while protecting the brain as much as possible.”
Sylvester also offers brain tumor clinical trials based on science developed at the University of Miami, giving patients access to innovative treatments, including viral and immunotherapies available only at Sylvester.
“Every patient contributes to what we learn,” said Ashish Shah, M.D., a Sylvester brain tumor neurosurgeon-scientist with expertise in clinical trials, cancer immunotherapy and brain tumor immune profiling. Dr. Shah is an assistant professor of neurological surgery at the Miller School. “By studying how tumors and the immune system respond to treatment, we can use what we learn to improve care for future patients.”
Training the Next Generation
Sylvester’s multidisciplinary model also shapes medical education. Students, residents and fellows participate in clinical trials and complex case discussions as part of routine training.
“Academic medicine creates a feedback loop,” said Anna Lasorella, M.D., co-director of the SBTI and director of the Sylvester Precision Medicine Initiative, and a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Miller School. “Clinical experience informs research, and research informs care by translating molecular insights into therapeutic strategies for glioblastoma.”
Sylvester is South Florida’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.
“Being part of an NCI-designated center means our patients and trainees benefit from the highest standards of research and care,” said Dr. de la Fuente.
For patients with advanced brain cancer, progress depends on integrating scientific discovery, clinical expertise and technology into personalized care.
“The future of brain cancer care will be shaped by how quickly we can turn discovery into action,” said Dr. Iavarone.
More from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Sylvester researchers are uncovering how cancer adapts to treatment and how resistance might be anticipated and disrupted.
Researchers at Sylvester map how IDH-mutant gliomas evolve after treatment, revealing why tumors recur and pointing to precision cancer care.
Dr. Macarena de la Fuente shares how clinical trials and targeted therapies at Sylvester Brain Tumor Institute are improving brain cancer care.
Palm Beach philanthropists Vahan and Danielle Gureghian hosted a reception celebrating Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and advanced nursing education at UM.
Tags: brain cancer, cancer research, chemotherapy, Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Anna Lasorella, Dr. Antonio Iavarone, Dr. Ashish Shah, Dr. Macarena De La Fuente, Dr. Ricardo Komotar, glioma, gliomas, neurological surgery, Newsroom, precision medicine, Radiation oncology, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, team science