Simon Khagi, Medical Director of Neuro-Oncology at the Hoag Family Cancer Institute, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“I was recently invited to Stand Up To Cancer‘s first ever “Breakthrough Pathways in Malignant Glioma” Innovation Summit. Packed house. Average IQ must have been north of 140+.
I sat among some of the world’s foremost authorities on brain tumor science and had the privilege to present the work I’ve been doing in collaboration with ImmunityBio, Inc. and Novocure. Shout out to Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong for spending part of the evening with me!
Here are my two cents:
- A 40+ page CV with multiple first author positions, grants, and committee position isn’t worth much if median overall survival still rests at 15 months (the case for hashtag#glioblastoma over the past two decades) — seriously, ASK YOURSELF this question! What’s it all worth?
- Collaboration is key and combination approaches are required to make a difference — it will not be ONE drug, ONE pathway, ONE investigator, ONE institution or ONE company that will find a “cure”
- Investigators have an appetite for collaboration but silos and self-interest get in the way (i.e. who gets credit, who maintains the IP, who gets the grant, etc.)
- A strong sense of empathy is critical to realize that these changes need to happen…fast. A grassroots approach can get us there. (Great talk by Jason Binder)
Although I was invited to stand among giants, I felt small in comparison despite doing something that is rarely ever done – the combination of novel modalities (suggesting signals of efficacy – time will tell!)
What are the next steps?
Novel combination approaches are absolutely necessary to make a difference. These include: MRI-guided focused ultrasound (INSIGHTEC, Lotus Neuro), vaccine strategies (Diakonos Oncology, MimiVax, Inc., Imvax, Inc.), laser interstitial thermal therapy (Monteris Medical), and cytokine-enhanced therapeutics combined with cell therapy (ImmunityBio, Inc.). There are so many others…
We have all of the tools but we need to use them in the right combination, at the right time, and in the right patients. I hope everyone that attended came away inspired – but also more driven to collaborate.
More to come…
Many thanks to Hoag Health System for creating the supportive and beautiful environment to make this happen!”
More posts from Simon Khagi on OncoDaily.