Shepherding a Cancer Care Milestone

Dr. Anusha Jillella: UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center

By Mark Carter

When Baptist Health and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences announced a “statement of strategic intent” in 2017, it represented a continuation of what had already been a decades-long partnership.

Dr. Anusha Jillella is poised to help lead the alliance’s latest iteration, one that officials at both institutions hope will help extend state-of-the-art cancer care to every corner of the state.

The partnership between the state’s largest private health care network and its only public, academic health care system has now resulted in comprehensive cancer centers on Baptist Health campuses in Little Rock and North Little Rock, staffed by oncologists from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

Baptist Health and UAMS started working together in the early 1980s on physical medicine and rehabilitation initiatives, and joint ventures expanded to include vascular surgery, maternal/fetal medicine, emergency medicine and orthopedics. Ultimately, it led to creation of the Baptist HealthUAMS Graduate Medical Education (GME) program, which trains medical students in family medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry and transitional year residencies.

The cancer centers represented the next step. A new infusion center is scheduled to open on the Baptist Health-Little Rock campus in October, and Jillella, medical oncologist at the Little Rock center and assistant professor in the UAMS Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, believes the Baptist-UAMS partnership represents a “milestone” for cancer care in the state.

Jillella received her medical degree from Gandhi Medical College in Secunderabad, India, and completed her residency at UAMS. AMP visited with her about the potential represented by the partnership between two of the state’s biggest health care brands.

AMP: How significant for cancer care in the state is the partnership between Baptist Health and UAMS?

Jillella: The partnership between Baptist Health and UAMS and their integration is extremely important and a big milestone for cancer care in Arkansas. We are taking the best of Baptist Health and the best of UAMS and building an infrastructure and an enterprise that assures our patients — any patient who walks on this campus — that they’re getting the absolute best answer to their unique problem.

It allows the patient to have access to the strength of Baptist Health, which has amazing outreach into underserved areas of Arkansas, as well as access to the expertise of an oncologist at the university along with its resources including clinical trials. This program allows for cancer care — and not just any cancer care, but the state-of-the-art care — to be delivered to areas that were previously not possible.

With the combined strength of these two prestigious institutions, patients will experience a new standard of comprehensive and personalized cancer care. That is our hope and shared mission.

AMP: Tell us more about the new infusion center scheduled to open this fall.

Jillella: The new infusion center is scheduled to open in October on the Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock campus. It is a cutting-edge facility, providing advanced infusion therapies such as blood transfusions, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, etc. Our experienced nursing staff are compassionate and make sure that patients get personalized care in a comfortable environment.

AMP: How would you rate the overall level of care available to cancer patients in Arkansas?

Jillella: We are taking into consideration various aspects including socio-economic wellbeing and access to cancer care. Arkansas has made significant progress in cancer care and has dedicated oncologists who do keep up with ongoing research and provide standard of care, if not care specifically tailored for the patient.

However, it is important to acknowledge that the level of care varies across different regions within the state. Access to treatment, clinical trials and supportive services vary depending on the location in Arkansas. This collaborative effort between Baptist Health and UAMS hopes to bridge that gap.

A new infusion center is scheduled to open on the Baptist Health-Little Rock campus in October, and Jillella believes the Baptist-UAMS partnership represents a “milestone” for cancer care in the state.

AMP: Cancer care used to seem compartmentalized — surgery, chemo or radiation. How has the approach to cancer care changed over the past couple of decades?

Jillella: Over the past few years, cancer treatment has evolved into a multidisciplinary service, and the collaboration between health care professionals is extremely important. To provide treatment plans tailored to each patient’s needs, we have to collaborate with various disciplines. This approach ensures that all aspects of the patient’s conditions are addressed. We have tumor boards where the oncologist, surgeons, radiologist, pathologist and other health care professionals come together to discuss patients and develop a treatment strategy for the patients. This ensures the best outcomes for the patient and also improves quality of life.

AMP: What’s next on the horizon for cancer care?

Jillella: The field of oncology continues to evolve rapidly with advancements in technology and research. There are a lot of exciting developments on the horizon that will change how we diagnose and treat cancer.

A lot of importance is being given to precision medicine, in which we profile the patient’s DNA and tumor characteristics. Now, we have the ability to target certain genes as well. We can expect to see more effective treatments with fewer toxicities if we choose this approach.

Immunotherapy has been around for a while and has made a significant improvement in outcomes in lung cancer, melanoma, etc. Liquid biopsies and circulating tumor DNA offer a less invasive alternative to tissue biopsies for treatment planning or to assess for responses. These elevations ultimately focus on improving patient outcomes.