Message from the Cancer Center Director, 2008

Intellect and discovery characterize growth at the  Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute (PSHCI). We continue to emphasize our state-of-the-art interdisciplinary patient care, in which medical, surgical and radiation oncologists jointly determine the best therapeutic course for each patient. We also focus our attention on becoming designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), following submission of a competitive grant application in 2009.  Among other strengths, our focus when applying for NCI designation will be underlined by the Cancer Institute’s emphasis on rural, underserved populations.  Many of these efforts are conducted through the Appalachian Cancer Network by volunteers throughout Pennsylvania who provide education and screening services, as well as behavioral interventions, to reduce cancer risk.  The addition of a new cancer facility opening in March of 2009 will further enable the integration of our research and clinical care. Clinical floors will house radiation oncology and multidisciplinary medical and surgical oncology. Clinic space will include an infusion area and a day hospital for bone marrow transplant patients.  There will also be significant laboratory space to accommodate continued recruitment of cancer investigators. The design of the building reinforces our concept of a community of individuals devoted to providing comprehensive cancer care and finding a cure for cancer.

The past year has seen significant development in the Cancer Institute’s four scientific programs: Viral Oncogenesis and Host Defense, Chemical Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention, Cancer Prevention and Control, and Experimental Therapeutics. A training grant aimed at developing investigators in the area of viruses and cancer was funded by NCI. The scientists in the Cancer Prevention and Control and Chemical Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Programs continue collaborative work on two major grants examining the role of tobacco in leading to cancer. In the Experimental Therapeutics Program, our scientists have been awarded several grants from NCI in the area of nanotechnology.  These projects, developed with leading researchers at University Park, are aimed at delivering new cancer treatments to individual cancer cells.  Through our network of local hospitals throughout
central and northeastern Pennsylvania, the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute brings research to patients in a growing number of communities. Founding members of the network include Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health System, Allentown, and Mount Nittany Hospital and Health System, State College. Affiliates include Lewistown Hospital, Lewistown; Wyoming Valley Health System, Wilkes-Barre; and Susquehanna Health System, Williamsport.

Last May we passed an important milestone for PSHCI with the third visit of our external advisory board (EAB). The advisory board consists of leading scientists and cancer center directors from NCI-designated institutions. This body provides constructive advice on how to improve our capabilities so that our NCI grant will be successful. The third meeting of our EAB was held on May  21, 2008.  The reviewers acknowledged our significant progress since their last meeting of November 2007.  They concluded that our NCI application is feasible and likely to be successful.  We then met with Dr Linda Weiss, the director of the cancer centers branch at NCI on August 13, 2008.  We secured an application date of May 2010 for our cancer center support grant.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Loughran, Jr., M.D.
Director, Penn State Cancer Institute