RESEARCH WORK

2016

ANNUAL REPORT

RESEARCHER SPOTLIGHT

Dr. Robert B. Cameron, MD FACS,

is one of the leading experts in North America on the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. He has been treating mesothelioma patients for over 20 years and is an early innovator of the lung-sparing pleurectomy with decortication (P/D) surgical procedure for mesothelioma. He has authored or co-authored over 40 papers on oncology, thoracic surgery and other topics. Dr. Cameron attended medical school at UCLA, where he obtained his medical degree. He completed three years of training as a clinical associate in surgical oncology at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, a five-year residency in general surgery at UCLA, and a two-year fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Cornell-New York Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The Pacific Mesothelioma Center (PMC) at the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute’s (PHLBI) aims to be the most innovative research and treatment organization in the world for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). It does so by supporting a first-of-its-kind, nonprofit, in-house research laboratory, whose goal is to provide laboratory-to-bedside research that improves the lives and longevity of those diagnosed with mesothelioma, and treats MPM as a chronic, treatable and manageable disease.

The exploration of innovative ideas is the foundation of the PMC’s unique research program. An overarching tenet of PHLBI’s research agenda is that all projects should be rational and additive; that is, all treatment approaches must be researched, be carefully thought out, be based on available data, provide improved quality of life, be continuously critiqued and re-evaluated, and be built upon known information and treatment successes, however small.

CURRENT RESEARCH

In 2016, PHLBI developed a prototype cancer immunotherapy composed of genetically engineered human mesenchymal stem cells producing interleukin-12, a potent cytokine that enhanced human T cells in studies conducted at the PMC lab.

A provisional patent application was filed in June 2016 to explore intellectual property opportunities covering the work. The full patent application will be finalized and submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office Legal Administration (US and international applications simultaneously) in June 2017.

RESEARCHER SPOTLIGHT

Dr. Raymond Wong received his PhD from the University of Southern California’s department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. He earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California. He joined the Pacific Mesothelioma Center after serving as a research scientist at MannKind Corporation, where he supported the advancement of therapeutic cancer vaccines from pre-clinical stages to phase I/II clinical trials. Dr. Wong has more than a decade of experience in the research and development of novel immunotherapy strategies to improve the medical outcome of life-threatening diseases.

Nurse Practitioner Lien

Hua-Feng embodies PHLBI’s commitment to patient care and treatment in her work. Through our partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Nurse Lien meets with veterans and their families to discuss clinical care options and treatment modalities. She is a vital resource to thousands of people, from all walks of life and all parts of the country, answering questions on available treatment and support. Because mesothelioma is rare, there are very few experienced medical staff like Nurse Lien, and patient care resources are limited. PHLBI is working to expand our dedicated staff but we cannot do this without more sources of funding. Hiring experienced and dedicated nurses like Nurse Lien is something we are working towards!

Legal filings were executed via the generous pro bono assistance from the law offices of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati. Drs. Raymond Wong, Ph.D. and Robert Cameron, M.D. also published a chapter in an international open access immunotherapy textbook entitled “Immunotherapy - Myths, Reality, Ideas, Future,” which will be available in 2017.

INTERNATIONAL TISSUE BANK

The PHLBI received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval in 2016 for its international tissue bank.

Diseases of the heart, lung and blood affect a large number of people in the U.S. and throughout the world each year. It is imperative that both personal health information and tissue samples are collected from as many patients as possible in order to understand: 1. The normal tissue biology 2. The natural history of the disease 3. Outcomes from current treatments 4. The advantages and disadvantages of potential future novel therapies

PHLBI is soliciting tissue specimens and seeks study participants who wish to donate their tissue and personal health information for current and future research at the institute.

If you’d like to assist PHLBI by donating urine or blood, please call our offices at 310.478.4678 to set up an appointment, or ask your doctor to take a sample that can be shipped overnight to us.

RESEARCHER SPOTLIGHT

PACIFIC HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 11