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A new study led by Supriya Mohile, M.D., M.S. shows that when physicians fully appreciate the concerns of older adults with cancer, such as function and forgetfulness, it elevates patient care and satisfaction.

The study, published in JAMA Oncology, is believed to be the first to assess in a randomized clinical trial whether a tool known as geriatric assessment (GA) can meaningfully influence cancer care for vulnerable older people. A geriatric assessment can personalize care and prompt better conversations between physicians, patients, and their families, the study found.

Mohile and co-authors suggest that a GA summary should be considered standard care for older adults with cancer, and appropriate interventions based on the report should be used as needed.

Mohile is the Philip and Marilyn Wehrheim Professor of Hematology/Oncology and Professor of Medicine and Surgery at the James Wilmot Cancer Institute. She is also Director of the Geriatric Oncology Clinic.

Beverly Canin, an 85 year old breast cancer survivor and patient advocate, remembers when she first met Supriya G. Mohile, MD, MS, a geriatric oncologist and the Philip and Marilyn Wehrheim Professor in the division of hematology/oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in New York. In 2011, Ms. Canin, who had begun attending annual meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), went to a session that focused on cancer in the "oldest old" adults, namely those aged ≤85 years. Dr. Mohile was part of that panel, along with her colleagues, William Dale, MD, PhD, who is currently the chair of supportive care medicine at the City of Hope cancer center in Duarte, California, and the late Arti Hurria, MD, who had served as director of the City of Hope's Center for Cancer and Aging.

The Medical Scientist Training Program's 19th Annual Retreat was held on August 9, 2019, at the Rochester Yacht Club. The retreat is an opportunity for the student body to gather to discuss science and welcome the incoming class. This year, the MSTP welcomed six new students: Maya Anand (Columbia University), Thomas Delgado (University of Florida), Svetlana Markova (Kharkiv National Medical University), Michael Meadow (UCLA), Gavin Piester (University of Rochester), and Victor Zhang (University of Rochester).

2019 Incoming Students

This year's Keynote address was given by Dr. Supriya Mohile, Professor of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Rochester, and was titled "Improving Care Delivery and Outcomes for Older Patients with Cancer and their Caregivers." Dr. Mohile highlighted the need for geriatric assessments in oncology to properly address concerns such as tolerability and toxicity of cancer treatments. She described the large clinical studies that are ongoing which demonstrate the feasibility of implementing geriatric assessments in oncology and stressed the need for all clinicians who treat elderly patients to use tools available to them to address concerns that are unique to this population.

The morning science session concluded with short talks by several current MSTP students. Second year medical student Emily Isenstein discussed her work on proprioceptive and visual integration in children with autism, Fara Tolibzoda Zakusilo (G2) discussed the role for the extracellular matrix in Alzheimer's disease, Jesse Wang (G3) spoke about the development of a digital medical scribe, Booyeon Han (G4) described her work to understand the tumor-draining lymph node in pancreas cancer, and Aimee Morris (M4) spoke about resting state functional connectivity in focal dystonia.

Following lunch, Kerry O'Banion, MSTP director, gave an update on curricular changes occurring in the medical school, which was followed by a presentation by students who attended the National MD/PhD Conference at Copper Mountain in July. New students were elected to the MSTP student council to end the afternoon. We look forward to another exciting year for the MSTP!