Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology Group
Mission
The Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology group is part of the Medical Oncology Branch and Affiliates and comprises medical oncologists with a special expertise in GI cancers. The primary mission of the Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology group is to provide excellent clinical care and advice to patients with gastrointestinal cancers, while conducting clinical research studies that lead to improvements in therapy. Our research ambitions are to practically benefit the patients that we meet while at the same time deepening our understanding of science by being truly translational and linked to the laboratory.
Overview
Our primary research aim is to understand the interaction between cancer and the immune system, with the aim of exploiting this relationship to develop new therapeutic strategies for patients with GI malignancies. We believe that the complex and intriguing relationship between cancer and the immune system can be broken down into four major research questions:
- How do developing tumors interfere with and suppress the immune response that should be directed against them?
- How does tumor cell death—as a result of specific anti-cancer treatments, including molecular targeted therapies—affect the immune response directed against the tumor?
- How do we develop efficient immune-based treatments against GI malignancies?
- What is the most effective way to combine both immune- and non-immune-based treatments to achieve the strongest therapeutic effect?
To answer these four critical questions, our research program involves a “twin track” approach, combining preclinical (or laboratory-centered) research with clinical (or patient-centered) research. We believe that this strongly translational approach, whereby the bench and the bedside are closely linked, offers the best chance of developing effective therapies for patients with GI cancer. Currently, our preclinical research program is primarily focused on the question of how anti-cancer treatments affect the anti-tumor immune response and how this immune response might be improved to result in concrete benefit to patients. In the same manner, information that we obtain from our clinical studies involving patients is used to inform our laboratory work so that there is constant crosstalk between our laboratory and the clinic. The ultimate aim of this approach is to bring stronger therapeutic options to the clinic so that our patients derive a practical and meaningful benefit.
Our clinical research program is primarily aimed at hepatobiliary tumors (hepatocellular carcinoma, tumors of the bile duct and gallbladder and pancreatic adenocarcinoma) and colorectal cancer. We work closely with our colleagues in surgical oncology, radiation oncology and interventional radiology, meeting on a regular bi-weekly basis so that our clinical and research practices are subject to multidisciplinary input. In addition, our research concepts and protocols are subject to and benefit from rigorous oversight from our colleagues within Medical Oncology Branch and Affiliates.
Research Team
Tim F. Greten, M.D.
Investigator
Head, Gastrointestinal Malignancies Section
Medical Oncology Branch, NCI
Dr. Greten received his medical training at Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, in 1993. He did his internship in Munich, followed by a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University Baltimore in the laboratory of Drew Pardoll and Liz Jaffee, where he initiated his work in the field of tumor immunology. In 1999, Dr. Greten returned to Hannover Medical School, where he finished his training in internal medicine in 2003, medical oncology in 2004, and gastroenterology in 2007. He held an associate professor position in the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endocrinology. In February 2010, he joined CCR's Medical Oncology Branch as the program director of the Gastrointestinal Malignancy Section. Dr. Greten has published more than 70 peer-reviewed papers on basic tumor immunology and translational research studies in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as well as clinical trials in different gastrointestinal malignancies, including HCC. He also headed the Group for Hepatobiliary Carcinoma from 2006 until 2010, where he coordinated and directed the German Clinical Trial Group (AIO). Currently, Dr. Greten is the chair of the NCI Gastrointestinal Malignancy Faculty and member of the immunology faculty.
Austin G. Duffy, M.D.
Staff Clinician
Gastrointestinal Malignancies Section
Medical Oncology Branch, NCI
Dr. Duffy is a staff clinician with the Medical Oncology Branch within the National Cancer Institute. He is a medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. In 1998, Dr. Duffy graduated from medical school at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. After completing residency and specialist oncology registrarship in Ireland, Dr. Duffy graduated from an advanced fellowship in Gastrointestinal Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York before joining NCI in 2008.
Research Staff
Suzanne E. Fioravanti, R.N., B.S.N., O.C.N.
Research Nurse Specialist
Medical Oncology Branch, NCI
Suzanne E. Fioravanti received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1985. The majority of her career has been at NIH working either for the Clinical Center as an inpatient oncology nurse or as a research nurse for the National Cancer Institute. From 1989–2000, she held various positions in the Clinical Center dealing with medical oncology clients and administrative issues. In 2000, she became a research nurse specialist for the National Cancer Institute. Her oncology research experience includes working with gastrointestinal, prostate, ovarian, and follicular lymphoma cancers. Ms. Fioravanti has experience in working on all phases of clinical research trials and has published various journal articles related to oncology issues. Her areas of specialty are patient recruitment, patient education, and clinical trial implementation.
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