Cancer Discovery & Care

0 UPMC Cancer Centers and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute 1 0 2 , 1 . o N , 6 . l o V DISCOVERY & CARE From disaster to breakthrough: UPMC pathologist pioneers radiation and thyroid cancer link UPMC Cancer Centers and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, working in conjunction with UPMC Cancer Centers, UPMC’s clinical care delivery network, is western Pennsylvania’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, reflecting the highest level of recognition by NCI. DISCOVERY & CARE Cancer Discovery & Care is a publication of UPMC Cancer Centers and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and is produced by UPMC Clinical Marketing. © Copyright 2010 UPMC. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission. Send suggestions, comments, or address changes to Amyjo McDade at UPCI/UPMC Cancer Centers, Office of Communications, UPMC Cancer Pavilion, 5150 Centre Ave., Room 457a, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, or via e-mail at [email protected] . Contents From disaster to breakthrough 4 Building relationships to fight cancer 8 Remembering Jeffrey E. Shogan, MD 12 Charity starts at home 14 The power of partnership 18 News briefs 24 UPMC Cancer Centers and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Executive Leadership Nancy E. Davidson, MD Maryann Donovan, PhD, MPH Colleen McCabe Mantini, MPA Director Associate Director for Research Services Director of Government Relations and Advancement Stanley M. Marks, MD Joel Nelson, MD Director of Clinical Services and Peter G. Ellis, MD Program Director, Prostate Cancer Program Chief Medical Officer Deputy Director of Clinical Services and Associate Chief Medical Officer Jennifer M. Raetz James G. Terwilliger Development Director Executive Vice President Susan Frank, RN, MSN Director of Clinical Operations, Shivendra V. Singh, PhD Peter D. Tate Hillman Cancer Center Director of Basic Research Chief Financial Officer Laura Gailey-Moul Clayton Smith, MD, FRCPC David L. Bartlett, MD Vice President of Operations Director, Hematological Malignancies Co-Director of Surgical Oncology Program and Leukemia and Stem Cell Services and Chief of the Division Vijaya C. Gandhi, PhD, MBA Clinical Transplant Services of Surgical Oncology Associate Director for Administration and Strategic Planning Bennett Van Houten Michael J. Becich, MD, PhD Leader, Program of Molecular Associate Director for Cancer Informatics Jennifer Ruben Grandis, MD, FACS and Cellular Cancer Biology Program Leader, Dana Bovbjerg, PhD Head and Neck Cancer Program Director of Biobehavioral Medicine Program Dwight E. Heron, MD Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD Director of Radiation Oncology Services Associate Director of Clinical Investigations James D. Luketich, MD Edward Chu, MD Co-Director of Surgical Oncology Chief of Division of Hematology/Oncology Services and Chair, Department of and Deputy Director of UPCI Cardiothoracic Surgery UPCI Council Sy Holzer, Chair Douglas P. Dick Sally Levin Cynthia Roth Elsie H. Hillman, Vice Chair George A. Fechter Jeffrey Lipton Susan C. Santa-Cruz Curtis Aiken Lee B. Foster II David J. Malone Frederic B. Sargent Thomas J. Balestrieri John P. Friel Kevin McClatchy Dan Shapira G. Nicholas Beckwith III Chip Ganassi Leslie Merrill McCombs Robert Slagle James Broadhurst Thomas B. Grealish Susan P. McGalla Sandy Snyder Carlos M. Cardoso Joseph Haleski Martin G. McGuinn Stephen R. Tritch Frank Coonelly Roy W. Haley Katie McSorley Thomas VanKirk Harriet Crawford I. N. Rendall Harper Jr. David Morehouse Jack Wagner Randall L. Crawford Mark Hart Eugene J. O’Sullivan John Weinstein Barbara Crown Dawne Hickton Arnold Palmer Michael Zamagias Nicholas Deluliis Bill Isler Bradley Penrod Joseph W. DeNardo William Kassling Sen. John R. Pippy Robert C. Denove Mario Lemieux Jane Roesch 2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute The Power of Partnership a future without cancer Cancer research has always been ground-breaking science, with discoveries coming in many forms for preventing, detecting, treating, and defeating this devastating disease. At the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and UPMC Cancer Centers, our mission has been to accelerate the transition of our scientific endeavors from the lab to the bedside — or, in other words, to enable our patients to benefit from our research in the fastest time frame possible. Our UPCI physician-researchers are on the frontlines of translating scientific discovery into everyday clinical practice. Their innovative work already is changing the way cancer is detected and treated. One example of this progress is the work of UPCI researcher Yuri Nikiforov, MD, PhD, who is featured in this issue. Dr. Nikiforov used his experience in the former Soviet Union to feed his fascination with the relationship between exposure to radiation and the development of thyroid cancer. Now, the fruits of his unique molecular research have been borne out in the development of tests that can detect cancer in cells that appear benign , Our UPCI physician-researchers are and may, in the future, predict a person’s susceptibility to develop on the frontlines of translating scientific thyroid cancer after radiation exposure. discovery into everyday clinical practice . Our researchers are making progress in this field every single day. But to continue making these kinds of strides in advancing scientific discovery, we must rely on the support of our Pittsburgh family — the patients and relatives, business and community leaders — who contribute their time, treasures, and talents to helping our institution grow and prosper. And thanks to that family, UPCI now begins its 25th year, and will commemorate this achievement throughout the 2010-2011 academic year. As we celebrate this significant milestone in our institution’s history, we also celebrate the milestones that have been achieved in cancer research and care over the past quarter century. Along that path, our understanding of cancer has advanced thousandfold, and more people are alive today because of our increased knowledge of this disease. But this journey must continue. I look forward to continuing our partnership as we work toward a future without cancer. Nancy E. Davidson, MD Director, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers Associate Vice Chancellor for Cancer Research Hillman Professor of Oncology Professor of Medicine University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine UPMC Cancer Centers 3 From disaster to breakthrough: UPMC pathologist pioneers radiation and thyroid cancer link 4 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute “In a tragic way, Chernobyl was a unique opportunity for us to freely understand the biology of radiation.” Yuri Nikiforov, MD, PhD n 1986, Yuri Nikiforov, MD, PhD, was a pathologist and than 10 million people potentially exposed to radiation in the researcher at a pediatric hospital in Minsk in the former air, grass, and drinking water, why did such a disproportionate Soviet Union when Reactor Number 4 exploded at the number of people present with thyroid cancer? Chernobyl nuclear power plant, spewing radioactive isotopes Dr. Nikiforov’s career path would eventually lead him to UPMC Iinto the air. Millions of people in surrounding countries were as a premier pathologist in understanding thyroid cancer, and exposed to high doses of radiation. Four years after the accident, developing state-of-the-art diagnostic procedures that have become Dr. Nikiforov began diagnosing an unprecedented number of standard practice when diagnosing the disease. Dr. Nikiforov thyroid cancers in patients who had been exposed to radiation works with UPMC’s Multidisciplinary Thyroid Center and the as a result of the Chernobyl accident. University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) to pioneer As criticism over the Soviet Union’s initial mishandling of the efforts in developing novel strategies for earlier diagnosis, more disaster dissolved, Dr. Nikiforov had only begun to answer a effective treatment, and the prevention of thyroid cancer. lingering medical question posed by the tragedy. With more Continued UPMC Cancer Centers 5 Identifying the Inherited Risks Similar tragedies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, suggested “The panel of genetic a link between radiation exposure and thyroid cancer; however, due to a lack of specific technology at the time, little was markers really helps understood of the connection. “In a tragic way, Chernobyl was to make for a more a unique opportunity for us to freely understand the biology of specific and accurate radiation and how radiation induces cancer in children and adults,” says Dr. Nikiforov. “We hoped to find a way to minimize or diagnosis of cancer completely prevent the carcinogenic effects of radiation.” in thyroid nodules.” Dr. Nikiforov and his team began to investigate and understand the genetic markers related to thyroid cancer. He identified specific mutations that occur in the RET and BRAF genes as a result of radiation exposure. we knew who was predisposed to radiation-induced cancer, oncologists may recommend a different treatment plan to Research has shown that the presence of each of these mutated prevent the patient from developing a secondary cancer,” genes plays a role in the development of cancer. Dr. Nikiforov says Dr. Nikiforov. This discovery could also lead to a future discovered that damage induced by radiation forces activation screening tool that could determine who has the least risk of of the RET and BRAF genes, leading

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