Intermountain Cancer Care is Praised by Renowned Oncology Researcher and a New Cancer Answers Hotline is launched

World-renowned cancer researcher, author, and teacher, Robert Weinberg, Ph.D., calls healthcare delivery in Utah, “extraordinary” and credits Intermountain Healthcare as a model health system when it comes to cancer care. 

The praise came during Dr. Weinberg’s opening remarks at a special community event at Intermountain Medical Center, “The Art of Healing: Advancing the Cure for Cancer,” where he discussed the progress made to date in cancer research and cancer care.

Dr. Weinberg is the director of the Ludwig Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is most widely known for his discoveries of the first human oncogene – a gene that when mutated (abnormal DNA), acts like a stuck “accelerator” pedal causing normal cells to form tumors. He also discovered the first tumor suppressor gene that acts like a broken “brake” on cancer growth.

Addressing patients, caregivers and local residents, Dr. Weinberger asked and answered the question, “How are we doing on the war on cancer?” 

“Cancer is largely a disease of older people,” said Dr. Weinberg. “Cancer happens as an inevitable consequence of the chaos that happens inside our bodies as we get older and older.”

He noted there’s been a decrease in some cancers, such as stomach, uterine, and colon. He credits the decrease due to the improvements in food preservation, more cancer screenings, changes in lifestyle factors, and development of new “miracle” drugs.

Dr. Weinberg specifically talked about the wins against cancer. 

“Breast cancer mortality (deaths) has gone down by 35-40 percent over the last two and half decades and that’s a real win.  That’s a real homerun, it’s undeniable,” he said. 
 
Another win, according to Dr. Weinberg is the development of new molecular treatment of cancer, such as new drug called “imatinib” designed specifically for the chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a disease where the bone marrow makes too many white blood cells.
 
In the late 60’s and 70’s people diagnosed with CML passed away within years of the diagnosis, but according to Dr. Weinberg, “because of this new medicine, CML has been reduced to a chronic disease. People can live with CML for 20 to 25 years. Living with a disease that previously would have killed them within 3-5 year’s time. And that’s also another homerun.”

After development of imatinib, Dr. Weinberg said people thought if this kind of therapy can work for CML it should work with a lot of other types of cancers. 

“Lots of other types of cancer drugs have been developed, but the problem is they don’t always behave the same way,” said Dr. Weinberg. “The target often changes in shape and is no longer shut down by the initially designed drug, and that’s a tragedy, because the tumor as a whole is no longer responsive and roars back and becomes truly life threatening.”