Dr. Pecora on JTCC Joining Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Consortium

Andrew L. Pecora, MD, FACP, CPE, president of the Physician Services Division and chief innovation officer at Hackensack Meridian Health, discusses John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC) joining Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Consortium.

On Tuesday May 7, 2019, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) approved JTCC as a member of the NCI-designated Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Consortium. The partnership is 1 of merely 16 NCI-designated cancer consortia. Initially, the NCI envisioned the consortia to be comprised of sister institutions within a localized region, explains Pecora. By announcing the partnership between JTCC and Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, they set a historic precedent that widened the locale of member institutions, he adds.

In doing so, JTCC was able to place a Bone Marrow Transplant Program and a Myeloma Division, run by JTCC faculty, within Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. By instituting this clinical integration, cross-sectional research can take place at each respective institution. By enabling these partnerships, the NCI enables cancer centers to operate under the highest standards with the hope of furthering scientific discovery, says Pecora.