Jan. 23, 2020:

Hirva Mamdani, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Thoracic Oncology and Phase I Therapeutics Program and a medical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University, will present a poster highlighting the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium’s BTCRC-ESO14-012 study during the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, Thursday, Jan. 23-25, from noon – 1:30 pm and 4:45-5:45 p.m. PT at the Moscone West Building in San Francisco, CA.

The poster, titled “Safety and efficacy of durvalumab following multimodality therapy for locally advanced esophageal and GEJ adenocarcinoma: Two-year follow-up results from Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium study,” will be presented during Poster Session A and located at Poster Board F15. See abstract.

Study authors include:

  • Hirva Mamdani, Karmanos Cancer Institute/Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
  • Bryan J. Schneider, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI
  • Pashtoon Murtaza Kasi, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
  • Laith I. Abushahin, Ohio State University, James Cancer Center, Columbus, OH
  • Thomas J. Birdas, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
  • Kenneth Kesler, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
  • Heather Burney, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
  • Susan Perkins, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
  • Shadia Ibrahim Jalal, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN

The authors concluded, “Adjuvant durvalumab following trimodality therapy for LA-EAC and GEJ adenocarcinoma is safe with improvement in 1-yr RFS to 79.2% compared to historical rate of 50%. RFS was 20.6% at 26 months. Evaluation of predictive biomarkers of RFS with durvalumab is underway.”

As a former hematology/oncology fellow at Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Mamdani gained experience in clinical trial design and multi-site collaboration through the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium.

“The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium provides a very strong platform to conduct clinical research,” Dr. Mamdani said. “The support you get from the Big Ten CRC is very broad – from mentorship opportunities to protocol development. It’s also a channel through which you can communicate to academic centers, pharmaceutical companies, and community health centers.”

During her fellowship, Dr. Mamdani worked closely with several mentors, including Lawrence H. Einhorn, MD, who is known for finding a cure for testicular cancer; Nasser Hanna, MD; and Shadia Jalal, MD, sponsor-investigator of the BTCRC-ESO14-012 study.

“What I learned from them is not just how to treat cancer and how to treat patients, but also how to conduct both clinical and bench research. There are certain characteristics that an oncologist has to have in order to succeed, including determination, diligence, and dedication to the field, and that’s what I learned from them.”

She also gained a passion for research related to thoracic malignancies, with an emphasis on lung and esophageal cancer.

Dr. Mamdani is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Association of Cancer Research, Southwest Oncology Group Thoracic Working Group, and Hoosier Cancer Research Network Thoracic Clinical Trial Working Group.

About the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium: The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium was created in 2013 to transform the conduct of cancer research through collaborative, hypothesis-driven, highly translational oncology trials that leverage the scientific and clinical expertise of Big Ten universities. The goal of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium is to create a unique team-research culture to drive science rapidly from ideas to new approaches to cancer treatment. Within this innovative environment, today’s research leaders collaborate with and mentor the research leaders of tomorrow with the unified goal of improving the lives of all patients with cancer.

About the Big Ten Conference: The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,800 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse since 2013. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.