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Philanthropy driving immunotherapy study for patients with recurrent cancers When treating patients with head and neck cancers, physicians always hope the first course of treatment--often a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy--will fully eradicate the disease. But for patients who experience an aggressive recurrence of their cancer, the treatment options can be more limited the second time around. A second surgical procedure, known as a salvage surgery, is an option for some, but additional radiation and chemotherapy are often out of the question: the body can only endure so many doses of these treatments. To provide new strategies for head and neck cancer patients facing this scenario, Henry Ford Health System’s Haythem Ali, MD and Vivian Wu, M.D. are leading a pilot study exploring immunotherapy as a new course of treatment after salvage surgery. The study is receiving funding through Henry Ford’s Game On Cancer, a community fundraising program that has provided $50,000 to advance the pilot. Enrolled patients receive immunotherapy drugs for one year, and Dr. Wu is working with colleagues in the department to conduct advanced cellular analysis of their blood and tissue cells to measure the change in their immune cell profile. The hope is that patients will be equipped to fight their cancer using their body’s own immune response, thanks to these experimental treatments. “To move forward with new and creative ways to better treat cancer, we need to test ideas. Without funding to carry out these studies, we’re stuck with whatever the rest of the world gives us,” Dr. Wu says. “We aim to be leaders in innovation at Henry Ford, and philanthropy makes it possible for us to do that.” The study is its early stages and modest in scale, since the subset of qualifying patients is quite small. But Dr. Wu’s hope is to contribute to a larger body of emerging research that can offer new hope to patients in this difficult position. |
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