BRONX, N.Y., January 29, 2020 / PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE / – Montefiore, the University Hospital of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, has received a grant from $ 5.9 millions of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to continue its successful journey towards the goal of integrating patients from ethnic and marginalized minorities in clinical trials of cancer, and offering them cancer care of the highest quality. This new grant is part of the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), and represents an extension of the financial support it received for the first time in 2014.
“The most innovative cancer treatments are evaluated through clinical trials, often years before they are available on a larger scale in clinical consultations. However, in these trials, minorities are not sufficiently represented, ”he says. Joseph A. Sparano, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Einstein and Deputy Director of Clinical Research at the Albert Einstein Cancer Center (center designated by the NCI) as well as Deputy Chairman of Clinical Research at the Department of Oncology of Montefiore. “The financing supported by the NCI is helping us correct this disparity. This is especially important for the diverse population that receives medical care in Montefiore and Einstein. ” Dr. Sparano is one of the main researchers receiving the grant, along with the doctor Balazs Halmos, M.D., M, S., Director of the Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program in Montefiore and Professor of Clinical Medicine at Einstein, and Dr. Bruce D. Rapkin, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health at Einstein and Montefiore.
One of Montefiore and Einstein’s most notable achievements with NCORP funds was the clinical trial TAILORx , considered a milestone in the field of research. The study determined that 70% of women with the most common type of breast cancer could safely avoid chemotherapy and immediately transformed clinical guidelines for women around the world. Dr. Sparano, who also served as president of the TAILORx study, reported comparable findings in women of African-American and Hispanic descent within the general population of the study.
In addition, Dr. Haejin In, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., Adjunct Professor of Surgery, and of Epidemiology and Population Health in Einstein and Oncological Surgeon in Montefiore, leads the development of a cost-effective model that allows the early detection of stomach cancer from their own research, in which he demonstrated that most people Stomach cancer is diagnosed in hospital emergency departments, when the disease is already too advanced to be treated effectively.
Together, Montefiore and Einstein are one of the 14 Clinical Centers that NCORP designates as Minority / Marginalized Populations; that is, they must have at least 30% racial or ethnic minorities, or rural residents, among their patient population. Approximately 80% of participants in the Montefiore and Einstein clinical trial are minorities, compared to the national average of 8%.
Currently, NCORP trials also include tissue collection that allow researchers to study a number of biological mechanisms, such as those that prevent treatments from being equally effective in various racial and ethnic groups. Dr. Halmos explains it this way: “Getting our patients, predominantly minorities, to participate in cutting-edge clinical trials helps researchers strengthen the scientific evidence of various cancer therapies. We hope that in addition to benefiting our patients this also improves medical care in hospitals and clinics around the world. ”
The NCORP grant to Montefiore and Einstein aims to continue incorporating patients to the clinical trial network, and maintain leadership in national scientific organizations such as ECOG-ACRIN, whose mission is to design and conduct clinical research on cancer; It also aims to guide young researchers and expand knowledge that allows addressing disparities in cancer treatment.
In addition to clinical trials focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, Dr. Rapkin is leading the study responsible for finding out where, when and how such medical care is provided, a field known as Research on the Provision of Cancer Treatment ( CCDR). Montefiore and Einstein are part of the NCORP network made up of more than 900 hospitals and cancer centers and clinics in 39 states eligible to participate in CCDR studies.
“The disparities in cancer treatment are not in a vacuum,” said Dr. Rapkin. “They cover genetic, social, economic and cultural factors. Participation in NCORP gives us access to more information about what interferes with certain people receiving the best possible care, ”he said. “It’s a real opportunity to improve prevention, treatment and cancer survival of all.”
The Albert Einstein Cancer Center is a leading center in basic and clinical cancer research, and in population studies; He has been designated by the NCI for nearly 50 years.
About the Montefiore Health System
The Montefiore Health System is one of the main academic health systems of NY and is a recognized leader in providing personalized health care of exceptional quality, and responsible for approximately three million people in the Bronx, Westchester Y Hudson valley. Consists of 11 hospitals, including Children’s Hospital de Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and more than 200 outpatient care centers. The advanced clinical and translational research of his medical school, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, falls directly to patient care and improves results. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics and transplants, to its outstanding school health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated medical care system that provides comprehensive and coordinated medical services to both patients and patients. your families. More information at www.montefiore.org. follow us on Twitter and visit us on Facebook and YouTube.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the main research, medical education and clinical research centers in the country. During the 2019-2020 academic year, Einstein hosted 724 medical students, 158 PhD students, 106 students of the mixed MD / Phd program and 265 postdoctoral research fellows. The Albert Einstein College of Medicine has a faculty of 1,800 full-time members distributed on the main campus and its clinical subsidiaries. In 2019, this academic institution received more than $ 178 million in scholarships from the National Institute of Health (NIH). This amount covers the financing of Einstein’s main research centers dedicated to the study of aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease and AIDS. This center also focuses its efforts on research on brain development, neuroscience and heart disease, as well as initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial disparities in health care. Its association with Montefiore, the University Hospital and the Einstein academic medical center, drive clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become treatments and therapies with a real impact on patients. Einstein runs one of the most important residency and scholarship training programs in the medical and dental profession in the entire United States; and it does so through both Montefiore and a network of subsidiaries composed of hospitals and medical centers of the Bronx, Brooklyn Y long Island. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu, read our Blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and see us on YouTube.
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