Advancing the Science, Intervening Early and Seeking Cures — Gastrointestinal Cancers

The mission of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Gastrointestinal Program (GI Program) is to advance our knowledge of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention, prognosis and treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies to reduce the incidence, increase survival, and improve the quality of life of individuals affected by GI diseases. The program has three investigative themes:

• Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis and Tumor Biology
• Risk Stratification and Early Detection
• Therapy and Novel Interventions

These themes represent the collaborative productivity of investigators and faculty engaged in conquering cancer.

Robust and comprehensive, the GI Program comprises four core disease categories: esophagus, pancreas, hepatobiliary, and lower gastrointestinal and includes clinical research activities in a total of eight different disease sites — esophagus, gastric, colorectal, anus neuroendocrine, pancreas, liver, bile duct, and small bowel. Each of these areas is highly organized into scientific programs that work closely with clinical areas to conduct research most relevant to patients and those at risk for gastrointestinal cancers.

Within the GI program, 46 investigators from across the three Mayo Clinic campuses in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz., Jacksonville, Fla., and Rochester, Minn., claim at least 14 different mechanisms of National Institutes of Health funding. The researchers publish around 150 manuscripts per year, many of which appear in the nation’s most prestigious venues of cancer research. Heidi Nelson, M.D., and Stephen Thibodeau, Ph.D., are co-leaders for the entire GI Program. However, the leadership team also includes Daniel Billadeau, Ph.D., Lewis Roberts, M.D., Paul Limburg, M.D., James Martenson, Jr., M.D., and Steven Alberts, M.D.

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is designated as a National Cancer Institute (NCI) comprehensive cancer center. This designation requires a peer review of at least overall excellence in cancer research and provides unique infrastructural support to scientific leadership, pilot research grants, recruitment, shared research services, program development and clinical research. Only 38 other cancer centers nationwide have successfully competed for this designation, a mark of the highest standards and achievements in cancer research and treatment.

Over the years, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center’s GI Program researchers have improved understanding of the science relating to gastrointestinal cancers, making a number of research advances . Many advances come in the form of new options for patients, often developed through clinical trials. Mayo Clinic is home to one of the largest clinical trials programs in the nation, offering studies developed by Mayo Clinic researchers and physicians as well as access to hundreds of other trials. These studies can offer our patients, including those with gastrointestinal cancer, access to the latest drugs and therapies, frequently unavailable elsewhere.

At this time, there are 40 clinical trials specific to malignancies of the GI tract open at Mayo Clinic. These trials incorporate clinical research questions pertinent to all oncologic disciplines, including gastroenterology, surgery, radiation and medical oncology with numerous areas of novel therapies.

In addition to clinical trials, the GI Program has a number of other ongoing research projects. Of particular interest, the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is one of three cancer centers to receive an NCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant for focused investigations in pancreatic cancer. The Pancreatic Cancer SPORE, led by Principal Investigator Gloria Petersen, Ph.D., supports a highly interactive, multidisciplinary, and inter-institutional program.

Pancreatic cancer, the 4th leading cause of cancer deaths in the US has a uniquely poor prognosis with reported 5-year survival rates of 3 percent. Focused research efforts are required to make progress in this disease, specifically towards the prevention, early detection, or effective therapy of pancreatic cancer. The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Pancreatic Cancer SPORE is focused on the discovery of novel mechanisms and pathways that will help understand causes and mechanisms of pancreatic cancer, which in turn will be translated into strategies for prevention, early detection, and treatment.