Today’s Cancer Care: Transformational
“The word ‘building’ has two meanings,” notes Dr. Stephen D. Nimer, director of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, executive dean for research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Oscar de la Renta Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. “One refers to this amazing physical structure, our new Transformational Cancer Research Building (TCRB); but the other refers to what we have been building here for the last decade. We have recruited over 240 of the best cancer doctors and researchers in the country to Sylvester, and now we are building a facility that allows us to optimize our research and work collaboratively to make exciting new discoveries.”
Slated to open in 2025, the 12-story, 244,000-square-foot facility on the campus of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine will stand as a striking signal to all that Sylvester is a beacon of hope for patients with cancer, and a place of innovation for cancer prevention. Research. Clinical Trials. Team Science. Discoveries. Cures. Wellness. Patient-centered care. All under one roof.
“In the TCRB, we will harness the power of state-of-the-art equipment and laboratories, along with the latest network and machine-learning technologies, to accelerate the translation of groundbreaking scientific discoveries into lifesaving and practice-changing treatments for patients in our South Florida community and beyond,” says Dr. Nimer.
Today’s Sylvester: Distinctive
Clearly, the TCRB will set Sylvester apart from other cancer centers in Florida and around the United States. But that’s only the latest distinguishing factor in Sylvester’s expanding portfolio of singular achievements.
In 2019, Sylvester became the only cancer center in South Florida designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This past year, it was the only cancer center in South Florida to be nationally ranked in U.S. News & World Report. As part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Sylvester is also South Florida’s only academic cancer center.
Employing more than 2,500 physicians, researchers, and staff, the center is one of the top cancer research facilities in Florida and one of the few in South Florida to offer a Phase 1 (novel treatments) clinical trial program. In fact, Sylvester’s clinical trial program has more than 400 trials currently open and has enrolled nearly 40,000 patients in studies in the past decade alone.
Today’s Sylvester: Expansive
As evidence of Sylvester’s broad and collaborative approach to cancer research, its talented scientists are grouped into four National Cancer Institute, federally recognized multidisciplinary research programs, which will be co-located in the TCRB:
Tumor Biology focuses on understanding how biological processes are altered during tumor initiation and growth, how cancers arise and progress, and the key interactions between tumors and non-malignant tissue. This area also investigates the causes of tumor-related therapeutic failure and drug resistance.
Cancer Epigenetics is the study of extragenetic causes of cancer; while cancer biology has traditionally focused on genetic mutations, a new focus on reprogramming the epigenome may one day replace toxic drugs and help patients lead longer and better lives. It is one of the few university-based epigenetics programs in the country.
Translational and Clinical Oncology is an integrated program that focuses on advancing scientific discoveries and translational investigations to improve patient outcomes. The translation of scientific discovery into clinical impact on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment encompasses all cancer research programs at Sylvester.
Cancer Control is focused on reducing the incidence, promotion, and progression of cancer at the population level, minimizing disease morbidity and mortality, and optimizing the quality of life. The program includes high impact translational science that leverages the uniquely diverse populations in our catchment area.
Sylvester scientists are also conducting research into the role and developmental pathways of environmental factors, cellular stress, inflammatory signals, obesity, immune effector cells, and other factors that promote tumor development. All these efforts focus on bridging basic, translational, and clinical sciences to facilitate and expedite the translation of bench discoveries into pre-clinical and clinical studies.
Tomorrow’s Cures: Personalized
The future of cancer research is happening today at Sylvester. Virtually every avenue of cancer research—whether prostate or pancreatic; pediatric or geriatric; blood, bone, or tissue—incorporates two emerging areas of leading-edge innovation: immunotherapy, in which a patient’s immune cells are activated to kill or silence cancer cells, and precision medicine, in which therapies are molecularly tailored to an individual patient’s unique genetic makeup.
In addition, Sylvester clinicians have access to the most advanced technologies available in such areas as imaging, radiation therapy and surgical tools. Technology must be operated by humans, of course, and Sylvester has an impressive track record of recruiting the most skilled and compassionate caregivers and specialists who understand that pre- and post-treatment care are as critical as the treatment itself.
Tomorrow’s World: Diverse
Sylvester’s South Florida catchment area is one of the most diverse regions in the U.S. and is often thought to represent the country’s future demographic makeup. As a result, the diversity of participants in clinical studies at Sylvester will ensure that the results will be broadly applicable throughout the country and around the world.
Located in the heart of such diversity, the TCRB will send a message that Sylvester is a leader in eliminating health disparities in cancer treatment and outcomes. Health equity is the North Star for research at Sylvester and the TCRB will be the nucleus for this important work.
Prognosis: Successful
Even with its national profile and global impact, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center is committed to the idea that receiving cancer care close to home leads to better outcomes. Over the next few years, Sylvester will continue to grow its footprint with a dozen locations, including a new 150,000-square-foot satellite facility in Doral.
This level of expansion is not for the sake of prestige: It’s entirely about building the resources necessary to provide the very best cancer care to the greatest number of people and pursue the groundbreaking discoveries that will lead to prevention, treatment and cures.
What does this indicate for the future? Building on the accomplishments of the past, with exceptional leadership and the generous philanthropic support of many individuals and foundations that believe in what Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Miami stand for, all signs point to continued growth and success, as measured in lives saved and knowledge advanced.
“In the near future, this building will be completed,” says Dr. Nimer of the TCRB. “But what we are building in terms of the excellence of our research programs and our cancer care, that will continue for decades.”
