Women Continue To Rise in SWOG Research

Dr. Christine Ambrosone released big results yesterday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. She reported women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer are at greater risk of disease recurrence and death if they’re taking antioxidants – as well as iron, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids.

These findings are a strong and sobering confirmation of past research showing that antioxidants may blunt the effects of chemotherapy. We’re trying to make sure the results are widely seen – view the press release here – and so is ASCO. Ambrosone is already capturing media attention and is sure to get more.

Earlier this month, Dr. Priyanka Sharma nailed yet another high-impact publication, also in JCO . She confirmed the prognostic role for two biomarkers (stromal tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and a DNA damage immune response signature) in triple negative breast cancer, (TNBC). Last year, Dr. Sharma published SWOG findings that showed some patients with TNBC fare well when treated with adjuvant doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC) chemotherapy. And at the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, she presented results of the first study to examine long-term outcomes for those with TNBC. 

These are just some examples of the exceptional science produced by women at SWOG. In the last two years alone, Drs. Annette Hay of Queens University, Rita Mehta of the University of California Irvine, Lynn Henry of the University of Michigan, Halle Moore at Cleveland Clinic, Sherry Shen of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Darya Kizub of The Everett Clinic, Catherine Van Poznak of University of Michigan, and Kathy Albain of Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine have all published or presented high-impact SWOG results.

In fact, women researchers in our group are truly on a roll – making oral presentations at ASCO, leading high profile committees, running trailblazing trials, and serving on our senior leadership team. 

The exemplar is Dr. Dawn Hershman, our vice chair for NCORP. Dr. Hershman is a true star at SWOG (and elsewhere), and she remains on the rise. At the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium this month, she was included in a special Spotlight Session for her work that showed that PROs – much like biomarkers – can predict aromatase inhibitor adherence. At ASCO this year, she had not one but two oral presentations involving SWOG results. And at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in 2017, she led a press conference to explain her groundbreaking SWOG trial that proved acupuncture can be an effective weapon to fight the pain many women experience on aromatase inhibitors.

SWOG “results” mirror other successes in our field. 

The last two ASCO presidents – Dr. Lori Pearce and Dr. Monica Bertagnolli – are women. In 2017, ASCO launched a new blog, Women in Oncology,  with the first post written by none other than SWOG member Dr. Sonali Smith. At the ASCO annual meeting in 2020, a new publication, Women in Oncology,  will debut to “celebrate the accomplishments of female practitioners while providing essential insights to help them overcome any unique challenges they may encounter.” 

I want to thank the women who lead at SWOG, and especially thank those who mentor other women in our group and in our field. Drs. Julie Gralow, Anne Schott, Kathy Crew, Siu-fun Wong, Lisa Kachnic, and Dawn Hershman all come to mind. You deeply inspire us all.