UVM Cancer Center: Innovations (Spring 2023)

INNOVATIONS

RALLY AGAINST CANCER

A thriving community spirit

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Dear UVM Cancer Center community,

This issue of Innovations highlights some of the exciting initiatives ongoing at the University of Vermont Cancer Center. We have an incredibly successful partnership with UVM Athletics, Mascoma Bank and the UVM Foundation in the Rally Against Cancer Games, raising money for cancer research and cancer care initiatives. Many thanks to all those who donated and to Mascoma Bank for providing a dollarfor-dollar match!

On the research front, Cancer Center members Dr. Sarah Nowak and Dr. Brian Sprague found that changes in breast cancer screening guidelines resulted in fewer mammograms even for women in the highest risk age groups and that Vermont had the second highest reduction in screening mammograms among all the states in the United States. This work highlights how UVM Cancer Center research is focused on cancer issues directly relevant to the population we serve in Vermont and northern New York. We work to reach out and engage this population in various ways including a quarterly patient newsletter which has been enthusiastically embraced by cancer patients and their caregivers and families—check out the recipe from a recent newsletter on page 3 of this issue of Innovations

Finally, an important part of the mission of the UVM Cancer Center is to engage with community stakeholders to ensure that our research, education, clinical care and community-based programs address their most important needs. To that end, our Community Advisory Board plays a critical role and we’re thrilled to have added three new members from the northern New York part of our catchment area—Donna Winchell (CR Wood Cancer Center, Glens Falls, NY), Jessica Morley (Richard E. Winter Cancer Treatment Center, Ogdensburg, New York) and Kay Zimmer (Canton-Potsdam Cancer Center, Potsdam, NY).

Randall F. Holcombe, M.D., M.B.A.

J. Walter Juckett Chair in Cancer Research Director, University of Vermont Cancer Center Associate Dean for Cancer Programs, Larner College of Medicine Chief, Division of Hematology & Oncology

ON THE COVER: IMAGES FROM UVM CANCER CENTER’S RALLY AGAINST CANCER EVENTS

RALLY

BY THE NUMBERS

UVM CANCER CENTER RAISED: $10,828

MASCOMA BANK MATCHED: $10,000

TOTAL RAISED: $20,828

WOMEN’S HOCKEY:

495

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:

1,187

MEN’S HOCKEY: 3,071

MEN’S BASKETBALL:

2,287

TOTAL NUMBER OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS:

7,040

RALLY AGAINST CANCER

ATHLETIC SPIRIT BRINGS AWARENESS TO CANCER PREVENTION

February is Cancer Prevention Month and the UVM Cancer Center and UVM Athletics in partnership with Mascoma Bank teamed up to draw attention to cancer prevention and raise money for cancer research through the annual Rally Against Cancer men’s and women’s hockey and basketball games.

This year, over 7,000 fans attended the four match ups, with 300 patients, caregivers, and Cancer Center affiliates in attendance at the men’s hockey game on February 18. Tickets to this special night of hockey were generously donated by UVM Athletics and gifted to patients and caregivers through the patient newsletter.

In addition, Mascoma Bank pledged a $10,000 matching donation through the month of February, totaling $20,828 in gifts related to the Rally cause. The largest donation came from the Essex and Mount Mansfield Union girls basketball and dance teams whose Pink Zone initiative contributed $4,224.

The gift hit close to home for Kimberly Laroche whose daughter, Ellie, plays on the JV team and who is the practice supervisor for Hematology/ Oncology and Surgical Oncology at the UVM Medical Center, keeping all operations in the UVM Cancer Center’s outpatient clinic running smoothly. She sees first-hand the impact of breast cancer on patients and caregivers and the critical care they receive close to home at the UVM Cancer Center.

“The amazing support that our community provides by holding these fundraising events has a direct impact on cancer patients,” said Kimberly. “I am immensely proud and humbled by such generosity.”

BREAST CANCER SCREENINGS OF AT-RISK WOMEN DROPPED AFTER REVISED MAMMOGRAPHY GUIDELINES ISSUED IN 2009

IN 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force changed its mammography screening guidelines to recommend that routine breast cancer screening start at age 50 rather than age 40, recommending an individualized approach for women ages 40-49. The group cited insufficient evidence for screening women ages 75 and older.

Researchers at the UVM Cancer Center, Sarah Nowak, Ph.D., and Brian Sprague, Ph.D., found that the change in guidelines led to a decline in mammography screening rates for all three age groups, including in the 50-74 group most at risk of developing breast cancer and most in need of screenings, an unintended consequence. The researchers coined the the term “spillover” for this effect since the new guidelines were intended to reduce unnecessary screening for groups less at risk but spilled over to at-risk women. Vermont had the second steepest drop of any state for all three groups.

Their results were recently published in The American Journal of Preventative Medicine

Data from 2002 through 2018 illustrates that, after 2009, screening rates have fallen nationally by 1.3 percentage points per year for ages 40-49, .5 percentage points per year for women aged 50-74 years old, and 1.7 percentage points per year for 75+.

In Vermont, these numbers nearly doubled: 2.5 percentage points for 40-49, 1.2 percentage points for 50-74, and 2.9 percentage points for 75+.

“While these percentages may seem small, the

cumulative impact over 10 years translates to 2.4 million fewer women in the United States aged 50-74 being up to date with screening mammography,” Dr. Sprague said. The number of Vermont women age 50-74 affected over the 10-year period is approximately 10,000 people.

The research team is currently exploring why spillover is happening. For example, evidence shows that when women know someone personally diagnosed with breast cancer through screening, they encourage others to get screened. Declining screening for women ages 40-49 and 75+ could lead to women ages 50-74 learning about early-stage breast cancer diagnoses in friends and family less often.

“It is especially important to understand why rates of screening are declining for women ages 50-74 in Vermont. Understanding what is happening locally can help us understand what may be happening in the rest of the country in future years,” said Dr. Nowak.

VERMONT HAD SECOND LARGEST DECLINE IN AT-RISK SCREENINGS OF ANY STATE

SARAH NOWAK, P h.D.

BRIAN SPRAGUE, P h.D.

EMPOWERING PATIENTS

IN 2022, the UVM Cancer Center launched its first cancer patient newsletter to inform patients about opportunities and resources related to their cancer care and survivorship; educate about the expertise of our Cancer Center through the lens of physicians and researchers focused on cancer treatment and prevention; and offer useful health and wellness guidance that patients can easily understand and adopt.

The audience consists of all patients of Cancer Center departments who’ve had a visit or encounter within the past year and who opted in or did not decline to receive email communications. The e-newsletter is sent three times per year in May, September, and January.

Since its inception, supportive services has seen an increase in enrollment in programs like the weight loss class, health coaching, and gardening. In addition, clinical trials, philanthropy, and community engagement opportunities have been featured—we gave away over 100 men’s hockey tickets in less than 12 hours! However, recipes related to managing the unique aspects of the patient experience are consistently the most clicked.

A RECIPE FOR MENTAL HEALTH

CAN WHAT WE EAT REALLY IMPACT OUR MENTAL HEALTH?

The answer is a definitive “Yes!”

Nutrients such as omega 3 fats, vitamin K, folate, Beta carotene, as well as a host of phytochemicals, play a key role in maintaining our mental health. Which foods are most helpful for mental health?

Plants, of course.

A clever way to remember what foods can help brain health is a short rhyme by Drew Ramsey, M.D., a psychiatrist at Columbia University: Seafood, greens, nuts and beans (and a little bit of dark chocolate).

NEWSLETTER CONTENT TEAM

Kim Dittus, M.D., Ph.D.

Medical oncologist; Director, Oncology Supportive Services

Cara Feldman-Hunt, M.A.

Associate Director, Osher Center for Integrative Health

Kathleen McBeth, M.A. Psychologist, Oncology

Kristie Grover, Ph.D.

Program Manager, Oncology Supportive Services

Gina Brittain

Senior Project Manager, UVM Health Network

Kate Strotmeyer, M.Ed.

Director, Communications and Community Outreach

CUMULATIVE DATA (AVERAGE)

Number of recipients: 11,261

Open rate: 58%

Click-through rate: 6%

Unsubscribed: less than 1%

SCAN CODE FOR SCALLOP RECIPE FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Seafood, greens, nuts and beans (and a little bit of dark chocolate).

SCAN CODE TO RECEIVE OUR PATIENT NEWSLETTER

“

FEMALE STUDENTS

GRAVITATE TO HER LAB.

FRANCES CARR, P h.D.

– NOELLE GILLIS, B.S.’15, UVM Ph.D.’21

A LOT OF AMBITIOUS

PAYING IT FORWARD: CARR RECEIVES POLARIS MENTORING AWARD

FRANCES CARR, Ph.D., knows first-hand the lifealtering impact a skilled mentor can have.

In high school, her biology teacher saw Carr’s potential, encouraged her at every turn, and urged her to pursue a career in science. Later, Carr’s doctoral advisor gave her “the confidence to believe in myself, that I could do science in a meaningful way and be successful in the career I’d chosen,” she says.

Carr, a professor of pharmacology in UVM’s Larner College of Medicine and a UVM Cancer Center member, has spent her career returning the favor. For her success in inspiring and guiding a diverse range of UVM undergraduate and graduate students, Carr received the 2023 Polaris Gender Equity Outstanding Mentorship Award.

Carr is an equal opportunity mentor, who strives to help her male mentees as much as those who are female or non-binary. And she believes firmly that men can effectively mentor women; her doctoral advisor was male. But she also knows that women in the sciences face a tougher road than men, and that female scientists like her can function as models for their female students.

“Seeing women in successful science careers and putting together the life they want is valuable for them,” she says.

That fact has not been lost on the student body, says Noelle Gillis, B.S.’15, Ph.D.’21, who nominated Carr for the Polaris Award, with five co-signees.

“Her strong female attitude, her strong female example attracts a lot of female students,” Gillis said, who is in the second year of a postdoctoral program at the University of Minnesota after working in Carr’s lab as both an undergraduate and doctoral student. “A lot of ambitious female students gravitate to her lab.”

Carr’s superpower is her commitment to giving individualized attention to each of her mentees, Gillis says. “She takes the time to get to know you and learn how each person needs to be pushed and poked and prodded and advised into getting where they want and being the best scientist they can be,” Gillis said.

“I want to make sure my students get to where they’re trying to go,” said Carr, a molecular endocrinologist who was elected a fellow in the American Academy for the Advancement of Science last year.

“For each one, their success matters to me a lot. Their success is my reward.”

Alan Howe, Ph.D. will serve as Associate Director of Cancer Research, Training and Education Coordination for the UVM Cancer Center.

As Associate Director, Dr. Howe will help oversee cancer-related educational and career development opportunities spanning from high school to undergraduates, to graduate and medical students, to junior faculty. Dr. Howe will join the UVMCC senior leadership team and will coordinate programs that support the development of future cancer scientists and practitioners.

Dr. Howe received his B.S. in Biochemistry at the University of New Hampshire in 1990, his Ph.D. in Tumor Cell Biology from Northwestern University in 1996, and postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Currently, he is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology with a secondary appointment in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics.

Dr. Howe has been a member of UVM’s Cell, Molecular, and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program for nearly twenty years and is a full member of the UVM Cancer Center’s Cancer Host and Environment research program. Dr. Howe’s research, consistently funded over his 20 years at UVM, focuses on how cells interpret their microenvironment to control their shape and movement.

HOWE APPOINTED ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CANCER RESEARCH, TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINATION

ALAN HOWE, P h.D.

University of Vermont Cancer Center 89 Beaumont Ave. Burlington, VT 05405

www.vermontcancer.org

CATCHMENT AREA

UVM Cancer Center serves patients across Vermont and six counties of northern New York:

This heat map shows the distribution of all patients who receive the cancer patient newsletter across the catchment area of Northern New York and the state of Vermont. In the winter of 2022, the UVM Cancer Center launched a patient newsletter and one year later the data shows that patients are interested in clinical trials and research, engaged in community events, and actively seek strategies for living with cancer (story page 3).