Research Programs
There are two different types of research being undertaken by physicians in the Don Monti Division. All research follows the guidelines established by the National Cancer Institute.
CSHL-NSUH Research Collaboration
Scott Lowe, PhD (left) poses with Steven L. Allen, MD (right)
Dr. Lowe, Deputy Director, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), Cancer Center and Steven L. Allen, MD, professor clinical medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and associated chief, Don Monti Division of Oncology/Hematology, North Shore University Hospital (NSUH), are collaborating on a groundbreaking genomic study of bone marrow specimens from patients with leukemia.
The study capitalizes on the major strengths of both organizations. NSUH has a large and successful clinical program in treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Dr. Lowe’s lab at CSHL has been successful studying the disease, particularly genetic mutations and the insights those mutations give us related to AML. The potential for using clinical data from NSUH to support and advance genomic studies at CSHL is significant.
The Don Monti Memorial Research Foundation is assisting the project by providing funding for a nurse practitioner, who collects and stores serial bone marrow specimens in order to provide the clinical material to Dr. Lowe’s lab. The patient samples are analyzed using a battery of innovative genomic technologies developed at CSHL. These procedures help pinpoint problems in the DNA from each patient’s cancer that may have contributed to the development of the disease. In addition to identifying genetic changes that are linked to leukemia progression, Dr. Lowe and his colleagues at CSHL hope to pinpoint why chemotherapy begins to fail in a subset of leukemia patients.
Clinical Trials
The goal of the biggest research section is to find better ways to treat cancer and help patients. These clinical trials test new drugs, new approaches to surgery or radiation therapy, new combinations of treatment, or new methods such as gene therapy. Most often the trials in the Don Monti Division are run in conjunction with many other major cancer centers throughout the country, in order to get a meaningful number of patients involved. When results are totaled and analyzed, true findings of the trials can be ascertained.
There are approximately 60 such clinical trials going on at all times. Currently, there are seven breast cancer trials, three colorectal cancer, one gastric cancer, one pancreatic cancer, one prostate, six leukemia, three lung cancer, and two transplant studies underway. In addition, there are studies on T-Cell Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, Ovarian/Tubal, and Renal Cancer.
Before patients become involved in clinical trials they must be recommended by their physicians and fill out the appropriate consent forms. A full explanation of what the trial will mean to the patient is provided before any steps are taken. Clinical trials may not be a last ditch effort, but rather the first choice of the physician and the patient.