2014 Visionary The Eye Cancer Foundation, Inc. GENETICS AND PROTIENOMICS RESEARCH Breakthroughs are being made in genetics and protienomics research. For example, a new drug called ipilimumab has been associated with cures of late stage patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma. The Eye Cancer Foundation International Fellowship Program In 2012, the board of The Eye Cancer Foundation approved six international fellowship grants. Priority was given to doctors from underserved nations that wanted to bring modern ophthalmic oncology practice back to their country. Herein, you will read about our latest ECF fellows and their work. You can see how The Eye Cancer Foundation supports education and eye cancer research around the world! ECF NEWS! ECF Luncheon New Website ECF Bracelets Sept. 21, 2013 Patients get together for friendship and support in New York City. Spring 2013 The ECF sponsored eyecancer.com was updated and serves 130,000 people each month. UV Sensitive Our new bracelets turn purple in the sun, reminding us to wear our sunglasses. Though the results of ipilimumab for uveal melanoma patients have not been as promising, similar research is pointing towards MEK inhibitors and other new classes of drug have given us hope. Meanwhile, questions remain about the importance of obtaining genetic information from each patient’s tumor, the risks associated with tumor-biopsy and the effect of mortality-related information of our patients’ quality of life. Clearly, genetics and protienomics herald a new chapter of discovery into how eye cancers work and how we can defeat them. Your support makes this happen! VISIONARY – THE EYE CANCER FOUNDATION 2014 International ECF Preceptors The Eye Cancer Foundation has started an ambitious plan to support the education of six international fellows each year. Brenda Gallie, MD - Canada Dr. Brenda Gallie is leading the way towards making retinoblastoma curable in less developed countries. RB typically strikes children less than 3 years old, leaving families both financially and emotionally devastated. The Eye Cancer Foundation is committed to supporting Dr. Gallie’s efforts to help educate pediatric ophthalmic oncologists around the world. Santosh Hanovar, MD - India Dr. Santosh Hanovar has been recognized by the government of India as the recipient of the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award. He has hosted our ECF fellow, Dr. Doan Le Trang from Vietnam, and taught her about his system of cost-effective management of advanced retinoblastoma. Sarah Coupland, MBBS, PhD - England Dr. Sarah Coupland at the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Group hosted a USA-based ECF International fellow. Dr. Coupland was recently elected Trustee for ARVO and Vice-Chair of the American Joint Committee on Cancer’s Ophthalmic Oncology Task Force. Martine J. Jager, MD Dr. Martine J Jager is a past president of The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and is head of ophthalmology research in the Department of Ophthalmology, Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands. She is hosting, ECF fellow Dr. Mehmet Dogrusöz of Turkey, who is worked with Dr. Jager on ocular melanoma outcomes research. 2 VISIONARY – THE EYE CANCER FOUNDATION 2014 THE EYE CANCER FOUNDATION SPONSORED RESEARCH AND EDUCATION It was a busy year for The Eye Cancer Foundation. In 2013 we launched our new and vastly improved website, The Eye Cancer Network (http://eyecancer.com), we supported the ongoing eye cancer staging efforts of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) – International Union for Cancer Control (UICC), and enabled the education of many USA and international students around the world. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Meeting in Seattle, Washington and at both retina and radiation oncology subspecialty meetings. The list of publications and presentations is so long it cannot be included in the Visionary 2013. Highlights include: slotted plaque therapy at 5-years, lack of radiation retinopathy after plaque therapy of iris tumors, high dose anti-VEGF Lucentis helps patients with refractory radiation retinopathy, longterm results of treatment for squamous carcinoma and melanoma of the conjunctiva, the use of PET/CT for patients with metastatic cancer in their eyes, genetic analysis of iris melanoma as well as outcomes after treatment of small and large choroidal melanomas with palladium-103 plaque therapy. With The Eye Cancer Foundation’s support, we have published over 20 peer-review articles in major ophthalmic and radiation oncology journals. Our researchers and students have presented this work at The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s (AAO) Annual Meeting, the Protect Your Eyes “Think of Sunglasses as Sunblock for Your Eyes” ™ Sunlight contains harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays that cause growths on the eye, cataract, macular degeneration and intraocular melanoma. The Eye Cancer Foundation promotes the use of sunglasses and distributes these novel bracelets to remind us to put them on! 3 VISIONARY – THE EYE CANCER FOUNDATION 2014 INTERNATIONAL FELLOWS HIGHLIGHT - INDIA From the Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology, Dr. Doan Le Trang helped care for 100 children with retinoblastoma in active treatment, and over 250 over the last three months. Confident now with the management protocols for advanced retinoblastoma, she will establish the first Retinoblastoma Service in Vietnam. Her fellowship with Dr. Santosh Honavar at The Centre for Sight – Hyderabad, India was coordinated by Australian eye cancer specialist Dr. James Muecke of “Sight for All” and made possible by a grant from The Eye Cancer Foundation. International Ophthalmic Pathology ECF International fellow, Dr. Chandrani Chattopadhyay from the Elizabeth Grimm and Scott Woodman Labs in Houston Texas traveled to work with Dr. Sarah Coupland at the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Group. After a successful interchange of ideas, they will continue their research projects in the future. HIGHLIGHT – THE NETHERLANDS Focusing on ocular melanoma research, Dr. Mehmet Dogrusöz is training with Dr. Martine J. Jager in The Department of Ophthalmology at the Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands. HIGHLIGHT - MEXICO International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) Fellow Dr. Carlos Chen participated in The Ocular Tumor Service at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. His ECF sponsored research on cystic retinal tumors resulted in a manuscript titled, “Idiopathic Retinal Cyst.” 4 VISIONARY – THE EYE CANCER FOUNDATION 2014 Melanoma, Astrocytoma and Lymphoma ECF Fellows Present at ARVO With respect to saving vision and life, uveal melanoma size matters! Dr. Ekaterina Semenova presented her ECF sponsored research now published in the journal OPHTHALMOLOGY. She found that palladium-103 plaque radiation therapy for smaller T1-sized uveal melanomas offers the highest reported local control and the lower metastatic rates than that reported in treatment of medium-sized (T2 and T3) or large T4-sized tumors. This suggests that treatment of smaller tumors may save lives. Of interest, another ECF-sponsored study showed that treatment of large (T3, T4) melanomas were associated with better than predicted outcomes after palladium-103 plaque therapy. Lymphomas are the most common malignancy of the orbit. In his study, Dr. Graue compared several methods of staging and treatment. Now published in the European Journal of Ophthalmology, this research revealed that histologic type and method of treatment were the best predictors for local control and systemic cure. Orbital radiation therapy was found to offer the best local and systemic outcomes. The Ophthalmic Oncology Task Force Dr. Paul Finger also hosted a dinner meeting for The Ophthalmic Oncology Task Force of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). Dr. Lucia De Pablo of Madrid, Spain presented her ECF-sponsored study of “Multimodality Imaging of Retinal Astrocytic Hamartoma.” This study examined these rare retinal tumors with photography, angiography, optical coherence tomography and ultrasound. She found that each method offered unique perspectives of these tumors. Eye Cancer Foundation Fellow Dr. Gerardo Graue of Mexico City, Mexico organized a multicenter, New York based study of orbital adnexal lymphoma. 5 This meeting served to begin the process of developing the 8th edition staging system for eye cancers. In attendance were the Vice-Chair of the AJCC, Dr. David Byrd and representatives of three major eye journals as well as multiple ophthalmic societies. The committee decided to continue our work using internet-based multicenter, international data analysis to find statistically significant evidence to improve AJCC Staging. VISIONARY 2014 SAVING SIGHT – SAVING LIFE Happiness can be found in giving to others! SAVING SIGHT, SAVING LIFE! THE EYE CANCER FOUNDATION, INC. 115 East 61st Street Suite 5B New York, New York, USA Zip #10065 Telephone: 212-832-7297 Fax: 212-888-4030 contactus@eyecancerfoundation.net https://www.eyecancer.com/donate We can do so much, but only with your help! The Eye Cancer Foundation is interested in promoting multicenter, international cooperation to find the best methods for diagnosis and treatment of eye cancers. However, we cannot do this without your support. Please consider a yearly donation to continue and expand the research and educational activities described in the Visionary. There are opportunities to name programs specifically funded by individual donors, provide named funds for specific purposes and legacy funds in memory of loved ones.