Expanding LSU Health New Orleans network could transform cancer treatments, state-wide
School could nearly double its cancer research funding this summer
School could nearly double its cancer research funding this summer
School could nearly double its cancer research funding this summer
LSU Health New Orleans could soon double its cancer research funding. The school is banking on $21 million in grants to be funded Aug. 1. According to the school, LSU Health New Orleans Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center currently holds nearly $30 million in competitive federal research funding.
Researchers said they will use the grants to explore disparities in cancer outcomes, develop new immunotherapy and gene-mutation treatments and expand a network of satellite cancer centers across Louisiana, called the NCI Community Oncology Research Program.
Dr. Augusto Ochoa, who is the director of the LSU Health New Orleans Cancer Center, said the program was formed in 2005 and expects to enroll over 1,000 patients in clinical trials this year.
“We’ve worked very closely with Mary Bird Perkins with LSU Shreveport and more recently with Ochsner,” Ochoa said. “We’ve grown from a very small program 14 years ago to a very large national program that has now prominence within the National Cancer Institute. We’ve gone from having two sites where people could go to now having 42 sites starting on Aug. 1. The idea is, instead of having to have patients come to the big cities to get their treatment, there are some treatments they can get closer to home.”
Dr. Edward Trapido, with the LSU School of Public Health, said patients' first step is to visit their local doctor and ask to be connected with the Louisiana Cancer Research Institute.
“You can only volunteer if you have a specific type of cancer that’s being worked on,” Trapido said. “Their oncologist can get in touch with the Cancer Center and see what’s available, and then if it’s not available here, there’s a network nationally to get them involved in clinical trials.”
Officials with the National Cancer Institute were in New Orleans Friday to advise researchers on ways to continue maximizing its financial awards and exposure of new treatments statewide.
“Cancer issues are prominent in Louisiana,” said Dr. Robert Croyle, Director, NCI Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. “The cancer rates are high. We understand that and we want to do everything we can to support researchers here at universities in Louisiana that are doing good work.”
LSU Health New Orleans expects the grants to be announced this summer.