This year’s Boston Globe Summit kicked off yesterday morning with various panel topics ranging from innovations in medicine, possibilities of AI, healthcare inequality, and the future of surgical oncology and cancer care.
Breaking from the format of many of the day’s events, which were moderated by Globe reporters, four medical professionals from Mass General Brigham discussed the field of oncology on a panel. MGB was a sponsor of this year’s summit and the conversation.
The panel was led by Dave Ryan, the president of MGB’s Cancer Institute, Dr. Amy Bregar, a gynecologic surgeon for MGB and medical director of gynelogic oncology at Mass General Hospital, Dr. Motaz Qadan, the surgeon-in-chief at the Cancer Institute, and Dr. Omar Arnaout, a neurosurgeon and the director of clinical neurosurgery.
Ryan began the panel by citing MGB’s integration with other Massachusetts hospitals and how this merger is helping deal with the complexity of cancer care. Massachusetts General Hospital, the healthcare network’s flagship location, is ranked in the top five for cancer research by U.S News and World Report in its latest ranking, with Massachusetts being recognized as a statewide hub of exceptional care and research.
Ryan said teamwork is vital in the battle against cancer, asking his colleagues to share their opinions on a team-based approach.
“The team-based approach for us is everywhere,” said Dr. Qadan, as he listed the various stages of patient care from multidisciplinary visits to the operating room filled with anesthesiologists, surgeons, and nurses.
“This is how we provide expert care,” he said.
The panel explored the complexity of high volume surgery, with Dr. Arnaout saying that operating on rare tumors “makes us better at what we do,” and the more cases recorded, the more advancements will be made.
Integration and innovation then took center stage, with each doctor being asked about their own research and how they believe it will help patients. Dr. Bregar said, “we’re very fortunate than not that these innovations have become standard of care.” mentioning advances in robotic surgery and the development of surgical skills. She also talked about her medical trials that focus on producing IL2, a cytokine that strengthens the immune system.
Dr. Qadan discussed MGB’s Bone & Spine Metastasis Program and the groundbreaking Hepatic Arterial Infusion Pumps that have helped treat liver cancer.
“We’re now starting to embark on transplantation as a modality to treat patients with liver tumors,” he said regarding the future of the program. “We’re seeing this level of programmatic innovation that we’ve never seen before.”
Ryan asked his colleagues about the human connection between surgeons and their patients, and each doctor agreed the relationship they hold with every patient is powerful.
“The thing that we do is not a single event that happens, then it’s over…it’s a lifelong relationship with generations,” said Dr. Arnaout, who also emphasized that because neurosurgeons operate on the brain, patients tend to try to trust him more.
Dr. Bregar focused on how meaningful it is for her to provide medical care to women, believing that building strong relationships with her patients will help them navigate their medical situations.
“It is such a privilege to be able to meet with women and say, ‘Look, here’s what we need to be able to do for your cancer care,’” she said.
Ryan wrapped up the conversation by asking the three panelists what they are most excited about in the future of cancer treatment.
Dr. Arnaout said he hopes to see advancements in technology and AI, citing how his lab focuses on AI research and the feedback he receives from patients.
Dr. Bregar expressed a desire to see a process that detects cancer sooner, so doctors can find cancerous cells before they spread. Dr. Qadan agreed with both sentiments, but said he personally is most excited about learning to care for patients in more effective ways.
Applause played off Boston’s innovators in cancer research as developers in AI and medicine collaboration took the stage next, keeping the Summit rolling on the topics of improving one of the most vital industries in the country.
