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I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer so far and are taking advantage of all the sunny, warm weather we’ve had lately! As the temperature continues to rise, it’s important to make sure you’re staying well hydrated and protected from harmful sun exposure. The last few months have been busy at the center, and we are excited to share some updates with you.
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This past April, we helped raise awareness for Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month and hosted another event as a part of our Digesting the Science webinar series. We also sat down with Haeseong Park, MD, MPH, a medical oncologist and clinical investigator with a focus in gastroesophageal cancers to learn more about her role at the center and how her research shapes the way we care for patients. We also share a noteworthy study from the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Annual Meeting that took place last month.
This past weekend we had the pleasure of cheering on the thousands of riders that attended the Pan-Mass Challenge bike-a-thon on August 3rd and 4th to raise funds to fight cancer. As we look ahead to the coming months, we hope you can join us on Sunday, Oct. 6, for the annual Jimmy Fund Walk to Defy Cancer.
We wish you a happy and healthy summer with lots of time spent with loved ones. Stay cool out there!
Sincerely,
Peter Enzinger, MD
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Meet Our Team
Get to know Haeseong Park, MD, MPH, associate professor at Dana-Farber
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| What does your role entail and what is a typical day in this role like?
Park: I’m a clinical investigator, so my main job is to match the best treatment options for the patients I see. Some days, I see patients in clinic and when I’m not in clinic, I’m writing, running, and developing clinical trials. I’m always working to find the best possible therapeutic options for the patients we see and consistently seeking new options for treatment which helps us, as a center, shape the future of standard cancer therapy.
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What made you want to pursue a career in medicine, and what drew you to the specialty of medical oncology?
Park: I think a part of me always felt drawn to healthcare through this vague idea of wanting to help people. When I got into medicine, I realized how much bigger it is than just helping people. You have a responsibility to make the right decision at the right moment, and you realize you deal with people a lot more than you deal with science. I found that medical oncology is where you see that science really meets patient care. In my role, I get to see initial scientific discoveries get translated into patient care very quickly, more so than other disciplines, and I really enjoy that aspect of this specialty.
What excites you most about where research in this field is heading?
Park: Working in drug development and in phase 1 clinical trials is incredibly rewarding because we get to see scientific discovery go from a laboratory setting into a clinical trial, then treating actual patients, and back to more discovery. Recently, with gastroesophageal cancers, we’ve been seeing so much improvement. We’re learning about new biomarkers and new therapeutics that target them. It’s been moving fast, which has been exciting. I really get to understand how much of an impact I’m making when I see science turn into clinical care before my eyes.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
Park: I’m a dog parent of two! I have a pomeranian and a Chihuahua. I always wanted a dog growing up, but my mom would never let me have one. After adopting my first dog, I realized that I was pretty good at taking care of living things and that’s when I ended up having my first child! Shortly after getting my second dog, we had our second child as well. They definitely helped test my parenting skills a bit.
Where do you consider to be your hometown?
Park: I was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. Growing up in a small country where everybody knows everybody, I knew I wanted to do something big and explore more. I moved to the United States after finishing school in Korea and I consider Boston my new hometown.
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Our Research on Esophageal and Gastric Cancer
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Clinical trials are a crucial way to advance treatments and help providers find answers to questions that arise in the clinic. Our physicians lead and participate in revolutionary worldwide clinical trials to constantly improve the treatment of esophageal and gastric cancer.
This short video highlights some breakthrough trials that have had impactful results for patients with esophageal and gastric cancer.
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ESOPEC Trial Highlights Potential New Treatment Option for Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer
The most effective approach for the treatment of resectable, locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has been under debate. The question of whether pre-operative chemoradiation therapy or peri-operative chemotherapy is superior, is what the multicenter trial, ESOPEC, sought to answer. ESOPEC compared CROSS: pre-operative chemotherapy (weekly carboplatin + paclitaxel) + radiation therapy, followed by surgery versus FLOT: pre-operative chemotherapy (fluorouracil/ leucovorin/oxaliplatin/docetaxel), followed by surgery, followed by the same post-operative chemotherapy.
Here are some noteworthy results from the trial:
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Between Feb. 2016 and Apr. 2020, 438 patients from 25 sites in Germany were randomly assigned to two treatment groups (221 FLOT; 217 CROSS).
- Overall survival was improved by 78% in the FLOT arm when compared to the CROSS arm.
- Additionally, at the time of surgery, FLOT was 46% more effective in eradicating cancer in the esophagus and surrounding lymph nodes than the CROSS regimen.
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Overall, the ESOPEC trial found that pre- and post-operative FLOT chemotherapy improves survival in resectable EAC compared to pre-operative CROSS chemoradiation therapy and will become the new standard of care for patients who are strong enough to tolerate this more aggressive regimen.
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The results of this trial were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Annual Meeting in June 2024.
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Ongoing Esophageal and Gastric Cancer Clinical Trials at Dana-Farber
Our providers will work with you to determine if there is a clinical trial that is right for you.
Use the link below to browse open clinical trials and search by your cancer type.
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Honoring a Loved Ones’ Legacy with Innovation
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When providers are constantly looking to improve the care they provide to patients, understanding the role of research in evolving this care is imperative. At Dana-Farber, we take a special interest in integrating our cutting-edge laboratory research into our patient clinics. All housed under one roof, we have the unique ability to translate discoveries from the laboratory bench to patients’ bedside and back again.
At the heart of groundbreaking research lies the invaluable resource of patient data. A wealth of vital information is gathered daily – from tissue and blood samples to detailed clinical outcomes, treatment records, and lifestyle particulars. These patient datasets are the foundation of research and enable Dana-Farber’s bench-to-bedside model. Yet, the true cost of research lies not in its ideas or hypotheses, but in the laborious task of collecting, organizing, and maintaining this wealth of data. Despite all the remarkable innovations made in the field of cancer research over the last several decades, we still find our current data processing for clinical research to be costly, timely, labor intensive, and an overall hinderance to the pace of scientific discovery.
It is with this understanding that our center’s leadership was interested in creating a revolutionary technological tool for patient data management. By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Vasta platform aims to seamlessly aggregate information from diverse sources, ranging from electronic health records to genomic insights gleaned from tissue sequencing and blood-based tumor markers. By consolidating these infinite data points into a singular, comprehensive dataset, we can pave the way for unparalleled advancements in research. However, executing the vision to create this tool posed several other challenges. There is a critical gap that exists when it comes to securing funding for cancer research initiatives. With fiscal and budgetary constraints present, the genesis of this groundbreaking project can be traced back to a deeply personal commitment by its benefactor, whose vision was inspired by a profound loss.
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The Vasta project could not have moved forward without the generosity of George Phillips, who established a fund in the loving memory of his late wife Juliana M. Phillips. He named the fund for Juliana as a way to perpetuate her legacy in the name of scientific advancement - the Juliana M. Phillips Fund Accelerating Cancer Research. Mr. Phillips shared that he “was inspired by the love [he] had for his wife and the compassion and care Julianna received while undergoing treatment at Dana-Farber by Dr. Enzinger, Mike Casey, and their team.” He is looking forward to seeing the positive impact that can come from empowering scientific research and discovery with his generous gift of $150,000 enabling Dr. Enzinger and his team to launch the Vasta project.
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Help support projects like Vasta by joining The Dana-Farber Campaign, our ambitious, multi-year fundraising effort to prevent, treat, and defy cancer. The Dana-Farber Campaign will accelerate the Institute’s strategic priorities by supporting revolutionary science, extraordinary care, and exceptional expertise. Through the Campaign, you can earmark your support for the Center for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer to accelerate the research of Enzinger and his team. As a community, we have the power to create a more hopeful, cancer-free future in Boston and around the world. Together, we can defy cancer at every turn. Learn more about The Dana-Farber Campaign and how you can get involved at DefyCancer.org or by calling our Philanthropy Office at: 1-800-525-4669.
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Looking Ahead: Upcoming Events
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Walk with us on Oct. 6
Together against cancer.
We’ll be back on the iconic Boston Marathon® route, walking to defy cancer at Dana-Farber and around the world. Join us on the course or walk your way virtually.
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A special THANK YOU to the walk teams supporting our work!
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In April, we raised awareness for Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month and hosted another event as a part of our Digesting the Science series. Enzinger was joined by Kunal Jajoo, MD, gastroenterologist and clinical director of Gastroenterology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to lead a discussion on esophageal cancer prevention and screening. Find the full video here:
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