June 30, 2022
Leadership in Cancer
This article is part three of a three-part series introducing Cheryl L. Willman, M.D., Stephen and Barbara Slaggie executive director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Programs and director of Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. In this article, learn:
- The role data plays in Mayo Clinic's cancer programs
- Innovative and upcoming treatment options for cancer care
- Mayo Clinic's plan for cancer clinical trials
For more information about Dr. Willman and Mayo Clinic's cancer programs, health disparities and a community approach to cancer treatment, read parts one and two of the Leadership in Cancer series.
Part 3
Dr. Willman has made a commitment to not only clarity, equity and continued excellence of care in her role as executive director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Programs and director of Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, but also to innovation of research and cancer practice.
Dr. Willman's research has focused on the application of the latest genomic sequencing and computational technology to discover novel cancer-causing genomic mutations that can be translated to better diagnostics and therapeutics. She was involved in the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) effort, part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Genome Atlas Project, which led to several national clinical trials for the NCI addressing leukemia-causing mutations more frequently seen in Hispanic patients and those of American Indian genetic ancestry.
Big data cancer care
Discoveries such as these from the TARGET effort demonstrate the importance of registries and data sets in helping scientists understand each community they serve. With Dr. Willman's leadership, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center will lead the way in leveraging big data and advanced analytics and informatics to advance and deliver precision cancer care for everyone. She aims to collaborate with Mayo Clinic experts to ensure that all patients newly diagnosed with cancer at Mayo Clinic will have access to comprehensive, clinical-grade multiomic sequencing.
These data guide physicians in defining individualized treatment plans for each patient and provide a resource that will enable cancer physicians at all three Mayo Clinic sites to understand the unique populations they serve. This resource and subsequent research must be relevant to each catchment area and will impact the clinical trials and programs available.
"Racial and ethnic background, geography, and environmental factors can impact patients' genetic dispositions to certain cancers and treatment options," says Dr. Willman. "It is imperative that we understand the patients we serve at each Mayo Clinic location."
In collaboration with Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, and Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Dr. Willman aims to establish a robust and high-volume clinical sequencing program. This will provide the data generator necessary to drive individualized cancer care.
Innovation in cancer care and research
A data-driven approach paves the way for innovation in both cancer care and research. Dr. Willman highlights several new and emerging areas of innovation for Mayo Clinic's cancer programs.
Radiation therapy is opening new doors to cancer treatment. Mayo Clinic is currently the largest provider of proton beam therapy in the United States and is scheduled to open an expanded proton beam therapy facility in Rochester, Minnesota, in 2025. Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, will be the first facility in North or South America to offer carbon ion therapy. These will eventually lead to offering boron neutron capture therapy for cancer treatment, which is a radiation therapy that specifically treats tumor cells without any harm to surrounding healthy cells.
In addition to providing these innovative treatment services, Mayo Clinic physician-scientists are studying targeted radiation therapies to better understand how they affect cancer and which patients best respond to these treatments. It is believed that targeted radiation creates neoantigens on a tumor's surface, which stimulates an immune response. Physicians at Mayo Clinic aim to successively sequence tumors before and after particle therapy to assess for neoantigen presence. If they are present in the sequencing, there is potential to target them with individualized mRNA vaccines.
In addition to leading the field in research of new therapies, Mayo Clinic is piloting new ways to connect patients with cancer care providers. Mayo Clinic's advanced care at home model of care and the Mayo Clinic Platform program will provide direct care to patients in their homes both virtually and with community healthcare providers. While these opportunities may present more expenses up front, they are expected to save money and time for healthcare organizations and patients long term.
Enhanced and increased clinical trial portfolio
With most cancer care innovation initially evaluated through clinical trials, Dr. Willman aims to accelerate Mayo Clinic's cancer clinical trials by providing physicians with the resources they need to seek solutions and initiate these trials.
Dr. Willman points out that while 90% of children with cancer are treated in a clinical trial setting, less that 5% of adults are treated the same way. Participating in clinical trials is not just the first step toward innovative discoveries; it can also be the most regimented way for a patient to receive cancer care due to the detail-oriented nature of the trial.
NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers are expected to have a large portfolio of clinical trials. Integrated models that enhance investigator-initiated trials will help Mayo Clinic Cancer Center develop even more clinical trial opportunities for patients.
"We have a menu of over 300 cancer clinical trials every year that are testing new drugs and bringing treatments to patients," says Dr. Willman. "Cancer clinical trials are essential to advancing our knowledge in cancer care."
Dr. Willman's experience using big data and comprehensive multiomic profiling for individualized cancer care will guide Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center's innovative solutions in the future. Learn more about Dr. Willman's background and how innovative solutions support health equity for all cancer patients in parts one and two, respectively, of the MCCC Leadership Series.
For more information
Refer a patient to Mayo Clinic.