PSM Moffitt Cancer Center Partnership

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The geographic proximity and large Hispanic populations in Florida and Puerto Rico have driven a longstanding effort by the Ponce School of Medicine and the Moffitt Cancer Center to develop an academic partnership. The complementary expertise at both institutions provides a synergistic means of studying the cancer problem in Puerto Ricans, and in the Hispanic population in general. Interactions between the PSM and the MCC have been ongoing for the past 4 years, and effective working relationships between theleadership and investigators from both institutions have been formed, and collaborations have begun. An implementation plan has been devised focusing on four target areas: (1) basic research, (2) cancer education and training, (3) outreach, and (4) tissue procurement. Basic scientists from both institutions with shared interests and complementary expertise have jointly developed 2 basic research projects: (1) "Cutaneous human papillomavirus infection and non-melanoma skin cancer in the U.S. and Puerto Rico," and (2) "Targeting SP-NK1R-EGFR interactions in colitis associated dysplasia" In addition to synergistic hypothesis generation the partnership permits the sharing of technology available at the MCC and not at the PSM, and allows the PSM to develop cancer research programs, utilizing the expertise of MCC faculty. It is also a high priority of the PSM to develop the capacity to conduct investigator-initiated clinical research involving cancer patients, and to recruit new cancer faculty through the RCMI Program to accomplish this. Although the PSM has considerable expertise in other clinical disciplines, oncology needs to be developed in order to serve as a tertiary referral center for cancer care in southwest Puerto Rico. The cancer education and training program is designed to accomplish this in staged fashion. Plans for the training of medical students, residents, and faculty in cancer care and clinical research have been devised. The outreach program will eventually encompass a variety of different cancer prevention activities. Initially, a social marketing strategy will be used to determine the needs in Puerto Rico. The Tissue Procurement Core will support the research projects by banking tissue from cancer patients and normal controls in Puerto Rico. The reciprocal benefits for the MCC are the training of medical students, oncology fellows, and faculty in issues specific to the cancer problem in Puerto Rico that will provide an enhanced ability to appropriately treat Hispanic cancer patients in Florida, more effectively involve them in clinical research, and produce more effective cancer control programs for Hispanic communities in Florida. A partnership between the PSM and the MCC will likely lead to improved outcomes for Hispanic cancer patients in Puerto Rico and Florida who are currently underserved with respect to cancer care and participation in clinical research.