March 28, 2023 – NICO Corporation has awarded a $250,000 investigator-initiated grant to neuro-oncologist Manmeet Ahluwalia, M.D., MBA, FASCO deputy director, Fernandez Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Cancer Research, chief of medical oncology, and chief scientific officer of the Institute, part of Baptist Health. These funds will be used to further study glioblastoma, the most common and deadliest type of brain cancer.
In the PRESERVE GBM study, neurosurgeons will procure samples of brain tissue from multiple zones in one tumor while still in the operating room with NICO’s novel technology. Scientists will then use gene panel sequencing, RNA-sequencing, long non-coding RNA and DNA methylation results to compare and assess three tumor regions for diagnostic differences.
“Recent technological advances in genomics and transcriptomics have improved our understanding of glioblastoma,” Dr. Ahluwalia said. “We still need more data but obtaining multiple samples of the tumor from various regions during surgery will help us better understand these differential changes to devise more efficient treatment of Glioblastoma.”
Teams from Miami Cancer Institute and Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institutework together to care for patients with glioblastoma.
“We are hopeful that the information gleaned from this study will ultimately help us develop more tailored therapies for each patient,” said neurosurgeonMichael McDermott, M.D., chief medical executive of Miami Neuroscience Institute and co-director of the Radiosurgery Program at Miami Cancer Institute.
This study will also assess radiomics and compare it to genomics to build better models for imaging to predict pathological differences and will be one of the largest multi-institutional, histopathological / imaging research projects to date and will ensure that non-invasive decision support is accurate.
Learn more about Miami Cancer Institute clinical trials here.
About Miami Cancer Institute
Miami Cancer Institute brings to South Florida access to personalized clinical treatments and comprehensive support services delivered with unparalleled compassion. No other cancer program in the region has the combination of cancer-fighting expertise and advanced technology—including the first proton therapy center in South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean, and one of the only radiation oncology programs in the world with each of the newest radiation therapies in one place—to diagnose and deliver precise cancer treatments that achieve the best outcomes and improve the lives of cancer patients. The Institute offers an impressive roster of established community oncologists and renowned experts, clinical researchers and genomic scientists recruited from the nation’s top cancer centers. Selected as Florida’s only member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer (MSK) Alliance, Miami Cancer Institute is part of a meaningful clinical collaboration that affords patients in South Florida access to innovative treatments and ensures that the standards of care developed by their multidisciplinary disease management teams match those at MSK. For more information, please visit https://cancer.baptisthealth.net/miami-cancer-institute.
Miami Cancer Institute is part of Baptist Health Cancer Care, the largest cancer program in South Florida, with locations from the Florida Keys to the Palm Beaches.
