5Q: N. Joseph Espat

 / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
/ PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

1 The Cancer Center at Roger Williams Medical Center has been designated an “academic comprehensive program” by the Commission on Cancer. What postgraduate programs do you offer?

As a major affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine, we offer a number of residency and fellowship programs. In cancer care, Roger Williams offers advanced training in hematology oncology and surgical oncology. We are home to one of only 15 complex abdominal surgical oncology fellowships in the nation accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

2 The center has more than 500 newly diagnosed cancer cases each year. How many find their way to clinical trials and how is that advancing research?

Of those new cases, 200 are stage III or IV, for which clinical trials are an option. Each year, nearly 100 of our patients enroll in trials. Dr. Steven Katz, our director of surgical immunotherapy, recently led a phase I trial utilizing CAR-T cells for patients with colorectal liver metastases. … The treatment was shown to be safe and tumor markers decreased by 39 percent on average.

- Advertisement -

3 What innovative research is the center conducting?

Since 2009, Dr. Katz and I have led a team building a National Institute of Health-funded lab and a phase I clinical-trial program focused on metastatic liver cancer and sarcoma. We are the only center in Rhode Island offering these promising immunotherapy treatment trials. … We have three additional trials opening in 2015-16.

4 What types of cancer are the most prevalent among the cases you see?

We see a high number of liver, pancreas, colon, head and neck, breast, melanoma and sarcoma cases. Our team performs more liver and pancreas operations than any other program in the state. Our research is highly focused on metastatic liver cancer, which is diagnosed in more than 100,000 people annually across the country.

5 How many new and previously diagnosed patients does the center see annually?

Our center handles more than 10,000 visits a year. Roger Williams is home to the only bone-marrow transplant unit in the state. We have six specialty-trained cancer surgeons, which makes us the largest team in Rhode Island and among the biggest nationally. … Most importantly, we offer highly coordinated, multidisciplinary care so patients can see all specialists under one roof, often on the same day. •

No posts to display