Colorectal cancer patients to benefit from grant to Blessing Health System

QUINCY — Patients with advanced colorectal cancer will benefit from a national grant received by Blessing Health System’s Clinical Research Department. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

The $99,500 grant from Pfizer Global Medical Grants and the Association of Community Cancer Centers will improve processes that contribute to the ordering of advanced testing, known as biomarker testing, for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer — cancer that has spread to other organs.

The grant money will enhance computer technology for test ordering and data collection, develop education for providers and patients, and address delays in insurance precertification. The results of the project are expected to triple the number of metastatic colorectal cancer patients receiving biomaker testing over the next two years at the Blessing Cancer Center.

Biomarker testing looks for genes, proteins and other substances in the body that can provide information about cancer. Each person’s cancer has a unique pattern of biomarkers that can affect how certain cancer treatments work.

This project means the opportunity for a greater number of Blessing Cancer Center metastatic colorectal patients to undergo treatment for a longer period of time while experiencing fewer treatment side effects.  

“Conventional chemotherapy works like a hammer,” said Dr. Mohammad Memon, triple board certified medical oncologist and medical director of medical oncology at Blessing Cancer Center. “It attacks cancerous cells but also affects non-cancerous cells, contributing to side effects in a large percentage of patients. Biomarker testing allows us to determine how exactly each patient’s cancer cells feed and grow. With that knowledge, we can develop an individualized treatment that targets only the diseased cells. Targeted treatment reduces side effects in most patients, extending the time over which they can undergo treatment.”

Not all patients who undergo testing will have biomarker patterns that make targeted therapy possible.

Biomaker testing was identified as a national standard of care in the latest update of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a not-for-profit alliance of 31 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education.

Kiley McGlauchlen, director of clinical research for Blessing Health System, says this project will touch the lives of many other cancer patients in the long term.

“This project will be instrumental in enhancing the care of all Blessing Cancer Center patients with a metastatic cancer,” McGlaughlen said. “Even though we are targeting a specific biomarker test for metastatic colorectal cancer, we will be able to expand the processes to include other cancers. This project will have a great impact on all cancers.”

“This is precision medicine,” said Julie Shepard, administrative coordinator for community health innovation at Blessing Health System. “More patients are going to have the option and opportunity to undergo state-of-the-art testing so we can better identify what treatment is going to be most effective for them.”

Blessing was one of five providers sharing in $600,000 in funding for this project.  The other providers are in Chicago, Maryland, Georgia and South Dakota.