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Initiative Updates
2022
We're excited to announce that November 1 and 2 will mark the return of an in-person CEO Roundtable on Cancer Annual Meeting and Conference to be held on the campus of SAS Institute in Cary, NC.
This event is designed for CEOs and leaders on their teams steering research, policy and advocacy, recruitment and retention, benefits, and wellness. It is an important time for us to exchange information on priorities, successes, and challenges and together chart the future of our organization.
Details about hotels, registration, and specific sessions will be shared later.
For now, please mark your calendar and reserve time to participate.
This will be a critical time together to renew friendships and reignite collaborative work after two years of virtual meetings due to the pandemic. We hope to see you in person in November!
We are excited to announce the addition of two more Historically Black Colleges and Universities in our Going4Gold Program: Meharry Medical College and South Carolina State.
Meharry Medical College, founded in 1876, is the nation’s largest private, independent historically Black academic health sciences center dedicated to educating minority and other health professionals. True to its heritage, it is a United Methodist Church related institution. The college is particularly well known for its uniquely nurturing, highly effective educational programs; emerging preeminence in health disparities research; culturally sensitive, evidence-based health services and significant contribution to the diversity of the nation’s health professions workforce. Meharry is a leading national educator of African Americans with M.D. and D.D.S. degrees and Ph.D. degrees in the biomedical sciences.
Since 1896, South Carolina State University has maintained a legacy of excellence in education. They have been home to generations of scholars and leaders in business, military service, government, athletics, education, medicine, science, engineering technology and more. Located in Orangeburg, SC, SC State was founded as a land grant college with a mission of providing education and service to the
Stillman Health Fair
Shaw University partnered with the CEO Roundtable on Cancer to host a 5k University Cancer Awareness Walk on Wednesday, March 30. Prior to the start of the event, Shaw President Dr. Paulette Dillard was presented a “Cancer Gold Standard Health Champion” flag by Roundtable CEO, Dr. Bill Louv, and CEO Roundtable on Cancer President, MaryLisabeth Rich.
Shaw and Stillman are among the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities to join the CEORT’s “Going for Gold” partnership with HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions as well as company members of the CEORT to bring awareness to cancer and expand access to prevention, detection, and treatment.
It was an exciting kickoff to Shaw University’s Go4Gold initiative with the marching band on hand, more than 200 people in attendance, special t-shirts for the occasion and participation from as far away as Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and Los Angeles.
Stillman College held the Denzel Davis Memorial Health fair on campus March 29. The health fair remembers a former student who died after a bout of viral bronchitis in 2018. He did not seek a doctor’s care after becoming ill.
The objective and mission of the health fair is to encourage Stillman students and the wider community to get a variety of health screenings and to see a doctor regularly, even if they are not sick.
“The disparity between African Americans and how health issues affect other populations is significant,” said Tomalisa Washington, director of Student Development at Stillman College and organizer of the health fair. “And, in addition to issues of access, we have a population that is very suspicious of health care professionals. So, the more we can expose our students and community to healthcare specialists is important, especially for early detection and preventive medicine.”
Adam Pellegrini, Jasper Health CEO and Co-founder
Jasper Health, a first-of-its-kind cancer care navigation and experience platform, has joined the Roundtable. Jasper Health’s platform aligns directly with the core pillars of the Gold Standard and provides a digital framework to help employers realize the vision of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer.
“We are excited to work with a patient-centered enterprise like Jasper Health to deliver on our mission,” said MaryLisabeth Rich, President, CEO Roundtable on Cancer. “There is much we can do together as we work to deliver through greater access the best possible outcomes for all patients with cancer, their families, friends and communities.”
“Jasper Health strongly believes our partnership with the CEO Roundtable on Cancer can rapidly accelerate the Gold Standard requirements for employers helping to provide a holistic approach to cancer support and best practice navigation for employees,” said Adam Pellegrini, co-founder and CEO of Jasper Health. “Jasper Health will work with CEO Roundtable members to deliver upon the mission of the organization and drive true health outcomes for employers.”
Jasper Health is a digital guiding, navigation, and engagement experience that improves the lives of people living with cancer, those at high risk for cancer, and their caregivers. Its all-in-one oncology platform provides psychosocial support interventions while enabling connected care with the broader healthcare system. Our team includes seasoned leaders with decades of experience in digital health, clinical care, data science, and consumer engagement. Founded at Redesign Health, a company that powers innovation in healthcare, we believe that powerful technology and passionate people can relieve some of the stress of organizing care. To learn more, visit https://www.hellojasper.com/
Researchers who have not logged on to the Project Data Sphere data platform recently are invited to check out all the improvements we’ve been making to respond to user feedback. Data accessed via the platform has contributed to at least 138 peer-reviewed publications and 15 associated with research programs.
There are new resources on the platform including an instructional video published by Cytel, statistical software developer and contract research organization, about synthetic controls planning and best practices (leveraging data from platform).
Navigation has been improved on the data access page. A new search feature includes keyword highlighting and expanded search fields. There also is improved organization of data within cancer areas and tumor types and improved visibility to National Cancer Institute studies thanks to the addition of study sponsors to navigation bar.
The data repository has been expanded to accommodate real world data with the first open access RWD contribution by Asociación Colaboración Cochrane Iberoamericana (ACCIb). Also SAS Life Science Analytics Framework (LSAF) has published and shared survival analysis across a set of pancreatic cancer trials (Clovis, Celgene, Sanofi, EMD Serono).
More information on the data platform is available from Holly Smith, MBA, PMP, Director, Data Sharing Products & Platform, at holly.smith@projectdatasphere.org.
The Roundtable has been hosting a series of webinars since January to offer content on health and wellbeing as well as oncology research, prevention, and treatment with a variety of audiences in mind.
Turnout for the webinars has been strong and replays of each event are posted on the links shared below. Topics addressed so far are:
- Addressing Workplace Health Burdens Post Pandemic -- Held February 4, 2022
- Glioblastoma: Innovative Data Re-Use to Accelerate Evidence Generation for New Medicines -- Held February 7, 2022
- Putting Data to Work: Dissecting Health Disparities -- Held February 22, 2022
- Elevating the Importance of Healthy Workplaces -- Held March 24, 2022
Planning continues for a webinar on venture capital and pediatric oncology research. All the topics surfaced at our Annual Conference in November 2021 as areas of interest for follow-up.
2021
The CEO Roundtable on Cancer has elected Scott White, Company Group Chairman for North America at the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, to its Board of Directors.
A member of the Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Group Operating Committee, Mr. White is responsible for leading Janssen’s efforts to transform the health of people in the United States and Canada facing cancer, autoimmune disease, heart disease and diabetes, infectious diseases, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and serious mental illness.
“The scientific community has made remarkable progress in cancer prevention and treatment over the past 20 years that has made a difference in treatment, and the CEO Roundtable on Cancer’s work to support workplace wellness as well as innovative research, is playing an instrumental role in advancing us toward the objective of ultimately eliminating cancer,” said Mr. White. “I am honored to join this exceptional team of industry leaders at this time where the focus on health and healthcare is so important to our society’s future.”
President George H.W. Bush founded the non-profit CEO Roundtable on Cancer in 2001 to bring bold and imaginative solutions to cancer treatment and prevention. The organization continues to develop and implement initiatives that reduce the risk of cancer, enable early diagnosis, facilitate access to the best available treatments, and hasten the discovery of novel and more effective anti-cancer therapies to help eliminate cancer as a personal disease and public health problem.
“Scott White brings a depth and breadth of experience in oncology and immunology that are vital to our search for ways to eliminate cancer by accelerating research, and thereby improving treatment,” said Ken Lee, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman, CEO Roundtable on Cancer. “We are grateful that he will be joining the Board and continuing a tradition of close collaboration from Johnson & Johnson.”
Mr. White has a wealth of knowledge in oncology and immunology. He served as President of the Janssen U.S. Immunology business, making a significant difference for people with debilitating autoimmune diseases through highly impactful medicines and innovative patient support and access programs. Prior to his Immunology role, White was President of Janssen U.S. Oncology.
He succeeds long-time Board member Joaquin Duato, Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of Johnson & Johnson.
“Special recognition and thanks go to Joaquin Duato for five years of service to the CEO Roundtable Board,” Mr. Lee said. “He has led his company to meaningfully contribute to the CEO Roundtable’s work and those substantial contributions have helped set our direction for many years to come.”
Johnson & Johnson has been a member of the CEO Roundtable since 2004, achieving Gold Standard accreditation in the U.S. in 2006, and it became one of the first companies to earn Global Gold Standard (2013) and Gold Standard accreditation in China (2020).
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (June 4-8), one of the largest scientific gatherings in cancer research, will feature several abstracts related to Project Data Sphere® research programs on External Control Arms and Immune-related Adverse Events.
External Control Arms
Of the 4,600 posters at ASCO this year, an emerging trend (more than 350 posters) is the use of real world data (RWD) and real world evidence (RWE). A landscape analysis by the FDA’s Donna Rivera and Paul Kluetz describes some of the more than 140 scenarios where RWD was presented in regulatory submissions over the past decade. (Abstract #18787: https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/199567/abstract)
One prominent use of RWD is as an external control or comparator arm to support claims of effectiveness where overall survival and response rate are used as primary outcomes. The primary conclusion from their analysis is the need to establish “metrics for robust data characterization and outcome validation” so that “RWD can be appropriately evaluated and provide the rigor necessary to be considered adequate RWE.”
Project Data Sphere’s External Control Arm program directly focuses on these two issues. Instead of using clinical data extracted from electronic health records, the PDS program is building external control populations from completed clinical trials and purpose-built registries. These data assets have quality components built in with clinical assessments and data entry performed under stringent protocols. We believe that this well-defined data environment will more rapidly clarify how external data assets should be developed and qualified for regulatory decision making.
Well-constructed, high quality external control arms can inform decision making throughout clinical development beginning well before regulatory engagement and be incorporated in complex innovative trial designs to: support a smaller control arm through hybrid approaches, accelerate interim analyses, and help optimize patient allocation in adaptive platform trials. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31155679/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31175098/]
PDS collaborators from Dana-Farber are presenting some of the initial findings from the GBM-INSIGhT trial, an adaptive platform trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.
Abstract #2006: https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/195931/abstract
Abstract #2014: https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/196561/abstract
Thirteen additional abstracts at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting demonstrate various uses of external control arms.
https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/results/external%20control%20arm?meeting...
In addition, patient-level data from completed clinical trials made available through the data.projectdatasphere.org portal was used in at least three posters. These studies applied deep learning to these patient-level data assets to identify candidate predictors of outcome, phenotypes of super-responders to specific therapies, and illustrate the risk of introducing bias through patient censoring.
Abstract #1549: https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/200166/abstract
Abstract #1548: https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/200113/abstract
Abstract #e13543: https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/200201/abstract
Immune-Related Adverse Events (irAEs)
As more cancer patients are treated with immunotherapy, benefits have been observed as well as an increase in patients experiencing neurotoxicity. There is an urgent need to understand how and why these neurologic irAEs occur, and how to best manage them.
Comprehensive knowledge of neurologic irAEs is limited and treatment guidelines are based on consensus, not evidence.
PDS irAE Task Force Co-Chairs from Massachusetts General Hospital -- Dr. Amanda Guidon and Dr. Kerry Reynolds -- as well as PDS are among the authors of an abstract on consensus definitions that were achieved for seven core disorders. The authors believe the definitions now can be used broadly across clinical and research settings.
Abstract #2647: https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/196134/abstract
Project Data Sphere’s open access data platform has achieved a major milestone: Boosting the impact of oncology research by contributing to publication of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles that impact research and clinical practice.
The platform aggregates patient-level trial data from biopharmaceutical companies, academic medical centers, and government organizations and makes it available with free access to SAS™ analytic tools.
“Secondary analysis of patient-level data is valuable,” said Bill Louv, President of PDS. “Analyzing the combined datasets increases statistical power to learn more about standard-of-care outcomes, rare adverse events, treatment effects in patient subsets, and reproducibility of results. That’s not possible with single datasets.”
Louv said less than 1 percent of data is reused in this manner despite the existence of multiple sites offering inventories, metadata, and controlled access to the majority of clinical trials sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry.
In the six years since it launched, the PDS platform has grown from nine datasets to more than 150 and has been accessed by more than 3,000 scientists making more than 26,000 downloads of information. The data covers more than 160,000 patient lives in clinical trials studying prostate, breast, colorectal, non-small cell lung, Merkel cell, and pancreatic cancers.
New data types are being added and they include real world data, images, and genomics information. There also is curated data, including some from RTI International that is enhanced with social, economic, and health care-related data from the national Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). At least two publications have focused on this analytically enhanced data that enable researchers to assess the impact of socioeconomic factors on cancer survival and related outcomes.
The PDS platform is home to the world’s largest curated prostate cancer dataset, which yielded more than 25 publications in peer-reviewed journals. The Prostate Cancer DREAM Challenge, which generated the comprehensive dataset, attracted 50 international teams to help predict survival for prostate cancer patients and treatment discontinuation for those treated with docetaxel. The Challenge produced a model that accurately predicts patient outcomes that could lead to improved clinical trial design and treatment options.
Three years ago, the platform amassed enough data to build a portfolio of research programs. Those programs focus on innovative trial designs, automating lesion annotation, streamlining adverse event reporting and management of patients on immunotherapy, and multi-institutional registry-building and common data models.
The steering committee of each research program includes an observer from the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence. This activity is governed by a Public-Private Partnership between FDA and PDS. The senior sponsor of the PPP is Paul Kluetz, Associate Director of the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence.
FDA and PDS also have worked together to convene experts from academia, industry, and government to address the latest issues in oncology research. The 2021 event will be held Sept. 23 and the focus is on defining a pathway to greater reuse of trial data. Learn more here: https://www.projectdatasphere.org/events-symposia/symposium/symposium-x-.
Joya Delgado-Harris joined the CEO Roundtable on Cancer in June as Executive Director for the Gold Standard, inclusive of our Health Equity and Going4Gold initiative.
Joya previously was the Director of Research Integration for the American Cancer Society. In that role, she provided oversight and management of the integration of products and outcomes stemming from the Office of Cancer Research and Implementation into enterprise-wide mission objectives.
“Joya has tremendous experience and accomplishments in non-profit management and will be a great asset delivering on our CEO Cancer Gold Standard as we expand our reach and ambition,” said MaryLisabeth Rich, President of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer.
Past areas of work for Joya include program development, curriculum design, grant-writing, engaging board members and volunteers as well as developing business partnerships. In addition to the American Cancer Society, she has worked for Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization, Executive Director for the Association of Village PRIDE, and Director of Product Development for the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross.
As a breast cancer survivor, Joya serves as a Consumer Advocate Peer Reviewer for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), administered by the Department of Defense, sitting alongside scientists to review and evaluate innovative breast cancer research grant proposals. She also serves as a reviewer for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).
After earning a BA from Wellesley College, Joya received a Master of Public Health degree with concentration in public health policy and management from the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University.
Adam Schechter, Chairman and CEO, Labcorp
Labcorp, headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina, has earned CEO Cancer Gold StandardTM accreditation for its work to reduce the risk of cancer for its employees and covered family members.
"We are proud to receive the CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation," said Adam Schechter, chairman and chief executive officer at Labcorp. "This accreditation emphasizes Labcorp’s mission to improve the health and lives of the patients we serve and of our employees and their families. We are committed to providing access to care for our employees and to incorporating programs such as those focused on cancer prevention, risk reduction and overall wellbeing."
Employers from many industries are keenly aware of the positive impact they can have on health and controlling healthcare costs when they take steps to address cancer and other chronic diseases. To earn Gold Standard accreditation, an employer must establish programs to reduce cancer risk by taking concrete actions in five key areas: emphasize prevention by prohibiting tobacco use and supporting tobacco cessation efforts; promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition and weight management; providing health insurance options that include detecting cancer at its earliest stages, ensuring access to quality care and participation in cancer clinical trials; promoting employee awareness of these initiatives; and supporting the needs of cancer survivors in the workplace.
The CEO Roundtable on Cancer Board of Directors approved updates last September to the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™, our employer-led health and well-being accreditation program. We’re excited to report these important and transformative changes have been incorporated into a new online Gold Standard application portal.
We are beginning a “Pilot Phase” to gather feedback on the new application’s user interface but we expect to broadly launch the platform later this year.
While retaining and enhancing the core tenets of prevention, early detection and quality care, the Gold Standard is being updated to have a more holistic approach to health and well-being with increased emphasis on health education, health navigation, cancer survivorship, well-being and health equity.
Further, recognizing the need to encourage aspiring Gold Standard applicants and, at the same time, challenge long time Gold Standard employers, the accreditation program and application now measures an organization’s progress on its unique health and well-being journey.
We have also been working to update our tools, resources, and processes so that we can continue to help you address the cancer burden and together save and improve lives.
If you are interested in participating this summer in the “Pilot Phase”, which will welcome feedback on the new application portal user experience, please contact Therese Martin, CEO Cancer Gold Standard’s Senior Manager, Therese.Martin@CEORoundtableonCancer.org
The CEO Roundtable on Cancer continues to partner with health-oriented organizations, like the North Carolina Business Group on Health (NCBGH), to keep members of the CEO Roundtable and our Gold Standard Community informed on the latest oncology research and it's impact on the workforce.
MaryLis Rich, President, CEO Roundtable on Cancer, recently moderated a panel as part of the NCBH Spring Forum 2021. The discussion on precision medicine explored what interventions and tests are priorities for improving health and fighting cancer.
The CEO Roundtable on Cancer has accredited BeiGene, Ltd., a global biotechnology company with the CEO Cancer Gold StandardTM recognizing its efforts to reduce the risk of cancer for its employees and covered family members.
“Our CEO Cancer Gold Standard certification demonstrates that BeiGene is a unique organization committed to improving individuals’ lives and that that commitment begins with improving the health of the company’s employees and their family members,” said Kenneth B. Lee, General Partner of Hatteras Venture Partners, LLC and Executive Chairman of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer.
“BeiGene was founded a little over a decade ago on the premise that there is an emerging opportunity to deliver high quality, innovative, impactful medicines faster and more equitably and affordably around the world,” said John V. Oyler, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of BeiGene. “Since then, we have worked hard to improve the health and well-being of patients, regardless of location or income, and to have a positive impact on the health of our colleagues around the world. We are proud to accept this recognition by the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, on behalf of our team of over 6,000 people and their families.”
Pandemic precautions led to a sharp decline in cancer screenings and vaccinations to prevent cancer. The CEO Roundtable on Cancer invited the Gold Standard Community to a webinar to address the screening backlog, identify those at greatest risk and address widespread missed youth vaccinations. MaryLis Rich, President, CEO Roundtable on Cancer, moderated the discussion with our distinguished panel of experts. We're grateful for the insight provided by:
- Dr. Otis Brawley is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Oncology and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University.
- Dr. Nicole Parkerson is board-certified in Pediatrics and has served as managing physician partner at Raleigh Pediatric Associates.
- Dr. K. Andrew Crighton is the former chief executive officer of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer and former Chief Medical Officer and head of the Global Health Organization for Prudential.
Resources from the presentation are available at the below links:
Strategies to Increase Vaccine Confidence (Dr. Parkerson)
Post Pandemic Well-being Communication Strategies (Dr. Crighton)