UC San Francisco is embarking on a bold initiative to catch cancer in its earliest forms and prevent it from progressing. The goal: to detect and halt cancer before it takes root and spreads, potentially reducing the often-severe toll of the disease.
The initiative will be called Cancer Early Detection and Interception (CEDI).
“This is essentially the invention of a new clinical intervention,” said Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS, president of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC) and senior vice president for cancer services with UCSF Health.
-Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS
“We are not aiming to prevent disease, we are trying to prevent the progression of disease,” he said. “The hope is that it will lead to better outcomes.”
Cancer cuts a devastating swath worldwide, accounting for millions of deaths each year. In the United States alone, nearly two million new cancer cases were projected in 2023 and more than more than 600,000 people were expected to die of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
The HDFCCC recently held a Multi-Cancer Early Detection Symposium (MCED) to brainstorm about the structure of the initiative and begin planning the project which is expected to launch later this year. The day-long event explored numerous issues arising from the advent of MCED tests, including current and emerging technologies, clinical implications, equal opportunity, equity and access issues.
The new initiative will be led by Margaret Tempero, MD, a UCSF professor of medicine and director of the UCSF Pancreas Center. She is a gastrointestinal oncologist who was a pioneer in applying radioactively tagged antibodies for cancer therapy.
Tempero said the initiative will be guided by evidence-based research and equitable access. “We’re at the beginning of an exciting journey,” she said. “It will take a village to accomplish.”
Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, a professor emerita with the UCSF Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, spoke at the event about the phrase she coined: “Cancer interception.”
She said the project will require understanding such aspects as who is at risk, and when is an optimal time to deliver a vaccine.
Kim Rhoads, MD, MPH, director of the Office of Community Engagement, said that in the quest for a reduction in mortality, stakeholders must remember that health equity should be considered paramount.
“If we think it will lift everyone equally, we have to make sure everyone has a boat,” she reminded participants.
Other speakers at the event included Pamela Munster, MD, director of the Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit and co-leader of the UCSF Center for BRCA Research; Hani Goodarzi, PhD, associate professor of Biophysics and Biochemistry; Kathryn Phillips, PhD, director/founder of the Center for Translational and Policy Research on Precision Medicine; Michael Potter, MD, professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine; Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, MPH, associate professor of General Internal Medicine; and Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, director of the UCSF Breast Care Center.
To carry out the initiative, Tempero and other project leaders will bring together participants in various scientific disciplines covering numerous malignancies to develop a rational approach to multi-cancer screening.
“Recently, there have been major developments in new technologies that may be effective in detecting cancer earlier than in the past,” Ashworth said. “I believe that it is critical that we are proactive in understanding how these technologies will impact people and patients, both positively and negatively, and how we adapt our clinical workflows appropriately. Advances in early detection present unprecedented opportunities for the communities we serve, but we also want to ensure that we allow equal opportunity of access and appropriate follow-up.
“We at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center are uniquely positioned to lead in this space, as we perform transformative research closely linked to the provision of state-of-the-art clinical care,” he said.