As director of the Lifespan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. David E. Wazer oversees cancer services across the Lifespan system to deepen its capabilities in cancer care, broaden its research and ensure the highest standards of care and support for patients and families. An internationally recognized expert in radiation oncology, Wazer had served as the CCC’s interim director since November 2014.
Remaining in his role as radiation oncologist-in-chief at Rhode Island, Newport and The Miriam hospitals, Wazer also serves as professor and chairman of the department of radiation oncology at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Wazer, who earned his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine, completed his residencies in internal medicine at Brown University and radiation oncology at Tufts University. He spoke with Providence Business News about the CCC and its upcoming partnership with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
PBN: Tell us more about the CCC – its patient cohort, types of cancers treated, etc.?
WAZER: The Lifespan CCC is, by far, the largest program of its type in Rhode Island. Treating approximately 50 percent of all cancer patients in the state, it consists of four treatment locations (Rhode Island, Newport and The Miriam hospitals and an outpatient center in East Greenwich). Our nationally renowned Brown-affiliated faculty include surgical, medical, interventional and radiation oncologists who subspecialize in specific cancer types and work together in multidisciplinary clinics to provide state-of-the-art care to both adults and children.
We pride ourselves on providing the most advanced care to our patients and have invested heavily in sophisticated technologies for our operating rooms, radiology department, pathology department and radiation therapy facility. I do not hesitate to say that we compare quite favorably with any of the Boston teaching hospitals in this regard. We view research and advancing science as a central component to our mission, and we offer a broad array of clinical trials for virtually every cancer type.
Approximately two years ago, we initiated a process we call the Cancer Roadmap that allowed us to take inventory of our many strengths, identify areas that needed improvement and lay out a multiyear plan for investment and program growth. Our vision is to be a truly patient-centered, research-focused, high-quality and high]-value systemwide cancer program that is nationally competitive and financially sustainable as the leading cancer provider in the state.
PBN: What does Lifespan’s proposed partnership with Dana Farber Cancer Institute offer Rhode Island patients that the CCC does not; will the partnership result in more research funds, treatment of more patients, treatment of different kinds of cancers or all of the above?
WAZER: More than ever before, cancer care and research depend upon partnerships and access to a large patient base. We have been seeing various arrangements emerge around the country with leading cancer centers like the Dana Farber Cancer Institute seeking high-performing health system partners like Lifespan. From the beginning of our work on the Cancer Roadmap, we knew that partnerships would be very important for contemporary cancer care. The Dana Farber Cancer Institute was a logical choice, given its nearby location, world-renowned reputation and interest in a true partnership where both organizations contribute and benefit as well as Lifespan’s longstanding faculty connections with the institute. Most important, Lifespan and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute share the view that excellent patient care must always be at the center of what we do.
This relationship builds on our already strong cancer program and will enable us to gain access to novel clinical trials for our patients. Our goal is to keep most cancer patients from having to leave the state for care. When there is something that we are not able to offer, there will be a seamless system – with both institutions using the same electronic medical records system – to refer our patients to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Over time, we plan to work together to navigate the changing health care and science environments to ensure that our patients benefit from the latest advances. With our strength in research, there is great potential to join with Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s significant depth and contribute to discoveries that further accelerate progress.
PBN: What is the status of the proposed partnership and when do you expect it to be approved?
WAZER: Planning for the partnership is underway, with meetings every two weeks. We expect to have a partnership agreement signed in the fall of 2016. In the meantime, we are already beginning to identify opportunities for collaboration, such as on research grants.
PBN: Your specialty is in radiation oncology; are there any innovative new treatments in radiation oncology recently put into practice or on the horizon?
WAZER: There are so many that it is difficult to choose where to begin. One area of advancement that is particularly exciting is the enormous precision with which we can deliver massive doses of radiation to the cancer while sparing the surrounding normal tissue. At Rhode Island Hospital, we have invested in technologies that sound like they come straight from science fiction: GammaKnife, CyberKnife, TrueBeam, VisionRT, AccuBoost and BrainLab. All of these incredibly sophisticated machines treat cancers throughout the body with pinpoint accuracy. They have revolutionized how we look at what were previously considered untreatable cancers and given us new options that were unimaginable even a few years ago. The rapidity with which we are advancing all phases of cancer treatment is absolutely breathtaking and makes me very excited about advances coming in the near future. I feel so privileged to be able to do what I do.
PBN: What are some key research projects the CCC is focusing on now?
WAZER: Lifespan has a very active clinical trials program and a long history of contributing to the development of new treatments through our partnership in the Brown University Oncology Group. As an example, some of our work in treating lung cancer and some gastrointestinal cancers has become the standard of care followed across the country. We are very active in precision medicine and targeted treatments and have been among the nation’s top contributors of patients to some major studies, including the Novartis Signature trial and the National Cancer Institute MATCH trial. In 2015, Lifespan added faculty in molecular pathology and bioinformatics and we will soon be providing next- generation sequencing in our lab for our patients.
