Who is Dr. Smita Bhatia?

With more people surviving their initial cancer diagnoses it has become important that we must also focus on the patients post treatment to try to mitigate any long term complications. Dr. Smita Bhatia at City of Hope has undertaken the study of second cancers.
There will be 20 million cancer survivors in the U.S. by 2020, representing 6% of the entire population. This number has tripled since 1971 and is growing at the rate of 2% per year. Treatment used to treat the primary cancer can result in devastating and crippling long-term complications.
Development of second cancers directly related to the treatment of the primary cancer is one of the most devastating events experienced by cancer survivors. Dr. Smita Bhatia, Professor and Chair, Department of Population Sciences has undertaken a study of second cancers because: (1) second cancers are the most common cause of mortality in cancer survivors (other than that due to recurrence of primary cancer); (2) a clear relationship exists between second cancers and treatment with chemotherapy and radiation used to treat the primary cancer; (3) There is a critical need to understand this devastating outcome at the molecular level such that innovative treatments and prevention strategies can be planned; (4) findings from this study can be extended to help understand why cancer happens in the first place.

Why is Dr. Bhatia’s research important?

Dr. Bhatia is utilizing a case-control study design, by harnessing the resources offered by the Children’s Oncology Group (a consortium of 200 members institutions across the country, with a commitment to cure childhood cancer, and improve the quality of life of the cancer survivors), as well as at the level of a single institution treating large numbers of patients with adult-onset cancer (City of Hope), and, to our knowledge, this study is unparalleled in its magnitude and detail in any other setting. Thus, this study will be able to identify cancer survivors who are at high risk of second cancers because of their unique genetic makeup. Currently, 131 COG member institutions are participating in this study, in addition to patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation at City of Hope.
Individuals exposed to radiation and chemotherapy are vulnerable to long-lasting organ toxicity; the very young because their organs are developing and the elderly because of organ senescence. In addition, genetic predisposition and its interaction with therapeutic exposures can potentially exacerbate the toxic effect of treatment on normal tissues and organ systems. Thus, it becomes imperative to understand the individual variability in: i) the internal dose of the therapeutic agent; ii) the biologically effective dose; iii) the alterations in structure or function of the tissue or organ; and iv) the consequent development of preclinical disease, in order to understand the pathogenesis of therapy-related complications, and also develop a better idea of the individual susceptibility.
Dr. Bhatia believes the research could find much-needed answers and is thankful for the funding provided by Concern Foundation. Findings from this research could identify patients at risk – such that alternative modes of therapy could be offered to this population and the second concerns prevented.