OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is not only the only NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Oregon, but it is also the only facility to have achieved that designation between Sacramento, California, and Seattle, Washington. The institute’s mission is “to end cancer as we know it,” and to achieve that goal it has focused its research and care on targeted therapies and multidisciplinary treatment. Patients diagnosed with lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma can receive state-of-the-art care from highly trained, compassionate specialists with deep knowledge of their diseases.
Facts about the Knight Cancer Institute
U.S. News & World Report has repeatedly named the Knight one of the nation’s top cancer centers.
Every year, the Knight treats approximately 6,000 cancer patients and conducts about 1,400 research projects, including more than 400 clinical trials.
The Knight Cancer Institute’s Dr. Brian Druker’s successful work on an experimental leukemia drug called imatinib introduced targeted therapy and precision cancer medicine.
Physicians and researchers at the Knight helped lead the first study that showed CAR T-cell therapy treats a type of leukemia and was the first center in the world to use natural killer cell therapy in a patient with advanced lymphoma. The institute was also among the first in the nation to use immunotherapy to treat patients with advanced prostate cancer.
History
With roots going back to 1887, when a department of medicine and state medical school was established within the University of Oregon, the Oregon Health & Science University has a rich history of medical innovation and care. Since its earliest days, it has seen the merger of Willamette University and the University of Oregon’s medical programs into the University of Oregon Medical School, the opening of a diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation service for disabled children, the founding of the Portland School of Social Work and the Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children, and the establishment of schools of nursing, a dental school, and the opening of the University Hospital. These separate entities were all brought together in 1974 as the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center, an independent institution under the direction of the Oregon State System of Higher Education. It was later renamed the Oregon Health Sciences University.[3]
In subsequent years, the system added the Dotter Interventional Institute dedicated to interventional radiology, the Casey Eye Institute, a Biomedical Information Communication Center, and a Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology. In 1991 the the Oregon Cancer Center was launched, and in 1993 Dr. Brian Druker was hired to work on his experimental drug, imatinib, for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia, by 1999 a trial of the drug showed that 30 of 31 patients showed dramatic improvement. In 1997 the center became a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.
In 2008, Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny gave the center a gift of $100 million. The center was renamed the Knight Cancer Institute in their honor. In 2017, the Knight Cancer Institute achieved Comprehensive Cancer Center designation.[1]
Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer Care at OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
Lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma are both aggressive types of cancer, and the team of experts at OHSU Knight uses a collaborative, scientific approach to diagnosis and treatment. Equipped with the most innovative equipment and technology, the institute’s physicians rely on high-tech imaging equipment, conduct biopsies the Ion robotic navigation system that assesses suspicious nodules, and molecular analyses of cells to pinpoint the best treatment option for each patient’s genetic profile. Treatment options include stereotactic body radiation therapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, and image-guided radiation therapy in combination with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and surgery to remove cancer and kill any cells left behind. Whenever possible, the team uses minimally invasive and lung-sparing techniques that offer less tissue damage and faster recoveries.[4]
Patients diagnosed with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma may be eligible for cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. This complex procedure is a leading-edge therapy offered at only a few treatment centers across the country.
Research
Research is at the heart of OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. Dedicated to precision oncology, the institute’s 200 researchers’ work falls into four different program categories; cancer biology, translational oncology, quantitative oncology, and cancer prevention and control. With approximately 400 clinical trials in progress at any time, patients diagnosed with all types of cancer have the opportunity to participate in groundbreaking initiatives that may deliver better outcomes.[2]
The Knight Cancer Institute’s innovative initiatives include:
- The Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center, the first large-scale precision early detection program of its kind. The goal of the program is the improvement of early detection of cancer through collaborative projects in engineering, genetics, early cancer biology, population science, clinical oncology, and clinical trials.
- Serial Measurements of Molecular and Architectural Responses to Therapy, or SMMART. This flagship program’s goal is the analysis of cancer’s features to facilitate attacking multiple pathways at once.
- The Knight Cancer Institute is the headquarters for the NCI-funded global research community known as the Southwest Oncology Group, or SWOG. SWOG was established to design and conduct clinical trials to establish new treatments, prevention strategies, and ways to support cancer survivors.
Notable Staff and Mesothelioma Specialists
The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute has assembled a talented team of specialists who are dedicated to offering mesothelioma and lung cancer patients the most effective treatments to match their conditions and goals. Patients diagnosed with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma will find experts in abdominal cancer and the use of HIPEC, including Dr. Divya Sood, while those diagnosed with thoracic malignancies like lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma will receive care from medical oncologists and thoracic surgeons, including Dr. Mithran Sukumar and Dr. Paul Schipper, who are pioneers in the use of thoracoscopic lobectomy and other minimally invasive surgical techniques.[4]
Knight Cancer Institute’s multidisciplinary team of physicians and researchers work together to offer mesothelioma and lung cancer patients fast diagnosis, advanced treatment options, and compassionate care.
