[[{"@type":["BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/fewer-lives-lost-to-cancer-rcca-physicians-explain-why-a-low-note-sparks-high-hopes-for-the-years-just-ahead\/#BlogPosting","@context":{"@vocab":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","kg":"http:\/\/g.co\/kg"},"url":["https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/fewer-lives-lost-to-cancer-rcca-physicians-explain-why-a-low-note-sparks-high-hopes-for-the-years-just-ahead\/","https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/fewer-lives-lost-to-cancer-rcca-physicians-explain-why-a-low-note-sparks-high-hopes-for-the-years-just-ahead\/"],"publisher":[{"@id":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/"}],"author":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/fewer-lives-lost-to-cancer-rcca-physicians-explain-why-a-low-note-sparks-high-hopes-for-the-years-just-ahead\/#BlogPosting_author_Organization","name":"Regional Cancer Care Associates"}],"inLanguage":"en-US","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/fewer-lives-lost-to-cancer-rcca-physicians-explain-why-a-low-note-sparks-high-hopes-for-the-years-just-ahead\/#BlogPosting_image_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/shutterstock_1477562192.jpg"}],"headline":"Fewer lives lost to cancer: RCCA physicians explain why a low note\u2019 sparks high hopes for the years just ahead","dateModified":"2021-11-11T12:08:52+00:00","datePublished":"2020-01-15T16:08:07+00:00","articleBody":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJanuary 15, 2020\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\nThe new year opened on a real \u201clow note\u201d in the fight against cancer, and the oncology specialists of Regional Cancer Care Associates, LLC, or RCCA, couldn\u2019t be happier.\nIuliana Shapira, MD, the Chief Medical Officer of RCCA, explained: \u201cOn Jan. 8, the American Cancer Society reported the largest single-year drop in cancer deaths ever recorded. The Society released data showing that from 2016 to 2017, the number of deaths from cancer declined by 2.2% in the United States. That record single-year drop is part of a larger trend that has seen a 29% reduction in the death rate from cancer in the U.S. from 1991 to 2017, the latest year for which statistics are available.\u201d\nWhile extremely welcome news, it is not surprising, noted Denis Fitzgerald, MD, Board Chairperson of RCCA, one of the nation\u2019s largest networks of oncology specialists. \u201cThese statistics align with what our physicians are seeing \u2014 and achieving \u2014 at RCCA\u2019s 20+ care centers in New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania and the Washington, DC area,\u201d said Dr. Fitzgerald, a medical oncologist and hematologist who practices at RCCA\u2019s Little Silver, office. \u201cBy providing treatments that target the genetic mutations driving cancer, immunotherapies, gene-based therapies, and other cutting-edge interventions, we are seeing more patients achieve complete remission, or, barring that, significantly prolonged survival accompanied by a good quality of life. Outcomes that would have been unimaginable 10 years ago are becoming almost routine. It is a very exciting time to be an oncologist and to provide care to people with cancer.\u201d\nMichael Reale, MD, said that the pace of progress is accelerating, and that physicians and patients can expect more gains in the years ahead. Dr. Reale, a medical oncologist and hematologist who practices at RCCA\u2019s Manchester, Conn., office said, \u201cThe \u2018pipeline\u2019 of new cancer-fighting agents in late stages of clinical development is very robust. Many of these investigational agents employ mechanisms of action that reflect an expanded understanding of how cancer arises and then spreads, or metastasizes. Additionally, we are drawing on large databases and other resources to determine which combinations of treatments, and in which sequence, are most effective for specific patients.\u201d Dr. Reale explained that RCCA uses an evidence-based, data-driven approach to individualize each patient\u2019s care.\nMany of the FDA-approved agents that are extending cancer patient\u2019s lives today, and many more that will join the ranks of approved therapies in the years ahead, first demonstrated their value in trials conducted at RCCA care centers, according to Martin Gutierrez, MD. Dr. Gutierrez serves as RCCA\u2019s Director of Drug Discovery\/Phase 1 Unit; he also is Co-Chief of the Divisions of Thoracic Oncology and Gastrointestinal Oncology at the John Theurer Cancer Center of Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian Health. \u201cWe participated in the early trials of pembrolizumab and nivolumab, two of the \u2018checkpoint inhibitors\u2019 that enhance the immune system\u2019s ability to recognize cancer cells and mount an effective defense against them. Today, those agents play a key role in treating several solid tumors, as well as forms of lymphoma. Many other agents we first evaluated in clinical trials here have become mainstays of cancer therapy, and no doubt others currently under investigation at our centers will go on to secure FDA approval and a place in the treatment regimens of countless people. We are proud to be able to offer RCCA\u2019s patients access to these clinical trials that are literally shaping the future of cancer care,\u201d Dr. Gutierrez said.\nWhile medical research and clinical care are expected to further reduce the cancer death rate in the years ahead, Frederick P. Smith, MD, said that additional progress also depends on people\u2019s choices and actions. \u201cThe main contributor to the overall reduction in cancer deaths noted from 2016 to 2017 was a drop in lung cancer deaths, which fell 5% in men from 2013 to 2017, and by nearly 4% among women in that period. The availability of new treatments certainly played a role in cutting lung cancer deaths, but so did declining smoking rates. Further, by choosing to have low-dose CT scans to screen for lung cancer, many current or former smokers facilitated detection of cancer at early stages, when it can be treated more effectively.\u201d\nDr. Smith, a medical oncologist who practices with RCCA in Chevy Chase, MD, said, \u201cIn the same way, realizing our full potential to reduce cancer deaths will entail not only physicians\u2019 and researchers\u2019 best efforts, but also an individual\u2019s commitment to addressing their risk factors for cancer \u2014 such as obesity and excessive alcohol consumption \u2014 and to having the cancer screenings appropriate for their age and medical history, including colonoscopy, mammography, and full body skin examinations. We have an unprecedented opportunity to reduce the toll that cancer takes on individuals and families, but everyone has a role to play in that fight.\u201d\nWith more than 80 oncology physicians and nurse clinicians practicing at 20+ care centers throughout Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and the Washington, DC area, RCCA provides care to roughly 22,000 new cancer patients and 225,000 established patients each year. RCCA offers those patients immunotherapy, targeted treatment, cell-based therapy and other cutting-edge treatments and diagnostic modalities, as well as access to clinical trials.\nwe are here for you\nFor more information or to schedule an appointment, call 844-346-7222. You can also schedule an appointment by calling the RCCA location nearest you.\nRELATED ARTICLES\nRegional Cancer Care Associates is one of fewer than 200 medical practices in the country selected to participate in the Oncology Care Model (OCM); a recent Medicare initiative aimed at improving care coordination and access to and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries undergoing chemotherapy treatment.\n\u00a9 2022 Regional Cancer Care Associates. 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Fight cancer with leading-edge treatments, experienced skill and local caring\/convenience from one of the nation's largest networks of cancer specialists.","email":"info@regionalcancercare.org","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/","url":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/rgnlcancercare","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/regionalcancercareassoc","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/10059183","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCFlVzU4UvZcyXBCe9ZSvAUQ"],"telephone":"+1 (844) 346-7222","name":"Regional Cancer Care Associates","@id":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/"}],{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fewer lives lost to cancer: RCCA physicians explain why a low note\u2019 sparks high hopes for the years just ahead","item":"https:\/\/www.regionalcancercare.org\/news\/fewer-lives-lost-to-cancer-rcca-physicians-explain-why-a-low-note-sparks-high-hopes-for-the-years-just-ahead\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]