World Cancer Research Day is a globally recognized movement to raise awareness of the role research plays in the treatment and prevention of cancer. For the experts at the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center, it is also a time to reflect on the impact their work has had on Louisiana communities and their vision for the future.
"We are doing the highest quality of research but always in service of our community," said Dr. Joe W. Ramos, Director of the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center as well as Director and CEO of the Louisiana Cancer Research Center (LCRC). "We have to consider the work our communities need in order to make sure we have a positive impact long-term."
Dr. Ramos has worked in cancer centers his entire career, from his early years in graduate school up through the present day. After 18 years at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, he felt it was time for a new mission and made the move to Louisiana. One of the first actions he took upon arrival was to tour various cancer treatment facilities and research centers across the state.
"Many of our institutions are doing high-level cancer research, but some may be focused on just the prevention component or just the pharmacy component," he said. "It became clear that the more we link these elements together, the better chance we have of having an impact across the state."
Multidisciplinary collaboration across Louisiana is key to reducing the burden of cancer in the state. Researchers and clinicians understand the importance of improving access to cancer care and investigating the many factors contributing to health disparities.
"Research in Louisiana needs to reflect the needs in Louisiana," said Dr. Amelia Jernigan. Dr. Jernigan is an Associate Professor and Division Director of Gynecologic Oncology at LSU Health New Orleans as well as the Medical Director of Cancer Services, University Medical Center, New Orleans. She is dedicated to improving her patients’ experiences within the healthcare system as she knows from personal experience how difficult it can be to navigate.
"Louisiana has some of the most gracious patients I've ever had in my life," she said. "But they deserve more." After having worked with many cancer patients across the state, she has consistently been inspired and impressed by the altruistic nature of the people of Louisiana who want to help their neighbors by participating in clinical trials.
Clinical trials are essential to developing new treatments for cancer patients and making advancements in cancer detection and diagnosis. Well-known treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy would not be possible today without the clinical trials that confirmed these approaches were safe and effective.
Dr. Jernigan strongly believes in the benefits of patients taking part in clinical trials. "I can't overstate how important it is to have access to these trials for patients in our state. The biggest misconception people come to me with is they think that clinical trials are really for when you don't have additional options," said Dr. Jernigan. "But clinical trials are also about understanding the toxicity of medications. The question may not be, ‘How do I make you live forever?’, but ‘How do I help you live better?’ There's a lot that goes into clinical trials beyond just trying to cure more cancer."
Dr. Augusto Ochoa, Deputy Director of the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center, also stressed the capability of clinical trials to help patients make major advances in treatment. "Trials are not just shooting in the dark," he said. "We know what's happening and can monitor what's happening."
The Gulf South Clinical Trials Network (https://www.gulfsouthclinicaltrials.org/), founded in 2018 and currently led by Dr. Ochoa, is a group of hospitals and providers across the region working together to provide equitable cancer care and community outreach. The Network seeks to address critical health disparities in impoverished areas by expanding the number of clinicians and sites available and increasing the number of people enrolled in clinical trials.
Now with 49 clinical sites across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, patients can now access cancer care closer to home through the program. Dr. Ochoa describes the initiative as an enormous success with over 1,500 patients enrolling in clinical trials each year.
"A full 50% are minority and underserved patients," said Dr. Ochoa. "We're doing something in Louisiana not being done in other states."
Louisiana's powerful hub of cancer research now has a global as well as a local reach. Dr. Charles Wood, Associate Director of Basic Research at LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center, highlighted active research the center is pursuing in collaboration with medical teams in Zambia and Tanzania.
"Our focus is both to help and to learn," said Dr. Wood. "We're working to understand how HIV can affect cancer development while linking people to care and building infrastructure."
The global oncology researchers at the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center are bringing a world focus to how patients in Louisiana can be treated. As the various teams from the center discover new tools for prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer, they are united in tailoring their approaches to their local communities—particularly those historically underserved and with the greatest need for equitable access to resources.
"It's great to have new therapies and treatments, but you have to be able to get it to everyone that needs it," said Dr. Ramos.
Want to learn more about the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center's clinical trials or donate to support life-changing innovation in cancer treatment? Visit www.lsulcmchealthcancercenter.org.
"We are doing the highest quality of research but always in service of our community," said Dr. Joe W. Ramos, Director of the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center as well as Director and CEO of the Louisiana Cancer Research Center (LCRC). "We have to consider the work our communities need in order to make sure we have a positive impact long-term."
Dr. Ramos has worked in cancer centers his entire career, from his early years in graduate school up through the present day. After 18 years at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, he felt it was time for a new mission and made the move to Louisiana. One of the first actions he took upon arrival was to tour various cancer treatment facilities and research centers across the state.
"Many of our institutions are doing high-level cancer research, but some may be focused on just the prevention component or just the pharmacy component," he said. "It became clear that the more we link these elements together, the better chance we have of having an impact across the state."
Multidisciplinary collaboration across Louisiana is key to reducing the burden of cancer in the state. Researchers and clinicians understand the importance of improving access to cancer care and investigating the many factors contributing to health disparities.
"Research in Louisiana needs to reflect the needs in Louisiana," said Dr. Amelia Jernigan. Dr. Jernigan is an Associate Professor and Division Director of Gynecologic Oncology at LSU Health New Orleans as well as the Medical Director of Cancer Services, University Medical Center, New Orleans. She is dedicated to improving her patients’ experiences within the healthcare system as she knows from personal experience how difficult it can be to navigate.
"Louisiana has some of the most gracious patients I've ever had in my life," she said. "But they deserve more." After having worked with many cancer patients across the state, she has consistently been inspired and impressed by the altruistic nature of the people of Louisiana who want to help their neighbors by participating in clinical trials.
Clinical trials are essential to developing new treatments for cancer patients and making advancements in cancer detection and diagnosis. Well-known treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy would not be possible today without the clinical trials that confirmed these approaches were safe and effective.
Dr. Jernigan strongly believes in the benefits of patients taking part in clinical trials. "I can't overstate how important it is to have access to these trials for patients in our state. The biggest misconception people come to me with is they think that clinical trials are really for when you don't have additional options," said Dr. Jernigan. "But clinical trials are also about understanding the toxicity of medications. The question may not be, ‘How do I make you live forever?’, but ‘How do I help you live better?’ There's a lot that goes into clinical trials beyond just trying to cure more cancer."
Dr. Augusto Ochoa, Deputy Director of the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center, also stressed the capability of clinical trials to help patients make major advances in treatment. "Trials are not just shooting in the dark," he said. "We know what's happening and can monitor what's happening."
The Gulf South Clinical Trials Network (https://www.gulfsouthclinicaltrials.org/), founded in 2018 and currently led by Dr. Ochoa, is a group of hospitals and providers across the region working together to provide equitable cancer care and community outreach. The Network seeks to address critical health disparities in impoverished areas by expanding the number of clinicians and sites available and increasing the number of people enrolled in clinical trials.
Now with 49 clinical sites across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, patients can now access cancer care closer to home through the program. Dr. Ochoa describes the initiative as an enormous success with over 1,500 patients enrolling in clinical trials each year.
"A full 50% are minority and underserved patients," said Dr. Ochoa. "We're doing something in Louisiana not being done in other states."
Louisiana's powerful hub of cancer research now has a global as well as a local reach. Dr. Charles Wood, Associate Director of Basic Research at LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center, highlighted active research the center is pursuing in collaboration with medical teams in Zambia and Tanzania.
"Our focus is both to help and to learn," said Dr. Wood. "We're working to understand how HIV can affect cancer development while linking people to care and building infrastructure."
The global oncology researchers at the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center are bringing a world focus to how patients in Louisiana can be treated. As the various teams from the center discover new tools for prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer, they are united in tailoring their approaches to their local communities—particularly those historically underserved and with the greatest need for equitable access to resources.
"It's great to have new therapies and treatments, but you have to be able to get it to everyone that needs it," said Dr. Ramos.
Want to learn more about the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center's clinical trials or donate to support life-changing innovation in cancer treatment? Visit www.lsulcmchealthcancercenter.org.