Scott Webb (Host): Welcome to Healthy with VCU Health, where experts from VCU Health share their knowledge, cutting edge research and the latest innovations to help you achieve optimal health and wellness. Today we're discussing exciting news from the Massey Cancer Center, part of the VCU Health family and one of the top cancer centers in the country.

 I'm Scott Webb, and joining me today is Dr. Robert Winn. He's the Director and Lipman Chair in Oncology at the VCU Massey Cancer Center and Senior Associate Dean for Cancer Innovation and Professor of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine at the VCU School of Medicine.

 Dr. Winn, thanks so much for joining me. I know Massey recently earned Comprehensive Status from the NCI, National Cancer Institute. That's the nation's premier authority on cancer research and training, so congrats. How did your team achieve this recognition?

Dr. Robert Winn: I think that we got there because as you sort of said team. I think what we had at Massey and VCU for a long time, are very good and high impact, high quality individuals that were doing great research, doing great clinical trials. But I think how we got to comprehensive is that I think we recognized a little bit, that we would not be able to make the accomplishment of comprehensive-“ness” without actually working as one team, with one single fight. Not only to get comprehensive, but to make a difference in fighting cancer. So, I think that we got there by exactly what you started off with by saying that we recognize we need to be a team.

Host: Yeah. And that does seem to be a common thread in medicine today. More and more teamwork, multidisciplinary teams, but just team in general. And I was reading about Massey's community-to-bench model, which is one of the components that really elevated the cancer center status with NCI. Maybe you can share more about that.

Dr. Robert Winn: Yeah, I, think for over 50 years, I think since the discovery of Watson Creek and Franklin with DNA and understanding the nature of the human cell, we've been really focused on the basic science, and understanding the basic blocking and tackling of how the human body works, and then translating that to medicine.

The unfortunate part about that model is that it's certainly generated miracle drugs and certainly many, many tools that we've used to fight cancers. But the one thing it hadn't done is to build trust within communities. It turns out that there is, and I think we saw this during COVID, but particularly in the cancer world, there's almost a disconnect between the miracles of medicine and our communities. So we wanted to flip the script a little bit, and instead of a bench to bedside model, we wanted to make sure that the community was first. So we did a people to pipette model, in which we really wanted to understand the neighborhoods of the missing data and the richness of data within our communities that could help us refine our scientific pursuits.

Host: Yeah, I love that. Just the model in general in medicine of just really more listening to people and patients and the communities that you guys serve, and wondering how will the comprehensive status now be reflected in Massey's clinical research? And then ultimately, as we're saying, improve patient care?

Dr. Robert Winn: You know, the wonderful part about the comprehensiveness is that it meant that to get there, we had to align our efforts with the health system, with the university and the cancer center. As a result of that, over the last few years, we put the greatest number of people onto clinical trials that we ever have in the history of Massey.

Getting the comprehensive means that there'll be even more access I think to high impact trials that make a difference. And when I say trials, let me just explain to you that in the 21st century, when you have reached the end of the standard of cancer care, the standard of care is the offering of clinical trials. And so what we have done over the last couple years, is really use trials as an extension, particularly in cancer care, as opposed to sort of this old fashioned thing that we're quote, experimenting on you and looking at you as Guinea pigs. What I've told people in the it's based in the literature that those people who are on trials tend to actually get all of the standard of care -- plus. And so I'm a big proponent that trials and comprehensive status will go hand in hand in allowing us to bring even more, high impact, potentially miracle trials, and miracle drugs to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Host: Yeah, I love that. The standard of care, the gold standard. Right. Plus, you know, a big plus sign after it. That sounds awesome. And, quoting Massey's tagline, "imagine a future without cancer", which is a great place to be, you know, a future without cancer. What does the future at Massey Cancer Center look like?

Dr. Robert Winn: I think the future's bright. I think we're starting to actually have impact not just locally, but nationally and understanding that there is a science where we're having our top-notch scientists who are looking at discovering the new molecules that are connected to our translational scientists. That those molecules becomes medicine. The thing is, what we're doing special here, is we've connected that discovery with the implementation of that to our communities. And so I think we have a growing research angle on how do we go from the bench to the bedside, but how do we take it to the community?

Not only building trust, but getting information from our communities that help us better serve them. So it's a pretty exciting time. I think our research is getting better. I think our clinical trials are certainly getting more robust, but importantly, I think our impact in figuring out cancer policies is starting to take shape.

And I think that, again, that will, if all things go right, have an even more profound impact on saving lives and making a difference in the commonwealth.

Host: Yeah. And perhaps reaching that ultimate goal of a future without cancer, of course. And, it's been really educational to learn more about the center and the status and everything you're doing there and this great team approach. Just give you a chance here as we finish up, final thoughts and takeaways.

Dr. Robert Winn: I am convinced that if we bring and make science more transparent to our community, not only will they accept it, but I think it will be a driving force in helping us to get more people saved and to save more lives within our rural communities, our urban, underserved communities, and just really reduce the burden of cancer in the entire Commonwealth through science. And I'm glad and proud and honored to be the cancer center director here at VCU Massey.

Host: Yeah, I can, I absolutely hear the pride in your voice and, you know, I love putting my faith in science, of course. And just love hearing that word, that transparency, you know, because, for all of us regular Joes and Janes, all of this science and technology and medicine is a little murky. So we really rely on the expertise of experts like yourself and your team there. So thanks so much. You stay well.

Dr. Robert Winn: Thank you so much.

Host: And thank you for listening to Healthy with VCU Health. To learn more about the VCU Massey Cancer Center, visit masseycancercenter.org. That's M-A-S-S-E-Y cancercenter.org. Or call 804-828-0450.