Chondrosarcoma Foundation Think Tank Topic 1: Overview
On November 11 in Boca Raton, Florida; the Chondrosarcoma Foundation hosted its first Think Tank entitled: Advancing Chondrosarcoma Treatment, Preventing Disease Progression, Recurrence & Metastasis.
The first video of the think tank has been posted on the Chondrosarcoma Foundation web site, and we invite you to view it. The link to the video is: https://csfshayna.org/thinktank/
The objective of the think tank was to bring together multidisciplinary medical experts, researchers, industry, government regulators, patients, and advocates (all with a stake in treating chondrosarcoma) and discuss what we can collectively do to advance precision medicine and treatment for chondrosarcoma. Guided discussions were led by selected presenters / panels who reviewed past efforts, progress made, challenges, barriers, and proposed pathways to address the challenge of preventing disease progression, recurrence, and metastasis. Open Discussions were designed to identify areas of need, stakeholders / contributors, collaboration efforts, progressive measurable solutions, and funding opportunities.
The first video features William Tap, M.D. Chief of Sarcoma Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City. Dr. Tap provided insights into chondrosarcoma microbiology, particularly the significance of its subtypes and genomic characteristics, including the role of IDH mutations. He emphasized the necessity for a unified effort to share resources and knowledge within the chondrosarcoma community to advance research and develop effective therapies, aiming to rally participants around shared objectives in chondrosarcoma research and treatment. He also addressed challenges in measuring drug responses in patients with progressing disease alongside the need for improved clinical trial designs. Dr. Tap shared positive results from the Chondragon Clinical Trial study, which could potentially lead to FDA approval for a new drug, representing a significant advancement for the chondrosarcoma community.
Tracy Hurley, M.D., the foundation Executive Director introduced the Chondrosarcoma Tumor Board, which facilitates expert discussions on complex cases and encouraged more medical professionals to participate.
The foundation President, Jeffrey Kramer shared findings from the patient registry, initiated in March 2023, which included data from 343 participants. Alarmingly, over half of the participants were unaware of their cancer subtype, and nearly half reported previous misdiagnoses. The need for initiatives to increase public awareness, improve early detection, and foster research collaborations was emphasized, with the goal of developing a strategic plan to support viable research and treatment innovations.