Hackensack Meridian Health's John Theurer Cancer Center in Hackensack, N.J., has launched a cancer risk assessment initiative, the goal of which is to improve access to screening and facilitate earlier detection.
The program was established at the health system's Hennessy Institute for Cancer Prevention and Applied Molecular Medicine in Totowa, N.J., in partnership with oncology-focused precision health platform CancerIQ. The initiative is the first of its kind in the state, according to an Aug. 13 news release from Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian.
Any individual can take the free CancerIQ online assessment. The Hennessy Institute then uses the results to create a personalized cancer detection or prevention care plan.
"This is the future," Elias Obeid, MD, medical director of the Hennessy Institute, told Becker's.
"Because of the volume that we anticipate and because we're going to scale this to a population of healthy individuals, we think that we will be able to see earlier diagnoses and a shift in different cancer diagnoses to earlier stages," he said.
One of the tools the Hennessy Institute has at its disposal is molecular cancer screening technology, which individuals may be offered based on their assessment results.
"We know that the presence of cancer cells will shed DNA into the bloodstream. The new technology is able to detect that minute amount of DNA," Dr. Obeid said. "Now you can be proactive. Instead of waiting to see a big mass on a CAT scan, you can probably detect it much earlier or be on the lookout for it when it happens, potentially enabling timely treatment with the promise for improved survival rates and outcomes."
Molecular testing through an annual blood test can be paired with genetic testing, which needs to be completed only once in an individual's lifetime.
Some individuals may qualify for genetic testing based on their CancerIQ results, but Dr. Obeid said everyone who comes to the Hennessy Institute will be offered the opportunity for genetic testing.
"[Through] population screening for genetic predisposition to cancer, we can identify genes that increase an individual's lifetime risk," he said. "We are trying to give everyone the opportunity to know their risk and be proactive about it."
Another important potential outcome of the initiative will be its contribution toward cancer research. As part of the CancerIQ partnership, the Hennessy Institute is creating an optional, protected data registry.
"I truly believe that in order to understand how to move the needle, to improve care and delivery models, we need data," Dr. Obeid said. "We need to learn from the information we gain."
Though similar initiatives have been implemented by other institutions across the country, the Hennessy Institute's partnership with CancerIQ is unique in that it is offering the assessment more broadly to the public.
"We're doing this on a very large scale," Dr. Obeid said. "We're going to reach a very large number of individuals in a matter of one year. That's going to really have a big impact."
One foreseen challenge: molecular screening test costs. But Dr. Obeid said he is optimistic the cost will decrease as results become more widely seen and understood.
"We need to educate individuals, we need to educate providers and we need to know how to use it," he said. "We're hoping that our information and our work will help move the field further."
The Hennessy Institute currently is located in the Cancer Center at Totowa on Paterson, N.J. based-St. Joseph's Health's Totowa, N.J., campus but will move to a new Clifton, N.J., facility in 2025 near Hackensack Meridian's School of Medicine and Center for Discovery and Innovation.
The Hennessy Institute for Cancer Prevention and Applied Molecular Medicine was established in 2023 by a grant from the Mike & Patti Hennessy Foundation.