Through the guidelines, the panel envisions a future where patients contribute their own cancer data, have a genomic profile and can access treatment and clinical trial information; physicians have access to a host of information to supplement treatment plans; and researchers can pinpoint opportunities for new treatments and preventive interventions.
Here are the 10 recommendations presented by the panel Wednesday.
1. Create a patient network. This national network would allow cancer patients to access a genetic profile of their cancer and pre-register for clinical trials so researchers can contact them when an eligible trial opens.
2. Establish a network for immunotherapy clinical trials. The panel recommended creating a clinical trial network dedicated to researching how immunotherapies can be applied more successfully across patients and cancer types.
3. Research ways to defeat drug resistance. This recommendation calls for more research into how drug resistance develops and how it can be prevented.
4. Combine various cancer data repositories. This “national cancer data ecosystem” would be a one-stop, free access collection of data from currently siloed proprietary databases. This would allow researchers, physicians and patients to share information and accelerate progress.
5. Grow research on drivers of pediatric cancers. This recommendation calls for intensifying research into therapies that target fusion oncoproteins, or the rogue proteins that cause many pediatric cancers.
6. Find ways to minimize the side effects of cancer treatment. More research is needed to develop ways to improve quality of life and help patients manage symptoms and side effects of cancer therapies.
7. Increase use of prevention and detection strategies. Research is needed to boost uptake of proven risk-reduction and detection strategies, such as tobacco cessation, colorectal cancer screening and HPV vaccination.
8. Analyze historical data to determine future outcomes. Scientists could analyze existing tumor tissue at biobanks around the country to look for genetic factors that distinguish which patients would respond to various types of treatments.
9. Publish a web-based catalog of the evolution of tumors. This “3D cancer atlas” would be a map of the genetic lesions and cellular interactions in cells in and around tumors. This would help researchers create predictive models of tumor progression and help oncologists make treatment decisions.
10. Develop new cancer tools and technologies. This recommendation calls for more public-private sector collaboration to develop and refine promising tools to enhance delivery of cancer therapies.
The recommendations now await endorsement from the National Cancer Advisory Board. Pending approval they will be forwarded to Director of the National Cancer Institute Douglas Lowy, who then will submit the recommendations to Vice President Biden, according to coverage in The Washington Post.
However, after approval the recommendations face a bigger obstacle: funding. Congress would need to approve hundreds of millions of dollars of additional funding to implement the recommendations, according to The Washington Post.
More articles on leadership and management:
OHSU medical dean dies 3 weeks after sustaining critical injuries
What made top leaders who they are today?
15 pieces of advice from former Fortune 40 Under 40 winners
