Dr. Edjah Nduom, a neurosurgical oncologist at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, has become the only Georgian named by the White House to serve on the National Cancer Advisory Board.
The appointment, made by President Joe Biden, comes as the board is needed to help reach bold goals for cancer research. In early 2022, Biden announced a renewed effort at a White House research initiative dubbed the “Cancer Moonshot,” aimed at reducing U.S. cancer deaths by at least half within 25 years.
Biden set a 25-year timeline to reach the goal, with a multipronged approach that includes increasing prevention and screening, and developing new therapies.
“I think it’s an aggressive goal, an ambitious goal, but also a rational and reasonable goal,” said Nduom, who introduced the president at the announcement two years ago, calling him the country’s “patient advocate-in-chief.”
“We’ve made great advances in survival of cancers in many areas but there’s a lot of areas where we could still make a ton of progress,” Nduom said.
Credit: custom
Credit: custom
Nduom will be one of 18 members on the National Cancer Advisory Board, which plays an important role in setting the course for cancer research. The terms last six years.
Nduom said he believes it’s possible to change the trajectory of cancer through many approaches. He pointed to the importance of help with lifestyle changes, like smoking cessation programs, and more cancer screenings to spot cancers at an earlier stage.
Nduom, 44, also serves as leader of the brain tumor disease team at Winship Cancer Institute. “Cancer broadly is a huge challenge. Brain cancer is one of the biggest challenges we have health in health care,” Nduom said “I’ve always seen myself as a problem solver.”
Nduom cared for Channel 2 Action News anchor Jovita Moore, who spoke publicly about her battle with glioblastoma, a serious form of cancer that is fast-growing and hard to treat. She died about three years ago at age 54.
Last year, Nduom was awarded a $1.96 million grant to research treatment for glioblastoma, which is resistant to current therapies. His grant is focused on immunotherapy, a treatment strategy that uses a person’s own immune system to fight cancer.
Part of the challenge in treating glioblastoma comes from the blood-brain barrier, Nduom explains. This barrier is a tightly locked layer of cells that defends the brain from harmful bacteria, viruses and other things that can cause damage, but it also makes it hard for chemotherapy drugs to reach brain tumor cells in large enough amounts to destroy them. Researchers who study glioblastoma, including Nduom, are hopeful that immunotherapy might be able to succeed where other therapies have not.
As a child, Nduom knew he wanted to be a brain surgeon. Once in college at the University of Pennsylvania, he was drawn to surgery specializing in treating brain tumors — among the most complex and deadly cancers.
“When I first worked in a brain tumor lab, and saw how fast the cells grew, and just how resistant they were to various therapies and then I started meeting the patients faced with a brain tumor and I saw this huge challenge,” said Nduom. “Unfortunately while we are able to do very good things for these patients with surgery, then knowing our surgery wasn’t enough.”
The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 63,170 new cases of cancer in Georgia this year, and 18,740 cancer deaths.
Nationally, cancer deaths remain the second most common cause of death after heart disease. Cancer deaths have been steadily dropping in part due to large declines in smoking, along with advances in early detection and treatments for many cancers. But the number of new diagnoses are rising for many cancers, with new cases in the U.S. expected to surpass 2 million for the first time this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
Emory’s Winship is a leading cancer research institution. In 2023, Winship investigators conducted over 640 clinical trials and enrolled more than 900 patients. Winship which collaborates with researchers around the globe reported $136 million in grant research funding for the 2023 fiscal year. The funding comes from several sources including the National Institutes of Health as well as The American Cancer Society and Curing Kids Cancer.
Separately, Emory University was also awarded last year a three-year grant for $24.8 million to evaluate whether mRNA technology, the same used to develop COVID-19 vaccines, could also work against cancer.
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