At The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, research and patient care are inextricably linked. Our approach to research-driven patient care involves using the latest clinical findings and advances to inform how we provide care and facilitate optimal patient outcomes. Patients play a vital role in this process, too. By engaging them throughout our studies, we unlock insights that drive the development of cutting-edge therapies, diagnostics, and breakthrough discoveries that bring us closer to fulfilling our mission to end cancer.
As a lymphoma investigator, historically 60% of patients with the most common type of lymphoma are cured with standard therapy, but this also means that 40% of patients are not. This has been a driving force behind my career — developing the next generation of therapies to help an even larger percentage of the population live longer, healthier lives.
Ultimately, this requires a continuous loop of real-world clinical data driving research initiatives across disciplines. At MD Anderson, multidisciplinary cooperation occurs between clinicians, scientists, and health services experts, working together to advance patient care through an integrated approach.
Research fuels promising new treatment approaches
There are several specialties within oncology where research is fueling exciting new therapies that offer important treatment options for patients. For example, cellular therapies, a focus area of mine, are changing what is possible for patients with lymphomas, leukemias, myeloma, and now melanoma. Initially approved as third-line therapies for patients with leukemia and lymphoma who have exhausted all other options, cell therapies now are moving to earlier phases of treatment and enabling better outcomes, sooner, for even more patients.
Cell therapies are also spreading beyond lymphoma as treatment for other types of cancer, such as the recent approval of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) for the treatment of melanoma. I’m also encouraged by the groundbreaking research led by MD Anderson scientists and clinicians to advance new cell therapies, such as those using natural killer (NK) cells, to lower side effects, improve speed and target many more cancer types.
Research is also propelling patient care in immunotherapy, which has transformed the field of oncology over the past decade. MD Anderson researchers have spearheaded pivotal breakthroughs in this field and now, through the James P. Allison Institute, we continue to focus on driving the foundational science behind it.
This important work is poised to transform the field of oncology as therapies are brought to patients at earlier stages, at times even prior to a cancer diagnosis.
The continuous loop between research and patient care
Research-driven patient care is at the heart of these game-changing discoveries. We describe this as a continuous loop: We translate cutting-edge discoveries into novel clinical applications, providing patients with immediate access to the latest therapeutic advances, while also engaging them in our clinical studies to deepen our understanding of their diseases. This expanded knowledge informs and refines our models in silico and in cell lines, organoids, and animal models, fueling a continuous cycle of scientific discovery that is deeply rooted in a culture of collaboration, connectivity and data science.
Bolstered by unparalleled resources, MD Anderson fosters an environment of uninhibited exploration of hypotheses across disciplines. We embrace a unique process of discovery that allows for new findings to be quickly validated within an appropriate patient population, aided by the size and complexity of our clinical enterprise.
Critical to this process is our bidirectional approach. In the past, clinicians relied on static information for directing patient care such as textbooks and outdated historical data, akin to using paper maps for driving directions. Data science now allows us to harness real-time information from patient interactions to inform research and tailor future treatment plans, just as today’s traffic apps utilize crowdsourced data to optimize routes. Through MD Anderson’s Institute for Data Science in Oncology, we are revolutionizing how we leverage data to fuel new discoveries, optimize the patient experience and personalize cancer care.
Unlocking innovation through collaboration
At MD Anderson, the world’s leading scientists and doctors work in partnership with patients to spark groundbreaking research to better diagnose, treat and prevent cancer. As both a researcher and clinician myself, data fuels my approach to patient care, and in turn, my patients shape our clinical studies.
Our partnership with patients also means ensuring the inclusion of individuals from various backgrounds in our research. Instead of solely conducting studies within pre-defined patient populations, our approach actively incorporates a range of patients into the research design process from the outset. MD Anderson’s Center for Community Engagement and Translational Research has been a key leader in guiding this approach to research, bringing together community partners who serve populations at higher risk for certain cancers to translate discoveries into real-world applications.
Collaboration also means researchers across disciplines working together to create better results for patients. I am engaged in multiple team science efforts spanning academic centers in which clinicians, scientists, biostatisticians, biologists, computer scientists, and engineers come together to study cancers and guide our clinical research. In addition, our teams work with our neighbors across the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical center, and draw from the best minds in the state, country and world to advance science and serve patients. We also collaborate with peers in academia and industry leaders to accelerate learnings between the lab and clinic.
By uniting broad expertise around a patient-centric, research-focused model, we can translate discoveries into impactful medicines that improve the lives of patients and their families.
Christopher Flowers, MD, is Division Head in the Division of Cancer Medicine and Chair and Professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center