Photo: Nicklaus Children's Hospital
Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami is participating in a Phase I clinical trial that’s examining whether low frequency-focused ultrasound will temporarily unlock the blood-brain barrier around the brain tumors so that chemotherapy can pass through and attack cancer cells.
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Economic Backbone: Cancer Care
New in Cancer Care
Pediatric Brain Tumor Trial
Diffuse midline gliomas, also known as diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, are aggressive tumors that occur in the brainstem and each year affect about 300 children — most of them between the ages of 5 and 9. The tumors are difficult to treat because chemotherapy has a hard time penetrating the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain from toxins and pathogens. The prognosis is bleak; most children with a diffuse midline glioma survive less than one year. But researchers are pursuing new treatment options. Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami is participating in a Phase I clinical trial that’s examining whether low frequency-focused ultrasound will temporarily unlock the blood-brain barrier around the brain tumors so that chemotherapy can pass through and attack cancer cells. The trial is open to patients between the ages of 5 and 21 who have been diagnosed with a diffuse midline glioma. Patients participating in the trial will receive treatment in the hospital’s MRI suite and will wear a helmet-like frame on their head that helps deliver the ultrasound waves to the tumor as chemotherapy is injected through an IV. Participants will receive three treatments four to six weeks apart.
Cannabis Impacts
The National Cancer Institute awarded a $3.2-million, five-year grant to a team of researchers at UF Health Cancer Center and the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center to study the benefits and harms of medical marijuana in breast cancer patients. While little is known about the drug’s impact on health, studies suggest that upwards of 40% of breast cancer patients use marijuana to relieve nausea, vomiting, pain and other symptoms associated with cancer or side effects of treatments. The study will look at patients of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Lags in Screening
While lung cancer survival rates in Florida have improved in recent years, screening is too low, according to the American Lung Association’s 2023 State of Lung Cancer report. In Florida, 2.4% of people at high risk of lung cancer were screened, compared to 4.5% nationally. Lung cancer is the most lethal cancer in Florida, with an average of 10,880 people dying of the disease each year between 2016 and 2020. Roughly 17,280 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in Florida each year.
In an effort to catch more lung cancer cases at an earlier stage, Moffitt Cancer Center, which currently does about 600 lung cancer screenings per year, will roll out a mobile lung cancer screening unit this year. Operating in a 35-mile radius around Moffitt's main campus in Tampa, the unit will provide low-dose CT scans to patients who meet national screening guidelines, which includes anyone 50 years of age or older who has smoked one pack of cigarettes per day for 20 years (or two packs a day for 10 years). Screening costs will be covered by private insurance, Medicare or vouchers for those who are economically disadvantaged. Patients can also pay $99 out of pocket if they don't have insurance.
Researcher of the Year
The statewide organization BioFlorida recognized Stephen Nimer, a physician-scientist who has dedicated his career to understanding and treating adult leukemia, as its 2023 Researcher of the Year at the organization’s annual conference in October. Nimer is director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
SMH Cancer Pavilion
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System has begun construction on a 200,000-sq.-ft., seven-story Cancer Pavilion on its Sarasota campus. The outpatient facility, located across the street from Sarasota Memorial’s inpatient/ surgical oncology tower that opened two years ago, will feature a new and expanded breast health center, outpatient surgery suites, an infusion center, diagnostic imaging, radiation services, integrative care clinics and more.
Research Collaboration
Farcast Biosciences, headquartered in India, is partnering with the University of West Florida on a research program focused on cancer therapy development. UWF is providing lab space and personnel and Farcast is providing its tumor microenvironment platform, which uses advanced methods for culturing tumors and testing their responses to existing or investigational therapeutics. The collaboration aims to make cancer treatment more predictable for patients with lung cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer and other solid cancer tumors.
Branching Out
With its infusion center in Fort Myers nearing capacity, the Lee Health Cancer Institute opened an additional care site — the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Cancer Clinic — at Bonita Health Center at Coconut Point. The Coconut Point location has four treatment rooms, 12 exam rooms and a 32-chair infusion center.
