Elizabeth Gregerson

Of all early-onset cancers in the U.S., gastrointestinal cancers are increasing most rapidly, according to a review published July 17 in JAMA. 

Defined as occurring in patients under the age of 50, early-onset gastrointestinal cancers include colorectal, gastric, esophageal and pancreatic cancers. 

For the review, researchers from Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute analyzed the incidence, risk factors and treatment approaches associated with early-onset gastrointestinal cancers.

Here are five things to know:

More than half (54.3%) of all early-onset gastrointestinal cancers reported globally in 2022 were colorectal cancer.Gastric cancers made up 23.8% of global early-onset gastrointestinal cancer cases in 2022, followed by esophageal cancer at 13.2% and pancreatic cancer at 8.6%.

Between 2010 and 2019, the age-standardized incidence rate of early-onset gastrointestinal cancers in the U.S. increased by 2.16% per year.In 2022, 20,805 individuals in the U.S. were diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer, followed by 2,689 individuals diagnosed with early-onset gastric cancer, 2,657 with early-onset pancreatic cancer and 875 with early-onset esophageal cancer.

Most early-onset gastrointestinal cancers are associated with modifiable risk factors, though about 15% to 30% of cases can be attributed to genetics or hereditary syndromes.

While treatment of early-onset gastrointestinal cancers is similar to later-onset cancers, early-onset patients typically receive more aggressive treatment and have a similar or shorter survival rate.

“The rising incidence of early-onset gastrointestinal cancers is alarming and underscores the need for enhanced prevention strategies and early detection methods,” Kimmie Ng, MD, senior author of the review and director of Dana-Farber’s Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center, said in a July 17 news release from the institute. 

Read the full review here.
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Atlanta-based Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University has appointed Jill Barnholtz-Sloan, PhD, as chief administrative officer. 

She will also serve as associate director for research administration, according to a July 16 news release from the institute. 

Dr. Barnholtz-Sloan previously served as acting director, and associate director for informatics and data science within the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology, the release said.
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Combining duvelisib and romidepsin may provide a path to stem cell transplant for patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral and cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. 

Researchers from Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham found the drug combination to be effective, tolerable and safe, according to a June 25 news release from Mass General Brigham. 

One of the study’s authors, Salvia Jain, MD, a hematologist and oncologist at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, also in Boston, shared more about the findings with Becker’s. Dr. Jain is also a founding member of the PETAL Consortium, a global collaborative research group dedicated to uncovering new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of T-cell lymphoma. 

Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length. 

Question: How might the study’s findings affect treatment pathways and transplant eligibility protocols within hospital-based oncology programs? 

Dr. Salvia Jain: The real-world data on the combination of duvelisib with romidepsin provides a safe and effective option for transplant-eligible patients with relapsed and refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Data from the phase 1 and 2 trial coupled with our study offers a comprehensive overview of transplantation feasibility with this [drug combination]. Although the follow-up post-transplantation was short in our study, we did not see any increased risk of acute graft-versus-host disease or fatal infections post-allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Thus, for lymphoma specialists and bone marrow transplantation physicians seeking to bridge transplant eligible patients to allo-HSCT, this strategy could be considered. Especially relevant if clinical trial enrollment is not feasible due to any reason. 

Q: From your perspective, how can real-world data studies like this influence institutional policy, payer decisions, and formulary access for novel treatment combinations? 

SJ: High-quality real-world data is very powerful as it is more representative of routine clinical practices, making it more universally relevant with broad implications. When real-world data shows similar safety and efficacy of novel drugs, either as monotherapy or combinations aligned with the clinical trial data, it provides greater rigor and robustness generating confidence in the composite data. This is likely to favorably influence institutional policies, payer decisions and expand access to the novel combination. 

Q: As hospitals seek to expand precision oncology, how might future research inform more personalized, resource-efficient care models? SJ: Non-invasive monitoring with circulating DNA-based approaches are being used to guide care in patients with aggressive B-cell lymphomas. Our group — in collaboration with Drs. David Kurtz and Michael Khodadoust at Stanford — has developed a more specific technique called LILY-seq which enables tracking of highly specific tumor-relevant ctDNA. We believe that combination of clinical, radiologic and molecular residual disease results will ultimately facilitate start/stop/change decisions with existing and emerging drugs and their combinations.
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Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine debuted its new mobile mammogram van during a free community health fair on July 13. 

The van — equipped with Siemens’ 3D mammography technology in a private, air-conditioned suite — was made possible by philanthropic donations, and federal and community grants, according to a July 7 news release from the health system. 

Penn Medicine has partnered with Siemens Healthineers to provide about 1,000 free mammograms through mobile mammography since 2021, though previous events employed a semi-truck to transport a larger mammogram unit, the release said. 

Two of the project’s leaders, Brian Englander, MD, and Carmen Guerra, MD, shared with Becker’s more about their goals for the new van and why the system prioritized public health over any potential financial return on investment.

Dr. Englander is the Robert E. Campbell Professor of Radiology and chair of radiology at Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Hospital, and Dr. Guerra, MD, is the Ruth C. and Raymond G. Perelman Professor and associate director for community outreach and engagement at the Abramson Cancer Center, also in Philadelphia.

Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length. 

Q: Penn Medicine’s new mobile mammogram van is a major investment in bringing breast cancer screening directly into communities. What were some of the data measures or insights that led you to pursue this initiative? 

Dr. Carmen Guerra: The data elements that informed the decision to invest in a new mobile mammography program include: 

Increasing breast cancer rates: Disturbingly, the incidence rate of breast cancer has been rising for decades. In the 1980s, the rise was attributed to the introduction of mammography. In the 1990s, estrogen therapy became widespread and also contributed to the rising breast cancer rates. After a small decline in breast cancer rates in the early 2000s that reflected a decreasing use of hormone replacement therapy, there has been a recent increase in breast cancer incidence over the past decade, which is believed to be related to increased body weight and delayed childbirth.

More women are eligible for breast cancer screening: In April, 2024, more women became eligible for mammography when the [U.S. Preventative Services Task Force] guidelines lowered the recommended age to begin screening for average-risk women to 40. By lowering the age of when to start screening by a decade, there is a need to expand capacity to accommodate the women that are now eligible to start screening at age 40.

Mammography rates are still suboptimal: Although Penn Medicine has state of the art mammography facilities at multiple locations including in downtown Philadelphia and the suburbs, mammography screening rates remain suboptimal in the 13 county Abramson Cancer Center catchment area for women age 40 years and over at 74.5%.  

Penn Medicine wants to help women detect breast cancer early when it is most treatable by making mammography more accessible. The mobile unit will allow us to meet women where they live, work, worship and even shop!  

Q: Are there particular populations or geographic areas you’re targeting with this initiative? How will you track progress in reaching them? 

CG: The Abramson Cancer Center carefully tracks incidence, mortality and, importantly, late-stage cancer in each of the 13 counties that comprise its catchment area. Late-stage cancer is an indicator of where mammography is needed most because when mammography is performed regularly, it can detect cancer at an earlier stage.

Consequently, we will seek to establish partnerships with community organizations and residents of those counties to be able to co-develop a plan to offer mobile mammography,  especially in the counties that have a disproportionate share of late-stage breast cancers. We will continue to analyze the cancer registry data from the CDC annually to monitor our progress in reducing late-stage breast cancers.

Q: Investing in a dedicated mobile mammography unit is a significant capital decision. How did Penn Medicine weigh the return on investment, both in terms of clinical outcomes and long-term health system goals? 

Dr. Brian Englander: Penn Medicine invested in mobile mammography as part of its ongoing commitment to investing in the region where it offers standard imaging services. In addition, there was a successful partnership supported by Penn Medicine and Siemens Healthineers between 2021 through 2024, that revealed a higher cancer detection rate than expected. 

Senior system leadership and the radiology department understand the need to reduce obstacles to access and decentralize care. Consideration about the financial return on investment was less important than the philanthropic impact of providing mobile imaging. The intent was to ensure that patients in the Penn catchment have access to screening mammography regardless of insurance status. Public and private partnerships are being established, as well as collaboration with industry and community organizations, to ensure access to the healthcare system for all breast care.

Q: How will you define and measure success for the mobile mammography program? Are there specific benchmarks or community health indicators you’re aiming to improve? 

BE: Although precise metrics have yet to be determined, success translates to providing screening mammography for women over the age of 40 who have never had a mammogram before or have not had a mammogram within the past two years. Screening mammography will be offered at the same locations each year so that annual routine mammography can be achieved.

At a minimum, the mean cancer detection rate will be the same for mobile mammography patients, with anticipated higher numbers given a previously unscreened population. All metrics as established by [the Mammography Quality Standards Act] will be indistinguishable between mobile and hospital-based mammography, as will quality, experience and outcome measurements. In addition, the translation of screening mammography to participation in healthcare management will be assessed.
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Children represent less than 1% of publicly available medical imaging data, according to a preprint study published June 10 in MedRxiv. 

To analyze the inclusion of children’s imaging data, researchers reviewed 181 public medical imaging data sets from The Cancer Imaging Archive, Stanford AI in Medicine & Imaging, the UK BioBank, the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center and OpenNeuro. 

They also reviewed 46 studies accepted to the Medical Imaging with Deep Learning conference from 2023 and 2024 to understand how pediatric data is represented in medical AI research.

Here are five notes on the analysis:

Of the 181 datasets, 3.3% were pediatric only and 14.4% contained both adult and pediatric data. 

Among datasets with “sufficient” patient age information, children represented less than 1% of patients.Children represented between 1% and 2% of patients within the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center, The Cancer Imaging Archive and the Stanford AI in Medicine & Imaging datasets.Among the 30 most-cited datasets, children represented 0.8% of patients.

Pediatric imaging data gaps varied by modality, with one pediatric ultrasound image for every six adult images, one pediatric CT scan for 302 adult scans and one pediatric MRI for 295 adult MRIs.

Only one of the 46 studies accepted by the Medical Imaging with Deep Learning conference between 2023 and 2024 targeted pediatrics.“These findings suggest a lack of pediatric AI applications being actively worked on in the research community, potentially driven by the pediatric data gap,” the study authors wrote. “In the absence of pediatric AI models, practitioners may opt for the off-label use of adult AI models.”

The “glaring underrepresentation” of pediatric patients in publicly available medical imaging datasets limits the development of safe AI for pediatric use, the study authors wrote. 

Read the full preprint study here.
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A team at Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health successfully developed and performed the world’s first on-table heart reanimation for a 3-month-old patient earlier this year.

The new technique enables surgeons to temporarily reanimate a donor heart outside of the body with the use of an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine. The process opens access for infant patients to receive hearts donated after circulatory death, according to a July 16 news release from the health system. 

Details of the procedure were published July 16 in The New England Journal of Medicine. 

Duke Health surgeons performed the U.S.’s first adult donation after circulatory death heart transplant in 2019 and the first adolescent donation after circulatory death heart transplant in 2021.

“This innovation was born out of necessity,” Joseph Turek, MD, PhD, chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at Duke Health and lead study author, said in the release. “We were determined to find a way to help the smallest and sickest children who previously had no access to DCD heart donation.”Read more about the procedure here.

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The American College of Cardiology has recognized more than 400 U.S. hospitals for their quality and consistency in meeting care guidelines for patients with acute myocardial infarction. 

To be eligible for a 2025 Performance Achievement Award, hospitals must be participants in the ACC’s Chest Pain-MI registry and meet certain performance metrics. 

Of the more than 400 hospitals recognized, 79 received a silver-level distinction, 24 received a gold-level distinction and 320 received a platinum-level distinction. Read the full list of award recipients here.
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As cancer care innovation and advancement continues to accelerate, health systems are expanding cancer services to meet patient needs and expectations. 

Here are four systems that recently announced plans to invest millions to build cancer hospitals, and two systems that recently opened cancer care facilities:

Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health is expected to begin construction on a cancer center in 2026 as part of a larger $214 million community growth project. The center will be located on the system’s Arnett Hospital campus in Lafayette, Ind.

Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial Hospital is seeking state approval to build a new tower with the aim of consolidating oncology services, which are currently housed in five buildings across the hospital’s downtown Chicago campus.The new facility would include an oncology triage center, operating rooms, infusion and diagnostic imaging services.

Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians are proceeding with plans to build a $1.68 billion cancer hospital. The organizations have completed the necessary multi-agency, state and city approval process and are expected to begin construction on the facility in 2026.Dana-Farber’s existing oncology partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital is set to end in 2028. The new hospital is expected to open in 2031.

Mayo Clinic Jacksonville (Fla.) opened a $320 million cancer center in June, which will house the first carbon ion therapy program in the U.S. The system plans to add proton therapy in 2027 and carbon ion therapy in 2028.

In May, West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health and New Brunswick, N.J.-based Rutgers Cancer Institute opened the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center — the first freestanding cancer hospital in New Jersey.Steven Libutti, MD, senior vice president of oncology services for RWJBarnabas Health and director of the Rutgers Cancer Institute, told Becker’s the center will be a new “center of gravity” for both cancer care and research in the state.

Through a $150 million gift from the Kinder Foundation, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Children’s Hospital, both based in Houston, have committed to building the largest pediatric cancer center in the U.S.Once built, the facility will offer inpatient and ambulatory care alongside research labs dedicated to drug discovery and clinical trials. The new center will be connected via a skybridge to Texas Children’s Hospital.Though the organizations have different academic homes, Richard Gorlick, MD, told Becker’s the partnership was “synergistic.”“Through the joint venture, we can create efficiencies by not having duplication, by having a large breadth of patients when conducting clinical trials and having additional expertise in different clinical areas,” he said. Texas Children’s and MD Anderson will begin collaborating on clinical operations and patient care in early 2026.

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Hartford (Conn.) Healthcare will receive the American Hospital Association’s 2025 Quest for Quality Prize during the upcoming AHA Leadership Summit in Nashville.

The Quest for Quality Prize honors organizations that have shown innovation in improving care quality, according to a July 15 news release from the AHA.

“Hartford Healthcare has successfully embedded a culture of continuous improvement at every level of the organization,” the release said. The system reported a 70% reduction in healthcare-acquired infections between 2015 and 2023 and a 48% increase in potential safety events flagged by team members between 2021 and 2023.

Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health was named a finalist for the award. The system was recognized for the eight-step process it uses to “cascade changes” across its hospitals, which has elevated 20 of the system’s performance metrics to “the top third or better of the national median.”Read the full release here.
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